Partners for Youth with Disabilities-Access to Theatre Receives $10,000 Grant from CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust

The Access to Theatre program is an inclusive theatre arts education program that provides accessible performing arts opportunities for youth with and without disabilities. The young people who participate in the program create original productions and perform them for the community.

Donation to Partners for Youth with Disabilities is part of the more than $5 million in grants the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust is making to non-profit organizations across the nation

Boston MA: Partners for Youth with Disabilities announced today that it has received a $10,000 grant from the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust, the private foundation managed by CVS Corporation.

For twelve years, Partners for Youth with Disabilities' Access to Theatre program, a Presidents Committee on the Arts and Humanities' 2004 Coming Up Taller Award recipient, has been providing accessible performing arts opportunities for youth with and without disabilities that help them to develop creative expression, self-esteem, leadership and friendship. A key quality of the program is the integration of youth with and without disabilities, providing them with the opportunity to interact and create as equals with their peers. In partnership with Until Tomorrow Productions, VSA Arts of Massachusetts and Boston Center for the Arts, Access to Theatre has served over 325 youth and adults, created thirty original productions, and featured 55 performances for over 24,000 audience members.

"CVS has been instrumental in supporting programs for youth with disabilities. With the new grant that CVS has provided us with, Partners for Youth with Disabilities will be able to expand our Access to Theatre program to include more youth with disabilities and teach them valuable skills that will assist them in becoming independent adults. Thank you CVS for making a difference!" Regina Snowden, Executive Director, Partners for Youth with Disabilities.

"CVS strongly believes in giving back to the communities where we live and work," said Eileen Howard Dunn, Vice President of the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust. "Grants from the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust are an effective way for us to support the extraordinary work done by community organizations to help children with disabilities and their families and to promote health, wellness and education. We are proud to support the work that Partners for Youth with Disabilities and the Access to Theatre program does in the community to assist a diverse group of young people demonstrate how truly capable they are."

The CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust's grant to Partners for Youth with Disabilities - Access to Theatre Program is part of its more than $5 million in grants to non-profit organizations across 22 states. Organizations that were selected to receive a grant were chosen through the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust's 2006 grant application process. Grants were awarded to organizations involved in children's health and education issues, with a particular focus on initiatives to improve the lives of children with disabilities and programs that promote awareness and inclusion of children with disabilities.

Partners for Youth with Disabilities (PYD) is a non-profit organization that assists young people to reach their full potential for personal development. Partners arranges one to one relationships between adolescents and children with disabilities and adults who have similar disabilities. PYD programs include: Mentor Match: providing youth with disabilities an adult mentor with similar disabilities, fostering close friendship through activities and outings; Making Healthy Connections provides meetings where youth learn various skills necessary for living independently, managing their health and socializing with peers; Young Entrepreneurs Project teaches entrepreneurship, career development and educational goal setting to Boston area high school students and provides mentors from the business community; Partners Online provides an innovative online mentoring community for youth, mentors and parents to share resources and support each other; and the Access to Theatre Program that brings together a diverse group of young people that want to work together to create original theatre productions and perform them for the community. For more information about PYD's programs go to www.pyd.org.

About the CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust The CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust, Inc. is a private foundation managed by CVS Corporation, which operates approximately 6,200 retail and specialty pharmacy stores in 43 states and the District of Columbia in addition to its online pharmacy, CVS.com; its retail-based health clinic subsidiary, MinuteClinic; and its pharmacy benefit management, mail order and specialty pharmacy subsidiary, PharmaCare. The Trust's mission is to provide funding for health care, education and community involvement initiatives targeting children with disabilities in communities where CVS/pharmacy stores are located. General information about CVS is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's Web site at http://investor.cvs.com, or through the press room portion of the Company's website, at www.cvs.com/pressroom.