FREDDIE MAC FOUNDATION AWARDS GRANT TO HEALTHY FAMILIES HOWARD COUNTY FOR FIFTH YEAR

Columbia, MD – More than 2,750 families have benefited from Healthy Families Howard County (HFHC) since the program began in November 2001. Administered by Howard County General Hospital in partnership with Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland, HFHC provides first-time parents in Howard County with educational and emotional support to ease the transition through pregnancy and into the first five years of parenthood.

For the fifth consecutive year, Healthy Families has received a $100,000 grant from the Freddie Mac Foundation. The grant is used to fund the operational costs of the program.

"We are extremely appreciative of the continued support provided by the Freddie Mac Foundation. Their grant allows us to provide vital services to the new parents in our community and make a difference," said Cindi Miller, Director of Community Health Education at Howard County General Hospital and HFHC Project Director.

Created by Freddie Mac in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to creating hope and opportunity for children, youth and their families. The Foundation is a strong advocate for children, and supports policies and programs that focus on their needs and foster positive solutions, including Healthy Families Howard County. In fact, the Foundation has helped start and fund 10 Healthy Families sites throughout the Washington, DC region. As the region's largest corporate giver, Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested $280 million in nonprofit organizations that build stronger families and communities.

Healthy Families Howard County also is funded by operational grants from the Local Children's Board of Howard County, the Community Service Partnership and the Columbia Foundation.

Howard County General Hospital: A Member of Johns Hopkins Medicine since 1998 is a 208-bed, not-for-profit, health care provider located in Columbia, Maryland. Serving the community since 1973, the hospital, with a professional staff of more than 800 physicians and allied health professionals representing 67 medical specialties and sub-specialties and a workforce of nearly 1,700, has grown into a comprehensive, acute-care medical center that treats a full range of conditions from neonatal care to oncology and outpatient care to critical care.

Created by Freddie Mac in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to creating hope and opportunity for children and their families. As the largest corporate funder in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested nearly $280 million in organizations serving the community.