Browsing Category Participating Nonprofits

Spina Bifida Association of Central Florida

Posted on June 17, 2012 by admin

The Spina Bifida Association of Central Florida:

The Spina Bifida Association of Central Florida (SBACFL) is comprised of group of families and individuals with Spina Bifida, professionals and community volunteers, working to provide resources, educate, network, advocate and to bring about public awareness of Spina Bifida and folic acid’s role in reducing the risk of having a baby with Spina Bifida.

Where does the money go?

Spina Bifida Association of Central Florida depends upon public donations to support its mission to promote awareness about Spina Bifida and to enhance the lives of those affected. With your help we will continue to change lives through advocacy, education and public awareness, taking action to enrich the present and inspire hope for the future.

How does this benefit Central Floridians?

Spina Bifida is a neural tube defect that happens in the first month of pregnancy when the spinal column doesn’t close completely. It is the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States ; however, the effects of Spina Bifida are different for every person.

An average of eight (8) babies are born with Spina Bifida or a similar birth defect of the brain and spine each day. With the right care, babies born with Spina Bifida will grow up to reach their full potential.

There are 60 million women at risk of having a baby born with Spina Bifida.

The odds of having a baby with spina bifida is approximately 1 in 1,500. Some say it’s like winning the lottery a family never wants to win.

Each day in the U.S., an average of eight families welcome a child with spina bifida into the world.

Spina bifida is more common than muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and cystic fibrosis combined.

About 50 percent of babies with spina bifida are selectively aborted after being diagnosed with spina bifida.

Doctors recommend that every woman of childbearing age consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to help prevent neural tube defects like spina bifida up to 70 percent of the time. In spite of this, there are currently an estimated 166,000 people in the U.S. living with spina bifida.

About 90 percent of people with spina bifida are also born with hydrocephalus. Many need a shunt inserted near the brain to drain the excess cerebrospinal fluid – and many require multiple shunt replacements during their lives.

Click here to see upcoming events benefiting the Spina Bifida Association of Central Florida.

Yes! I want to support this organization!

Valencia Foundation

Posted on June 17, 2012 by admin

The Valencia Foundation:

Valencia College was named the top U.S. community college in the nation in 2011. The Aspen Institute awarded Valencia College the first annual Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence after a year-long effort to recognize excellence in the nation’s 1,200 community colleges, based on student performance and graduation data collected by the U.S. Department of Education.

Valencia Foundation‘s board comprises nearly 60 community leaders who volunteer their time and talents to support scholarships, faculty chairs and learning programs.

Of the top five reasons students cite for dropping out of college, four are financial. This makes Valencia’s work building scholarships especially urgent.

Where does the money go?

Gifts to the general scholarship fund for students in need have allowed the foundation to make education possible for thousands of students.

Because many of our students are working a full-time or several part-time jobs — as well as balancing family, community, volunteer and personal commitments — scholarships make a tremendous difference in their ability to attend college.

How does this benefit Central Floridians?

89.3% of Valencia AA graduates who transferred to the Florida State University System in Fall 2010 continued their studies at the University of Central Florida.

The average annual starting salary of a worker with an A.S. degree from Valencia is more than double that of a high school graduate – $36,372 versus $15,376. The average full-time salaries of A.S. grads also top what the average bachelor degree holder will make ($31,048).

Click here to see upcoming events that benefit Valencia Foundation.

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Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

Posted on June 17, 2012 by admin

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida:

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is a private, nonprofit organization that collects and distributes donated food to more than 500 nonprofit partner agencies in six Central Florida counties: Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia.

Is Hunger really a problem in Central Florida?

- Yes, last year we distributed more than 33 million pounds of grocery product, the equivalent of more than 21 million meals.

- Approximately 1 in 5 of our population—732,000 people—needed food assistance in Central Florida last year.

- On average, more than 55,000 different people receive assistance from SHFBCF each week

Where does the money go?

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida puts all donations to work through a variety of programs including:

- Collection & Distribution of Food

- Food Stamp application assistance

- Childhood Hunger - Hi-Five Kids Pack, Kid’s Café

- Second Helpings – Prepared and Perishable Food

- Fresh Produce

- Disaster Relief

For every $1 donated, up to $9 worth of grocery product is provided to those in need, and 96% of every dollar goes straight to feeding people.

How does this benefit Central Floridians?

- 47% of clients served are children.

- 20% of the households served have at least one member age 65 or older.

- 33% of households served have at least one working adult.

Click here to see upcoming events benefiting the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Check out the basket they are donating to raffle:

-3 day/2 night stay in a 2-bedroom villa at any Westgate Resort (excluding Westgate south beach)

-25 gift card for Elephant Bar

-2 GA Wine Women & Shoes Tickets (we don’t have our date set yet for next year.. working on a venue this month)

-Pair of stemless wine glasses (with second harvest and Wine Women & Shoes logo)

-Second Harvest Food Bank T-shirt

Yes! I want to support this organization!

Greater Orlando Heart Walk

Posted on June 17, 2012 by admin

The Greater Orlando Heart Walk:

Missions: By 2020, to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20 percent.

In 1999 the American Heart Association set a bold 10-year goal: To reduce coronary heart disease, stroke and risk by 25 percent by 2010. We achieved the reduction in deaths ahead of schedule and made substantial progress against three of the six risk factors. Because of this success, the Board of Directors approved a 2020 Impact Goal. This new goal looks beyond helping people reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke by focusing on helping them build stronger health and a better quality of life.

The Greater Orlando Heart Walk is a major fundraising event for the American Heart Association.

Where does the money go?

Improving patient care — We’re improving the quality of health care by creating best practices for treating heart disease and stroke. Our Get With The Guidelines hospital-based quality improvement program helps heart and stroke patients get the best treatment consistently. Mission: Lifeline helps patients with the most severe kind of heart attack get the specialized emergency services they need to survive.

Advocating for better health — Our nationwide volunteer network, You’re The Cure, advocates for key issues at the national, state and local levels such as requiring physical education in schools, clean air legislation and making AEDs mandatory in public buildings.

Reaching out to populations at risk — Blacks have higher risk and higher death rates from stroke than whites. Our Power To End Stroke education/awareness initiative helps African Americans share information to reduce their risk of stroke. More than 23,000 key opinion leaders, including mayors, professors, ministers and celebrities, have been recruited to be ambassadors working within their own community.

Raising awareness — Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women over age 25, but many women don’t make their own health a priority. Through Go Red For Women, we’re raising awareness among women about their risks and empowering them to protect their heart health.

Protecting the future — Nearly one in three children and teens in the United States is overweight or obese. As a result, more kids than ever before are developing high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. We are helping kids develop lifelong healthy habits and working to make sure that today’s children can grow up to be tomorrow’s healthy adults.

Educating Americans — We save lives every day by offering information and education. We pioneered CPR and millions of Americans use our patient education materials and online tools to help themselves and their loved ones live longer, healthier lives.

How does this benefit Central Floridians?

Putting up-to-the-minute research into doctors’ hands so they can better prevent and treat heart disease among patients.

Groundbreaking pediatric heart and stroke research.About 36,000 babies are born with heart defects each year —research is the key to saving babies’ lives.

Getting life-saving information to those who need it most – information that can save a life, like how to eat better, how to recognize the warning signs of heart attack, and how to talk to a doctor about critical health choices.

Click here to see upcoming events benefiting the American Heart Association.

Yes! I want to support this organization!

The Orlando Science Center

Posted on June 17, 2012 by admin

The Orlando Science Center

The Orlando Science Center is one of America’s top hands-on science centers where learning is always fun. Located in Orlando, interactive learning and discovery await within the center’s hundreds of exhibits, programs and labs, giant screen films and planetarium shows. What’s more the Orlando Science Center showcases the following:

-300-seat Dr. Phillips CineDome featuring giant screen films and planetarium shows

-Seasonal viewing of the cosmos via the Crosby Observatory, home to one of the state’s largest publicly accessible refractor telescopes

-Hundreds of exciting hands-on exhibits designed to meet national, state and local science and math curricula; based on constructivist learning theory; and correlate with Florida’s Sunshine State Standards and National Science Standards

Where does the money go?

The Orlando Science Center is a private non-profit organization with 501c(3) status. The Orlando Science Center provides educational opportunities in and out of the center’s walls, including field trips, family science nights at schools and community centers, and other outreach.

How does this benefit Central Floridians?

STEM – it’s the hot topic in the education world and for good reason.

The acronym that has educators, parents and politicians abuzz, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is considered the cornerstone to our prosperity as a nation. As the world’s economy continues to be increasingly fueled by knowledge and innovation, it is vital that the workforce be well-educated in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. With that said, the United States is in the middle of a STEM crisis.

The Orlando Science Center is taking a stand in the efforts to revitalize STEM education in our community. Through informal science learning, kids can take interest in STEM fields through fun, engaging ways. By simply generating excitement for science everyone can win, as a child takes this new found appreciation and explores it at home and school.

The need for a strong, STEM-educated workforce is greater than it’s ever been. The percentage of science and engineering degrees awarded annually peaked in the 1960′s. Locally, the problem is even more magnified: only 20% of the degrees awarded in Central Florida are based in STEM fields, compared to 30% nationally.

To put it in perspective, 60 percent of the new jobs created this century will require skills that only 20 percent of the current workforce possesses.

Jobs now and in the future will depend on the bright minds of today’s youth in these subjects. In fact, 28 of the 30 fastest growing occupations projected for 2018 require strong proficiency in the skills of math and science.

Our ultimate goal at the Science Center is to create a STEM-centered community that paves the way towards excellence in science, technology, engineering and math. Whether you encounter us here in the facility with your family, with your Scout organization, on a field trip, or even through one of our off-site school programs, our goal is the same – to show people that exploring these critical areas in an informal way can be fun, exciting and even inspiring

Click here to see current and upcoming events that benefit the Orlando Science Center.

Yes! I want to support this organization!

United Arts of Central Florida

Posted on June 17, 2012 by admin

The United Arts of Central Florida:

United Arts of Central Florida is a dynamic collaboration of 164 businesses, 8 governments and school districts, 38 foundations, more than 50 arts and cultural organizations, and 3,188 artists and individuals. This partnership works to enhance the quality and variety of cultural experiences available throughout Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. Since its inception in 1989, United Arts has invested more than $117 million in local cultural organizations and cultural education. United Arts envisions a diverse, well-attended, fiscally sound arts and cultural community that serves residents and visitors to the Central Florida region.

Where does the money go?

Donations to United Arts of Central Florida support more than 50 arts, culture, history and science organizations, nearly 586,000 student experiences in arts education programs and hundreds of artists and arts administrators. Contributed dollars provide more than 2 million cultural experiences to residents and visitors in the Central Florida community. This includes larger arts and cultural organizations that receive general operating support from United Arts and smaller organizations that receive project grant funding. In addition, United Arts provides individual artists grants and arts education through contract service agreements.

Only about one-third of the amount required to keep the doors open at our arts and cultural institutions comes from ticket sales and sponsorships. United Arts provides ongoing support that is not earmarked for special activities. This operating support often complements community outreach programs, educational activities and helps keep ticket prices affordable for everyone.

How does this benefit Central Floridians?

Our Children: United Arts facilitates arts and cultural education programming that reaches students (grades K-12) in public schools within Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. This programming is conducted by the major cultural organizations of the region and is funded through government contracts as well as foundation and corporate support. This past year, funding through United Arts supported nearly 586,000 student experiences.

Our Economy: Arts and cultural organizations help define the ultimate value of our community and add to the image, reputation and quality of life of our community and for every dollar spent on the arts, approximately $10 in revenue is generated in related revenue to restaurants, hotels, retail sales, transportation, space rental and parking fees.

Our Community: The $117 million raised helps our cultural organizations reach into four counties and offer classes, performances, concerts, art appreciation programs, exhibits, dance lessons and more.

Click here to see ongoing and upcoming events for United Arts.

Yes! I want to support this organization!