$5.5 Million Committed for 2009

Newport Beach, Calif. – (Jan. 27, 2009) – At an early evening reception on Monday, the Pacific Life Foundation announced over $3.4 million in grants to over 200 nonprofit agencies in Southern California.  Grants ranging from $2,500 to $157,000 were awarded during the annual celebration held at Pacific Life’s headquarters in Newport Beach.  Overall, the Pacific Life Foundation has committed to provide $5.5 million in charitable funding throughout 2009.

A special presentation was made during the evening by Pacific Life Foundation Chairman Jim Morris and President Bob Haskell to California State University, Fullerton’s Center for Insurance Studies (CIS).  Dr. Weili Lu, Director of the CIS, received the Walter B. Gerken Community Service Award, along with a $25,000 grant.  The Pacific Life Foundation has been involved with the CIS since its founding in 1998 and has contributed over $300,000 during the past decade.  The Center’s vision is to bring to focus, to traditional as well as non-traditional students from a variety of backgrounds, the benefits and potential that a career in insurance or financial services has to offer.

The Pacific Life Foundation provides grants to nonprofit agencies that engage in the areas of arts and culture; civic, community, and environment; education; and health and human services.

Arts and Culture
Of the 23 Southern California organizations within the Arts and Culture category receiving grants, the following were awarded grants of $10,000: Arts Orange County, Irvine Barclay Theater, Orange County Museum of Art, Orange County Performing Arts Center, Pacific Symphony, Shakespeare by the Sea, and UCI Foundation/Claire Trevor School of the Arts.  Of particular note, two organizations received grants above $10,000:

• Pretend City, The Children’s Museum of Orange County: A $50,000 grant which completes a $100,000 pledge to support the building of a facility in Irvine that will be a child-sized working city to provide a hands-on experience for children aged infant to eight years.  It will focus on early development of creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking skills.
• South Coast Repertory: A $20,000 grant for their “Theater for Young Audiences” program which are plays designed for children and their families which includes children’s literature and new works by America’s finest playwrights. 

Civic, Community, and Environment
Anti-Defamation League, Orange County/Long Beach Region, Bolsa Chica Conservancy, San Diego Archaeological Center, Surfrider Foundation, and Volunteer Center Orange County were among the $10,000 grant recipients within the Civic, Community, & Environment area.  Twenty-two Southern California organizations received grants within this category. Those receiving in excess of $10,000 include:

• Aquarium of the Pacific: A $147,000 grant towards a $441,000 pledge for the aquarium’s “Seafood for the Future” program.  The program’s goal is to promote the consumption of seafood from sustainable sources – both wild caught and farm-raised.  The aquarium will accomplish this through a public education campaign as well as partnerships with Southern California restaurants and seafood suppliers.
• Environmental Nature Center: A $25,000 grant which completes a $75,000 commitment to support their new learning center which attained the highest level of “green” building certification…the first of its kind in Orange County.
• Orange County CoastKeeper: $25,000 which completes a $50,000 pledge to support the CoastKeeper Gardens, a 2.5 acre urban garden to be located at Santiago Canyon College.
• Pacific Marine Mammal Center: A $20,000 grant to support the renovation and expansion of the Nursery and Intensive Care Units at the Center in Laguna Beach.  An additional $10,000 grant was given to help underwrite the cost of medications and fish for the sick and injured marine mammals treated and rehabilitated at the center.
• Southern California Public Radio: The third $25,000 payment towards a $100,000 commitment to support their “Many Voices, One Vision” campaign which is transforming an office building in Pasadena into a new Broadcast Center to expand the services of the radio station.  In addition, the organization received a $15,000 grant to support a full-time reporting presence in Orange County to provide information on local issues that are important to county residents.

Education
Within the Education area, 35 nonprofit agencies received grants.  In particular, the Exchange Club of Newport Harbor, Golden West College Foundation, Greater Santa Ana Vitality Foundation, Orange County Community Housing Corporation, the COSMOS Program at UCI, STOP-GAP, Tiger Woods Learning Center, and Web Wise Kids each received $10,000 in grant funds for their programs.  Agencies receiving a grant over $10,000 include:

• Junior Achievement of Orange County: $135,060 to complete a two-year pledge of $240,000 to fund their “Economics for Success” program which teaches business, economics, and free enterprise issues to 3,000 students in up to 46 middle schools.  In addition, the organization received a $15,000 grant to help fund their economics education programs in K-12 schools in Santa Ana.
• CSU Fullerton/Center for Insurance Studies: A $30,000 grant to support the Insurance/Actuary Program for undergraduates at the college of Business and Economics at CSUF.
• KOCE-TV Foundation: A $25,000 grant which completes a $150,000 commitment towards KOCE’s “The Campaign for the New KOCE”.
• MIND Research Institute: The second payment of $100,000 towards a $500,000 commitment to the Orange County Math Initiative which is a partnership between the Orange County Department of Education, UCI, corporations and foundations, and the MIND Research Institute.  This program enhances traditional math instruction with visual computer games in Orange County schools that are in the lower three deciles of California’s Academic Performance Index.

Health and Human Services
The following organizations are among the 124 agencies receiving grants within the Health and Human Services category: 2-1-1 Orange County, Acacia Adult Day Services, AIDS Services Foundation, ALS Association – Orange County Chapter, Alzheimer’s Association – Orange County Chapter, American Cancer Society – Orange County Region, American Red Cross – Orange County Chapter, Assistance League of Newport-Mesa, Boys & Girls Clubs of Anaheim, Camino Health Center, Canyon Acres Children and Family Services, Charitable Ventures of Orange County/interlock Care, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Orange County, Dayle McIntosh Center, Friendly Center, Health Funders Partnership, Health Funders Partnership/Safety Net Coalition, Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County, Human Options, Inland Valley Hope Partners, Irvine Adult Day Health Services, J.F. Shea Therapeutic Riding Center, John Henry Foundation, Mercy House Transition Living Center, OC Partnership, Providence Speech and Hearing Center, Women Helping Women, Working Wardrobes for a New Start, and YMCA of Orange County.  Those listed each received a grant of $10,000.  Recipients receiving larger program grants include:

• AccessOC: A $50,000 grant towards a commitment of $350,000 to sustain their program of providing elective, low-risk, out-patient surgical procedures for the uninsured.
• Boys & Girls Club of the Harbor Area: A $25,000 payment which completes a $50,000 commitment to support the renovation of the Eastbluff facility located in Newport Beach.
• Coastal Mountain Youth Academy: A $15,000 grant to help purchase a 12-passenger van to transport students to off-campus therapeutic and academic activities.  Coastal Mountain Youth Academy is an education and therapeutic program in San Juan Capistrano that consists of a sober day school serving youth ages 14-17 who struggle with issues such as addiction, truancy, abuse, juvenile detention, and probation.
• Friends of OASIS: A $50,000 grant toward a $100,000 pledge to support the expansion of the OASIS Senior Center in Corona del Mar which will provide additional space for educational classrooms, art programs, health and fitness activities, and social and assembly functions for the over 5,000 seniors it serves annually.
• Goodwill Industries of Orange County: The second of two $25,000 grants to support the building of the first fitness center in Orange County for use by people with spinal cord injuries, stroke, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and other disabilities.
• Hoag Hospital Foundation: A second payment of $100,000 towards a $250,000 grant to support the expansion of the Hoag Cancer Center which will provide an increased capacity for patients and new technology.  An additional $10,000 grant was given to underwrite cardiovascular exams for low-income diabetic women.
• Interval House: $50,000 towards a $100,000 pledge to support their Domestic Violence Shelter Expansion project which will increase the space of one of their emergency and long term shelter facilities, thus allowing the availability of more beds for underserved abused women and children in Orange County.
• Orange County Council, Boy Scouts of America: The second $25,000 towards a $100,000 commitment to help underwrite the construction of their new Outdoor Education Center which will benefit all youth agencies and school districts in Orange County with an emphasis on both day use and overnight camping.
• Orange County Funders Roundtable:  $250,000 towards a total commitment of $1.1 million to help fund the “Nonprofit Capacity-Building” project.  The project provides an in-depth needs assessment of local nonprofit agencies and the funding to help build the agencies’ capacity to better serve their clients.  The foundation has already contributed $600,000 to this project.
• Phoenix House: The first $50,000 towards a $100,000 commitment to support the renovation of their facility in Santa Ana which provides comprehensive substance abuse treatment services to both youth and adults.  The renovation is being completed by alumni of Taller San Jose, a nonprofit that provides job training programs to under-educated and unemployed young people.
• Project Access: A $25,000 payment to complete a $50,000 commitment to support the expansion of their Family Resource Center which serves 2,200 low income residents with free and low cost education, health, and social services.
• Talk About Curing Autism: A second year payment of $76,000 towards a $300,000 commitment to implement a program to help underserved families of Orange County navigate the diagnoses and care process for their children with autism.
• Thomas House Temporary Shelter: A $22,500 grant to support the renovation of three apartments in Garden Grove owned by the shelter that are in need of new flooring, electrical re-wiring, improved plumbing, and cabinetry in order to provide a safe environment for homeless families.

Included in the $3.4 million announced at the reception is the foundation’s “3T’s of Education” program which will contribute a total of $337,500 in direct grants to Southern California K-12 schools where there are concentrations of children or grandchildren of Pacific Life employees.  A 3T’s grant must be designated to one of the following areas: Teacher Training, Textbooks, or Technology.  The foundation has also pledged $310,000 to match Pacific Life employee donations to their local United Way in 2009.  Finally, Pacific Life Foundation has also pledged an additional $535,000 towards marine mammal protection programs. 

The Pacific Life Foundation was established in 1984.  Together with Pacific Life, the Foundation has contributed donations totaling over $51.7 million to hundreds of nonprofits over the past 25 years.  For more information about the Pacific Life Foundation, visit its Web site at www.PacificLifeFoundation.com.

Offering insurance since 1868, Pacific Life provides a wide range of life insurance products, annuities, and mutual funds, and offers a variety of investment products and services to individuals, businesses, and pension plans. With more than half of the 100 largest U.S. companies as its clients, Pacific Life is also a member of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA), whose membership promotes high ethical standards for the sale of individual life insurance and annuities.  For additional company information, including current financial strength ratings, visit the About Us section of this Web site.

Pacific Life refers to Pacific Life Insurance Company and its affiliates, including Pacific Life & Annuity Company.  Client count data compiled by Pacific Life using the FORTUNE 500® list as of April 2008.