WALTHAM, Mass., April 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is celebrating National Volunteer Week April 10-16 — a week to honor people who dedicate themselves to active community engagement.

Across the country and throughout the year, Raytheon employees are involved in a variety of outreach efforts around STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, armed services support and local community projects. These efforts provide positive results for many people, including those in Raytheon's communities.

Raytheon employees tracked thousands of hours in 2010, more than doubling their reported support as compared with 2009, by mentoring and tutoring students, delivering care packages to troops overseas and enriching their communities through local activities.

"Raytheon encourages volunteering because it supports our commitment to corporate responsibility," said William H. Swanson, Raytheon Chairman and CEO. "Volunteering reflects Raytheon's values of focusing on people, integrity, commitment and excellence. Our employees are so passionate, dedicated and caring, and they have quite an impact in all our communities."

Specific examples of Raytheon's efforts include:

• STEM initiatives: Raytheon sponsors and participates in numerous math and science education programs, including its own MathMovesU® program. Since its inception in 2005, MathMovesU has touched the lives of more than 1 million students, teachers and parents through interactive learning programs, contests, live events, scholarships and tutoring programs.
• Armed services support: In late 2010, Raytheon provided the Wounded Warrior Project with the organization's largest-ever financial grant of $2.5 million over five years. The grant supports the project's various education initiatives, including the expansion of current, multi-tiered information technology training programs with an added focus on developing new cybersecurity training opportunities. The grant also supports employment assistance services, including the Transition Training Academy and Warriors to Work programs.

These services empower candidates to learn new career skills with real-world application opportunities and connect veterans with resources that help match soldiers' skills with appropriate employers. Regionally, Raytheon employees box and send hundreds of care packages to troops overseas and are some of the first to greet soldiers arriving back to the U.S. with our "Welcome Home" and "Send Off" teams positioned at local airports and community facilities.

• Local community outreach: Raytheon volunteers engage in hundreds of local community outreach events ranging from sustainability efforts such as river cleanups to cause-related events including Project Bread's Walk for Hunger — an annual pledge walk to raise money toward alleviating local hunger — and the Special Olympics Massachusetts, which provides year-round sports training and athletic competitions for people with intellectual disabilities.

Other partnerships and initiatives include the FIRST® Robotics Competition, MATHCOUNTS® National Competition, the "Science of Sports" Science Fair partnership between Raytheon and the New England Patriots, support of the Fisher House Foundation and partnerships with local sports teams to offer event tickets to service members and their families.

Raytheon Company, with 2010 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 89 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

www.raytheon.com

Contact:
Corinne Kovalsky
781.522.5144
corporatepr@raytheon.com

SOURCE Raytheon Company