Pictured: The Amgen Foundation 2005 Annual Report cover features the Amgen Leadership Symposium, an intensive summer program offered by the Dolan DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and funded by the Amgen Foundation, which gives high school teachers the tools and training to explain advanced genetic concepts to their students.

To read the online version of the report, click here:

Last year, the Amgen Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, provided $17 million in grants to approximately 160 nonprofit groups working to advance science education, improve patient care and support community resources. The 2005 Amgen Foundation Charitable Contributions Report, now available in print and online, tells the stories of several of these organizations and how they are making a positive difference in people’s lives.

From the Rainier Scholars program, which gives minority youth in Seattle, Wash., the academic opportunity to achieve long-term success, to the 4th Angel Mentoring Program at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, which matches cancer survivors with patients for supportive one-on-one interactions, the Foundation assists groups whose charitable efforts are aligned with the company’s commitment to advancing science and improving people’s lives.

As described in the report, the Foundation supports a diverse set of organizations whose objectives range from helping people with serious illnesses to addressing community needs by providing vital services. Through all of its giving, the Foundation seeks to provide underserved populations with the resources, learning experiences and opportunities to improve their quality of life and to develop long-term solutions for future success.

The report also highlights Amgen’s efforts to help the victims of a recent series of devastating natural disasters. In 2005, the Foundation, the company and staff members contributed $6.2 million through the Foundation Disaster Relief Program. The funds were used to provide urgent medical and basic assistance to people affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in August and September 2005, the massive earthquake that hit Pakistan in October 2005, and other natural disasters.

“The need in our communities -- local and global -- has been acute and at times overwhelming,” noted Foundation President Jean Lim in a message published in the report. “Fortunately, thousands of dedicated volunteers and staff at nonprofit organizations consistently step up to find solutions year-round and in times of disaster.”