DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreen Co. plans a fundraising challenge between its Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in metropolitan New York to support the activities of the American Diabetes Association Greater New York City area.
Under the challenge, announced Tuesday, 250 Walgreens stores and 250 Duane Reade stores in metro New York will face off to see who can raise the most money through pin-up sales over a four-week period in the fall.
Duane Reade will conduct the campaign in October, and Walgreens will conduct the campaign in November.
The contest was announced by Skip Bourdo, Walgreens’ market vice president for New York and Connecticut, and Greg Calvano, senior director of store operations for Duane Reade, at the Walgreens store in Times Square on the 24th annual American Diabetes Association Alert Day.
The one-day "wake-up call" encourages Americans to take the Diabetes Risk Test to find out if they are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Last year, the American Diabetes Association urged Americans to "Join the Million Challenge," and over 600,000 people took the test.
In addition, Walgreens has pledged its support of the "New York Area Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes" events through a grassroots activation of local community leaders. Walgreens will also display Alert Day information on the digital billboards at its Times Square store.
On Wednesday, Walgreens announced the launch of the Walgreens Way to Well Health Tour with the National Urban League (NUL) as a charitable component of the its Way to Well Commitment, a four-year, $100 million initiative to improve the everyday health of Americans.
The national tour with NUL will provide free health resources to residents in urban and minority communities, who experience disproportionately higher rates of preventable disease, Walgreens said. In addition, the tour will highlight NUL’s "I Am Empowered" initiative and collaborate with league affiliates to urge members of urban and minority communities to "act as their own health advocates" by visiting the Walgreens Way to Well Health Tour with NUL, which will provide free tests, assessments, education and consulting services, according to the drug chain.
"Way to Well reflects our commitment to disease prevention and to improving everyday health through education and early detection. With the NUL, the nationwide traveling health tour is one way we deliver on our pledge to improve lives by providing underserved communities greater access to the resources they need," John Gremer, director of community affairs for Walgreens, said in a statement.
