EMD Millipore Kicks Off the School Year by Partnering with the Everybody Wins! Metro Boston Reading Program

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EMD Millipore, the Life Science division of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, today announced a donation of $5,000 to Everybody Wins! Metro Boston- the local chapter of a national literacy and mentoring non-profit organization. Their signature program, Power Lunch, provides the opportunity for EMD Millipore employees and other local professionals to read and mentor elementary school students once a week during their lunch break.

“Reading a story is different from scanning the web, or sending bursts of information through texting or tweeting. It can help develop the skills which make us human: empathy for others and imagination of things we haven’t experienced directly.”

EMD Millipore has been a partner with the Metro Boston chapter of the Everybody Wins! organization since the 2003-2004 school year. Over the past 9 years, EMD Millipore has contributed $45,000 and has had 80 employees serve as mentors for the program. Employees from EMD Millipore’s Massachusetts’ sites mentor at the Vining Elementary School in Billerica, providing the students with one-on-one attention and dedicated time to foster an enthusiasm for literature. This year, EMD Millipore Power Lunch mentors will be joined by employees of their affiliate, EMD Serono, Inc.-a Rockland-based pharmaceutical company. Both EMD Millipore and EMD Serono are subsidiaries of the German pharmaceutical and chemical company, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

“In only one hour a week, I can make a huge impact on my community. I believe helping young kids improve their reading skills early is critical to their development of reading comprehension, concentration, and analysis,” says Kirk Fretwell, Business Analyst for EMD Millipore and Power Lunch Mentor. “Reading a story is different from scanning the web, or sending bursts of information through texting or tweeting. It can help develop the skills which make us human: empathy for others and imagination of things we haven’t experienced directly.”

Everybody Wins! Metro Boston was incorporated in 2002 to bring Everybody Wins! signature Power Lunch program to students in the greater Boston area. Every week, Power Lunch mentors reach over 750 students at 16 schools throughout greater Boston. The Mission of Everybody Wins! is to reach students while they are young, stimulate their interest in learning, and encourage students to believe that they can be successful.

“Without the support of companies like EMD Millipore, Everybody Wins! Metro Boston wouldn’t be able to run its signature Power Lunch program. By providing both financial support and an incredible number of Power Lunch readers, EMD Millipore is an integral part of our organization,” says Julie Burleigh, Executive Director of Everybody Wins! Metro Boston. “We are so grateful for the long term support which helps kids have a better chance at success in school and in life. We are proud of our partnership with the company and even more proud of the mentors who take part in our program.”

More about the EMD Millipore Giving Program

EMD Millipore’s charitable giving and community relations efforts focus on science, health care education and the environment, which are issues that are most connected to the company’s mission as a life science organization. Through multi-year partnerships with major charities and individual grants to smaller non-profits, EMD Millipore targets its funding to achieve the following objectives: support critical research aimed at mitigating and eradicating major diseases; expand access to health care services; strengthen STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) curricula in elementary and secondary education; increase access to higher education through scholarships, and encourage practices that support long-term environmental sustainability.

About EMD Millipore

EMD Millipore is the Life Science division of Merck KGaA of Germany and offers a broad range of innovative, performance products, services and business relationships that enable our customers' success in research, development and production of biotech and pharmaceutical drug therapies. Through dedicated collaboration on new scientific and engineering insights, and as one of the top three R&D investors in the Life Science Tools industry, EMD Millipore serves as a strategic partner to customers and helps advance the promise of life science.

Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, the division has around 10,000 employees, operations in 67 countries and 2011 revenues of EUR 2.4 billion. EMD Millipore is known as Merck Millipore outside of the U.S. and Canada.

About EMD Serono, Inc.

EMD Serono, Inc., a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is a leader in the US biopharmaceutical arena, integrating cutting-edge science with unparalleled patient support systems to improve people's lives. The company has strong market positions in neurodegenerative diseases, endocrinology and in reproductive health. In addition, EMD Serono is growing its expertise and presence in the area of oncology, with more than 15 projects currently in development. With a clear focus on the patient and a leadership presence in the biopharmaceutical industry, EMD Serono’s US footprint continues to grow, with approximately 1,000 employees around the country and fully integrated commercial, clinical and research operations in the company’s home state of Massachusetts.

For more information, please visit www.emdserono.com

About Merck

All Merck Press Releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Website. Please go to http://www.merck.de/subscribe to register online, change your selection or discontinue this service.

Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company with total revenues of € 10.3 billion in 2011, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by more than 40,000 employees in 67 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.

Note: Merck KGaA or Merck shall mean Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

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