Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC) today announces the appointment of Help for Heroes as its UK Charity of the Year for 2011-2012. Chosen by its own UK colleagues after a rigorous selection process, Marsh & McLennan Companies aims to raise £150,000 for Help for Heroes during the 18-month partnership.

Marsh & McLennan Companies’ support for Help for Heroes will be officially launched at the Company’s European Headquarters in London today by Captain Anthony Harris, who was injured in Afghanistan in 2009 while serving with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Help for Heroes raises money to support members of the UK Armed Forces who have been wounded or become sick in the service of their country. It provides direct, practical support by funding capital projects, making grants to delivery charities and providing individual benevolence to personnel and their families.

“Help for Heroes is all about doing your part, and Marsh & McLennan Companies’ pledge to support us as its new Charity of the Year is fantastic,” commented Bryn Parry OBE, Co-Founder and CEO of Help for Heroes. “We have no doubt that Marsh & McLennan Companies will hit its fundraising target with all the wonderful events its colleagues have planned.  On behalf of everyone at Help for Heroes and all those whom the money will benefit, thank you and enjoy the partnership ahead.”

Zara Adams, UK Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Marsh & McLennan Companies, added: “Our work at Marsh & McLennan Companies touches business, industry, society and people worldwide. The Charity of the Year programme is an excellent example of Marsh & McLennan Companies’ pledge to operate as a responsible corporate citizen and of our mission to partner with charitable organisations that allow us to make a positive impact in the communities in which we live and work. We are very proud to be working with Help for Heroes.”

Marsh & McLennan Companies’ previous Charity of the Year partnership with CLIC Sargent, an organisation which aims to ease the burden of childhood cancer on children, young people and their families, came to a close in June 2011.  

Lucy Caldicott, Director of Fundraising for CLIC Sargent said: “We would like to thank everyone at Marsh & McLennan Companies who has been involved in fundraising and has supported CLIC Sargent over the last 18 months. Thanks to their hard work and commitment, Marsh & McLennan Companies has exceeded its own fundraising target to raise an incredible £225,000. This donation will go directly to providing children and young people with cancer with the clinical, practical and emotional support they need.”

Marsh & McLennan Companies has made a strategic commitment to corporate citizenship, which encompasses the many ways the Company interacts with clients, colleagues and the communities in which it operates.  

The Company’s 2010 Corporate Citizenship Report, including information on its corporate social responsibility activities, is available at http://www.mmc.com/CorporateCitizenship/index.php

Additional information on the breadth and depth of the Company’s intellectual capital and how it partners with clients to solve the problems that complex enterprises face today, please visit www.PartneringImpact.com

About Help for Heroes             

Help for Heroes (H4H) has raised over £100m since its launch in October 2007.

All the funds raised to date are either allocated or spent on the direct, practical support of those wounded in the line of duty since 9/11. To date, H4H has funded a variety of projects including the £8m Rehabilitation Complex at Headley Court, a new £3.5m treatment centre for Combat Stress, adaptive adventure training through the Battle Back programme and the creation of a £6m Quick Reaction Fund to support individuals in need.

For more information: visit www.helpforheroes.org.uk.

About CLIC Sargent

Every day, 10 children and young people are told they have cancer, and diagnosis usually comes as a shock. CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people. It provides clinical, practical and emotional support for young cancer patients and their families, from diagnosis onwards. For more information visit www.clicsargent.org.uk or contact the press office on 020 8752 2812.