Marfan syndrome affects an estimated 1 in 5,000 people regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender, and experts estimate��that nearly half the people who have Marfan syndrome do not know it.�� Without proper diagnosis and treatment, they are at high risk for an aortic dissection and sudden death.��

Awareness of Marfan syndrome and related conditions leads to early diagnosis, treatment, and an extended lifespan. The most powerful way we can raise awareness is through you, our volunteers. Your circles of relatives, friends, co-workers, and neighbors, your knowledge, your personal journey, and your commitment cannot be matched by anyone outside of our community.

February is Marfan Awareness Month and you can do your part from the comfort of your own home on social media. Join ������Ƶ’s Charities and our member, The Marfan Foundation, by participating in the during February.��

1. Give through your workplace: You can��. Check with your employer to see if they will double your donation with a matching gift. Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team about bring employee giving to your workplace.��
2. Raise aweareness: Help The Marfan Foundation raise awareness about Marfan syndrome by using the library of ready-to-use social media graphics .
3. Educate Yourself:��This month, The Marfan Foundation has��two webinars on the basics of Marfan syndrome. On February 9, we will focus on medical management with two members of our Professional Advisory Board, Dr. Shaine Morris, pediatric cardiologist, Texas Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Chris Malaisrie, aortic surgeon, Northwestern Medicine (). Then, on February 16, we will have a Personal Perspectives Panel with members of the Marfan community talking about how they coped when first diagnosed. ().

There are many ways for you to take part in Marfan Awareness Month and every little bit helps. for a list of more ways to support The Marfan Foundation.

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You can����to the charities listed below.��Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team about bring employee giving to your workplace.��

In recognition of Cancer Prevention Month, which takes place in February each year, join us by��supporting and raising awareness about these��nonprofits��who are:

• Working to advance research to prevent cancer
• Educating people about how they can prevent cancer and detect it early
• Engaging lawmakers and regulators through��advocacy to promote the enactment of laws and regulations that support cancer prevention and research

Click on each charity listed here to learn more about what they are doing to prevent cancer:

• Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance
• Melanoma Research Alliance
• CureSearch
• Breast Cancer Coalition
• Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

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In honor of��, click on each of ������Ƶ’s Charities’ nonprofit members below to learn about their past contributions to this country and ways they continue to shape and make history:

• NAACP
• NAACP Legal & Defense Fund
• Thurgood Marshall College Fund
• 100 Black Men of ������Ƶ
• ACLU Foundation
• The National Black Child Development Institute
• The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)
• Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
• YMCA of Metropolitan Washington

Throughout the month of February, we encourage you to:

1. Join us in celebrating Black History Month!��Follow us on and as we share our members’ posts and highlight the black community’s contributions, culture, and��impact on ������Ƶ.

2. Donate & raise money for these nonprofits��whose work has and continues to pave the way for��inclusion, civil rights,��equity in justice, education, and a better tomorrow. ������Ƶ’s Charities is proud of the work our member charities do in these respective areas.��One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits��is to donate to them via payroll deduction through your employer’s workplace giving program (Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team.) Click below on each charity’s name to learn more about their work, and please donate to them through��employee giving!

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While poverty is a complex social issue, you can��.��Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team about bring employee giving to your workplace.��Each of the nonprofits listed below, vetted by ������Ƶ’s Charities, are dedicated to helping the impoverished through programs and services concentrated on addressing the root sources of poverty��and��working to create sound policy frameworks locally and nationally that will help lift our fellow neighbors, family members, and friends out of poverty so they can��live independent, sustainable lives and contribute to the community.

In recognition of National Poverty in ������Ƶ Awareness Month, which takes place in January each year, join us by��supporting and raising awareness about these��nonprofits��who are making a difference in the fight to stamp out poverty for good.

Provide��food and��support��through community coordination:��

• Connecticut Food Bank
• Feeding ������Ƶ
• Food for Others, Inc.��
• Meals on Wheels ������Ƶ
• Share Our Strength (No Kid Hungry)

Provide��food, shelter, counseling and support:��

• Feed the Children
• Miriam’s Kitchen
• Salvation Army National Capital Area

Support for individuals and families struggling with poverty:��

• A Wider Circle
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, Inc.
• Christian Appalachian Project��
• Lorton Community Action Center
• The Shepherd’s Table

Provide affordable housing and support:����

• Good Shepherd Housing��
• Rebuilding Together Alexandria
• Rebuilding Together Montgomery County

Fight for Economic Justice and Equality:

• ACLU
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• NAACP
• NAACP LDF

Provide Access to Education and Support Disadvantaged Youth:

• Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF)����
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Scholarship Fund – Point Foundation��
• Generation Hope��
• 100 Black Men of ������Ƶ��
• The Child & Family Network Centers (CFNC)

��

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Whether your program was started 10 months or 10 years ago, periodically stepping back to take stock of your #EmployeeVolunteer program is important to align with your corporate vision and offer��opportunities that make your program truly meaningful.

Every year, millions of people come together to volunteer during the holiday season, on the federal Martin Luther King, Jr., Day holiday (which is also known as the MLK Day of Service), as well as during the month of April when individuals and organizations across the country celebrate National Volunteer Month.��This generosity is a cornerstone of giving and it’s important to celebrate the impact volunteers have on our lives and encourages active volunteerism in generations to come, but��volunteerism has to grow beyond those specific times of the year if we are to meet the critical needs of communities. Happily, employers across the country have come to understand the role they can play in supporting their employees who want to volunteer and building social impact through workplace volunteer programs.

Volunteering is the number one motivation for employee donors, even ahead of matching charitable contributions,��so it’s not surprising to see more companies establishing employee volunteer programs as a way to engage employees and fulfill their community impact goals. As we have shared before, employee volunteer programs offer many advantages to employers and employees, including better recruiting top talent, increasing employee satisfaction and retention, focusing on employee wellness, developing skills, and much more.

Whether your program was started ten months or ten years ago, periodically stepping back to take stock of your corporate volunteer program is important to ensure you are aligning with your corporate vision and offering opportunities – to your employees and nonprofit partners – that make your volunteerism program truly meaningful. Workplace volunteer leaders should step back and ask, ‘What kind of impact is my employee volunteer program (sometimes called an EVP) actually having?’ ‘Are the outcomes what I expected – and what I want?’ ‘Why was my EVP initially started?’ ‘Does it still align with my company’s, employees’, and nonprofit partners’ values?’ ‘What opportunities do I have to expand my program and ensure meaningful, even transformational, experiences?’

How do you know if your program is falling short or needs a reboot?

If you notice that your program is experiencing one or more of the following conditions, it might be time to take a step back and revamp your program:

• Declining rates of employee participation
• Poor or declining�� scores on employee satisfaction surveys
• Nonprofit partners are declining to invite your company to participate in multiple engagements
• Employees have little or no say in identifying and planning volunteering projects
• Projects don’t align with your employees’ skills
• Projects don’t fully align with your corporate values

If your business needs to reboot its EVP, you have many options, as outlined in ������Ƶ’s Charities’ new guide, “How to Elevate Employee Engagement and Community Impact Through Workplace Volunteer Programs.” If your company is new to employee volunteering and has never had a program before, we recommend our guide, “5 Key Steps to Starting an Employee Volunteer Program” for tips and guidance on what to consider before you get started.

Offering a workplace volunteer program in and of itself will not serve as a magic elixir for improving employee satisfaction and burnishing your company’s brand. “Thoughtful planning and execution are��essential to having a powerful impact on corporate culture and helping socially-minded companies make a major difference in their communities. The types of opportunities and incentives offered to employees, the frequency and duration in which opportunities are offered, and the technology and communications used to facilitate, track, and promote those opportunities all contribute to an employee volunteer program’s ultimate success and impact,” said Jim Starr, president and CEO of ������Ƶ’s Charities.

To embed social purpose throughout your business and to empower employees to be change agents in their community, your company needs to develop and carry out a strategy that is aligned with your organization’s values and goals, encourages employee ownership, enlists the right partners, and leverages the right technology. Click here for best practices and examples from corporate and nonprofit professionals who have authentically engaged employees and successfully derived meaningful impact through their volunteer programs and community partnerships.

The generosity of individuals volunteering during the holidays and on #MLKDay is a cornerstone of giving, yet volunteerism has to grow beyond those specific times of year if we are to meet the critical needs of communities.�� #EmployeeVolunteer

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In recognition of National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month November 1-30, 2024, ������Ƶ’s Charities is celebrating the following members who are making a difference in the fight to end Alzheimer’s Disease.

One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits��is to donate to them via payroll deduction through your employer’s workplace giving program (Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team.) Click on each charity’s name below to learn more about their work, and to make a donation now!

Alzheimer’s – Insight Memory Care Center
Provides care, support, and education for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory impairments, their families, caregivers, and the community, through their adult day health and resource center.

Alzheimer’s Disease Research
Advances research to better understand, treat, and prevent Alzheimer’s. Founded in 1985, Alzheimer’s Disease Research has awarded nearly $120 million to innovative projects aimed at ending the disease.

FNIH (Foundation for the National Institutes of Health)
Generates and implements new research models that lower the cost and accelerate the progress of biomedical research through public-private partnerships. One of the many groundbreaking initiatives FNIH manages is the Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI).��The��, is a landmark partnership and study that for years has profoundly influenced our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by identifying the earliest changes in brain structure and function that signal its onset and progression.

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In recognition of National Scholarship Month/National Education Month November 1-30, 2024, ������Ƶ’s Charities is celebrating the following members who are raising awareness for scholarship and higher education opportunities.

One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits��is to donate to them via payroll deduction through your employer’s workplace giving program (Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team.) Click on each charity’s name below to learn more about their work, and to make a donation now!

Encourages��students to pursue higher education and provides��college readiness and career preparation resources and support:��

• Latino Youth Arts Education Fund –��(LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc.)
• Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF)

Provides��access to mentoring and training for disadvantaged youth:

• 100 Black Men of ������Ƶ
• The Child & Family Network Centers (CFNC)

Empowers students and provides scholarships:��

• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Scholarship Fund – Point Foundation

Provides��support for students pursuing a college education:��

• Generation Hope

Provides lodging and creates stable homes:

• A Wider Circle

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This National Veterans and Military Families Month, ������Ƶ’s Charities is honoring our troops and veterans, and celebrating our nonprofit members who support them with special programs and services made possible��by donors like you.

One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits��is to donate to them through your employer’s workplace giving program (Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team.) Click on each charity’s name below to learn more about their work, and for more ways to support them!

ServiceSource
ServiceSource is a leading nonprofit disability resource organization with regional offices and programs located in nine states and the District of Columbia. They serve more than 25,000 individuals with disabilities annually through a range of innovative and valued employment, training, habilitation, housing and other support services. Through their Warrior Bridge program, they provide a vital connection to resources and support for veterans with disabilities as they seek employment, self-sufficiency and improved quality of life. In response to an overwhelming need for coordination among veteran-serving organizations, Warrior Bridge works to facilitate greater collaboration among government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private sector employers. ��to learn more and support their work.

Wounded Warrior Project, Inc.
Wounded Warrior Project, Inc. is transforming the way ������Ƶ’s injured veterans are empowered, employed, and engaged in our communities. They believe that every warrior has a positive future to look forward to, and we work together to get them there by setting and achieving goals, big or small. We direct every dollar, hour, and action toward helping warriors live life to the fullest, no matter what that looks like. And warriors never pay a penny for our programs – because they paid their dues on the battlefield. Their free services in mental health, career counseling, and long-term rehabilitative care change lives. They’re committed to helping wounded veterans achieve their highest ambition. When veterans are ready to start their next mission, they stand ready to serve.����to learn more and support their work.

Feeding ������Ƶ
1 in 5 of the households Feeding ������Ƶ serves have a veteran member in it. It is unacceptable that anyone goes hungry, but it’s particularly troubling that millions of ������Ƶns who’ve protected and served our country are left without enough to eat.��At Feeding ������Ƶ, they’re working on changing that.��. Veterans fought bravely to make the nation a better place for us, now it’s time for us to fight to make it a better place for them.

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In recognition of National Homeless Youth Awareness Month November 1-30, 2024, ������Ƶ’s Charities is celebrating the following member who is making a difference in the fight to end youth homelessness.

One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits��is to donate to them via payroll deduction through your employer’s workplace giving program (Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team.) Click on the��charity name below to learn more about their work, and to make a donation now!

STANDUP FOR KIDS
STANDUP FOR KIDS aims to end the cycle of youth homelessness through outreach efforts and programs to find, stabilize and assist homeless and street kids in their efforts to improve their lives. Resources include basic hygiene/food/clothing, healthcare, counseling/mentoring, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Their networking��outreach program helps at-risk youth by providing them with a variety of organizations and people in their community who can help them with everything from legal services to identification services to employment services. Current programs include street outreach, outreach centers, apartment outreach, and a high school mentoring program.

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In recognition of Diabetes Awareness Month November 1-30, 2024, ������Ƶ’s Charities is celebrating the following members who are making a difference in the fight to end diabetes.

One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits��is to donate to them via payroll deduction through your employer’s workplace giving program (Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team.) Click on each charity’s name below to learn more about their work, and to make a donation now!

Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation
Funds scientific research into treating and curing diabetes, as well as providing��screenings and��education programs to save lives from blindness, kidney failure, and amputations.

Diabetes Research Institute Foundation
Funds and supports research aimed at developing��a biological cure by restoring natural insulin production and normalizing blood sugar levels without imposing other risks.

Feeding ������Ƶ
A��nationwide network of 200 member food banks that provide food to more than 46 million people, including 12 million children and 7 million seniors, through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs and engage more than 2 million volunteers monthly in communities across the U.S.��Feeding ������Ƶ has conducted deep research into Diabetes and focuses on nutrition to prevent Diabetes and other diseases tied to poor quality diet.

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• They believe their partner really is sorry and does care about them
• Their low self esteem leads them to believe that no one else would want to be with them
• It’s dangerous to leave, so they are too afraid to take action
• They feel responsible for the way their loved one acts
• Between shared kids, pets, and finances, they feel they can’t leave

Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October each year) is a time��to remember and honor loved ones who have lost their lives at the hands of a person they once loved and trusted. And it’s a time to raise awareness about the crime of domestic violence and��recognize our collective efforts to end violence.

In recognition of #DomesticViolenceAwareness Month, ������Ƶ’s Charities is recognizing the following agents of change who we are proud to call our members. These nonprofits are dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence, preventing gun violence,��and providing��victims with a safe place they can go to escape abuse and gain independence for a fresh start at a healthy, safe, and happy life.

One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits��is to donate to them via payroll deduction through your employer’s workplace giving program (Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team.) Click on each charity’s name below to learn more about their work, and to make a donation now!

House of Ruth

Founded in 1976 as ������Ƶ’s first women’s shelter, House of Ruth’s mission is to help women, children and families in greatest need and with very limited resources build safe, stable lives and achieve their highest potential. At eleven residential locations, a developmental day care facility, and a free domestic violence counseling center, they serve more than 1,000 women and children every year. Learn more.

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence��(PCADV)

PCADV, a collaborative membership organization, joins with 59 local programs to deliver a continuum of services, support and systems change to help nearly 90,000 victims and survivors annually find safety, obtain justice and build lives free of abuse. While local domestic violence programs offer direct service to those in need, PCADV provides the infrastructure, support, expertise, and training to make their work effective. Learn more.

WOMEN’S WAY

WOMEN’S WAY inspires and mobilizes the community to invest in organizations and leaders that will advance the rights of, and opportunities for, women and girls, and achieve gender equity for all. A community foundation focused on grant-making, research, and education benefiting women and girls in the Greater Philadelphia region, WOMEN’S WAY identifies��needs, shares��knowledge, convenes��the community, and builds��awareness to challenge social inequities. Learn more.

Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence

For more than 40 years, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence has been the leading national voice in the prevention of gun violence, effecting meaningful change through policy, legal action, and increased public awareness of the risks and dangers of having guns in the home.��The mission of the Brady Center is to reduce gun violence by 25% by 2025 through a tripartite strategy that incorporates litigation, legislation, and education. Their strategy focuses on the common ground shared by most ������Ƶns: we need to keep guns out of the hands of those who would use them to harm themselves or others. Learn more.

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In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month October 1-31, 2022, ������Ƶ’s Charities is celebrating the following members who are making a difference in the fight to end breast cancer.

One of the most cost-efficient ways you can support these nonprofits��is to donate to them via payroll deduction through your employer’s workplace giving program (Don’t have a program?����to have your employer contact our team.) Click on each charity’s name below to learn more about their work, and to make a donation now!

Breast Cancer Coalition��– Since its inception in 1991, The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) has had a mission to end breast cancer through the power of grassroots action and advocacy.��NBCC links hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of individuals into a dynamic, diverse coalition that gives breast cancer a meaningful voice in Washington, DC, and state capitals, in laboratories and health care institutions, and in local communities everywhere. NBCC’s member organizations range from small support groups to statewide and regional nonprofits to organizations with a national reach. They come together under NBCC’s umbrella for public policy, education and training, and new models of science.

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