Cerebral Palsy Patient From Braintree Throws Pitch at Fenway

CVS Caremark and Boston Children’s Hospital celebrated a shared milestone last Friday just before the start of the Boston Red Sox/Baltimore Orioles game at Fenway Park.

With a $25,000 CVS Caremark donation, the two commemorated more than $1 million in total donations to Boston Children’s Hospital over the last six-plus years since the two first formed a relationship. Coming from the CVS Caremark
Charitable Trust and the CVS Caremark All Kids Can™ Program, the monies donated were dedicated to supporting children with disabilities and their families – specifically supporting Boston Children’s Hospital’s Cerebral Palsy Program and its Center for Communication Enhancement.

“Year after year, we are so pleased to see the successful results from our partnership with Boston Children’s Hospital,” said Eileen Howard Boone, senior vice president of Corporate Communications and Community Relations for CVS Caremark. “It is a terrific opportunity to be able to work with such an esteemed institution to help children on their path to better health. We are proud to invest much-needed funds to further the important care Boston Children’s delivers every day to children with disabilities.”

Within the Boston Children’s Hospital’s Cerebral Palsy Program, the CVS Caremark funds have enhanced the functional mobility initiative – a unique multidisciplinary area of service recognized both nationally and internationally for helping children with cerebral palsy and other related neuromuscular disorders and intellectual disabilities often accompanying cerebral palsy. Additionally, CVS Caremark’s support for Boston Children’s Center for Communication Enhancement centers around its Augmentative Communication Program. CVS Caremark funds target the development of electronic learning tools for children with complex communication needs, particularly those with autism and cerebral palsy who have a relatively short opportunity to maximize learning.

“We are very grateful for the generous charitable contributions CVS Caremark has made over the years to support Boston Children’s Hospital and our patients with disabilities,” said Dr. Brian Snyder, director of the Cerebral Palsy Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Community support is one key component of the comprehensive care and services we provide to our patients with disabilities – and we appreciate the leadership role CVS Caremark has taken in offering that valued support.”

Friday evening’s activities took place at Fenway Park because some of the funds donated to the Hospital were the result of a partnership between CVS Caremark All Kids Can and the Boston Red Sox. For each of the home Red Sox games saved and each of the home games that go into extra innings, donations are made through the “CVS Caremark Saves” and “Extra Inning” charitable initiatives. It has become tradition over the past years for CVS Caremark to
invite a patient from one of the Company’s funded Boston Children’s Hospital programs to throw out the first pitch before a Fenway Park Red Sox game. The patient also has the opportunity to join CVS Caremark and Boston Children’s Hospital leaders on the field for a check presentation ceremony prior to the game.

Participating in last Friday's festivities was Joseph “Joe” Scarlata of Braintree, Massachusetts. Joe has Spastic Diplegia, a form of Cerebral Palsy. He has been a patient of the hospital since he was 2 years old and has had four major hip surgeries at the Hospital as well as undergoes Botox and Phenol injections under general anesthesia every 6 months. Last year, one of his proudest
moments was making his town baseball league. A student at the Cotting School in Lexington, Mass., Joe also enjoys basketball, music, anything related to Star Wars, playing games on his iPad and playing with his two dogs Charlie and Hershey.

–CVS Caremark