Who doesn’t know Walgreens?  For those of us living in South Florida, this chain of drug stores is found on almost every corner and stocks everything from vitamins to beach chairs!

Walgreens and Care Resource have teamed up to collect donations for the 24th annual AIDS Walk Miami.  Come into any Walgreens in South Florida between March 27 and April 22 and you will see a $1 donation program on display at all cash registers and store entrances.

Walgreens is the largest drug retailing chain in the United States.   The company operates 8,275 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901 by Charles Walgreen Sr., Walgreens is currently headquartered in the nearby suburb of Deerfield, Illinois.

Walgreens Believes “Life is Local”

To help keep Walgreens connected to the neighborhoods it serves, the company created the Community Leader position.

"Life is local," says executive vice president of operations and community management Mark Wagner. "We need those community leaders to be an active part of their neighborhood by joining the PTA, or getting to know the city council and being involved."

1,300 Community Leaders identify and create local events each year. From toy drives, to fund raising walks like AIDS Walk Miami, to informing neighbors about the importance of protecting themselves from the flu, Walgreens is building upon its long-standing tradition of community pharmacy.

Did you know this about Walgreens?

• Walgreens claims credit for the popularization of the milkshake in 1922.  This development coincided with the invention of the electric blender in the same year.
• In 1968 Walgreens became the first major drug chain to put its prescriptions into child-resistant containers, long before it was required by law.
• In 1975 Walgreens reached $1 billion in sales.
• In 1982 next-day photos became available chain-wide.
• In 1992 Walgreens opened its first drugstore with a drive-thru pharmacy.
• In 2002 Walgreens became the first drugstore chain to offer prescription labels in multiple languages. Today, labels can be printed in one of 14 languages — Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese and English.
• On February 17, 2010, Walgreens announced plans to acquire New York City-area chain Duane Reade for $1.075 billion.  Walgreens continues to operate locations in the New York City metropolitan area under the Duane Reade

Thank you Walgreens! For more information, please visit www.walgreens.com