A big thank you to all our donors and corporate partners who participated in the Fall 2012 Workplace Giving campaign. Your generous contributions continue to support Maryland's most trusted health charities!
Here are 5 reasons why your donation to Community Health Charities of Maryland and its 52 local member charities makes such a significant impact:
1. Did you know? 1,490,566 Marylanders are served annually by Community Health Charities of Maryland member health organizations.
2. More than half of Americans suffer from one or more chronic diseases.Chronic diseases account for 70% of all deaths in the U.S.
3. Consider this! On average, in a company with 100 employees:
25 have cardiovascular disease
12 have asthma
6 have diabetes
26 have high blood pressure
30 have high cholesterol
21 smoke
31 use alcohol excessively
44 suffer from stress
4. More than 50 million people provide care for a chronically ill, disabled, or aged family member or friend during any given year.
5. For the cost of...
$1 per two-week pay period, you can send a child with epilepsy to a morning of summer camp.
$10, you can provide diabetes risk tests to 500 individuals.
$200, you support 1 month of dialysis medication for a patient.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2012 CORPORATE AWARD RECIPIENTS!
Mental Health America – a proud member charity of Community
Health Charities and the leading advocacy organization addressing the full
spectrum of mental and substance use conditions and their effects nationwide –
works to inform, advocate and enable access to quality behavioral health
services for all Americans.
Mental Health America continues its tradition of celebrating
May as Mental Health Month, which began in 1949 to raise awareness of mental
health conditions and mental wellness for all.
Community Health Integrated Partnership, Inc. Community Health Integrated Partnership provides affordable, quality medical, pre-natal/delivery, dental, prescription drug and preventative healthcare services to children, women and men throughout Maryland.
At the age of 10, Taylor Harbin was diligently working toward a three year goal of Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He began complaining of aches and pains in his joints which his parents attributed to the many hours of practice. As time progressed, he began to refuse his little brother’s request to go outside and play. Eventually the pain progressed until he could not get out of bed by himself.
At the age of 10, Taylor Harbin was diligently working toward a three year goal of Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He began complaining of aches and pains in his joints which his parents attributed to the many hours of practice. As time progressed, he began to refuse his little brother’s request to go outside and play. Eventually the pain progressed until he could not get out of bed by himself. At the end of the year fairly severe pain in his arms caused his parents to take him to their pediatrician. He was referred to a pediatric rheumatologist and diagnosed with polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
It took about three years of balancing the severe side effects against the effectiveness of the medications before the optimal regimen was achieved. Currently, Taylor takes three injections per week and according to him a “plate full of pills” each day. He has required extensive physical and occupational therapy as well as on going lab tests. Taylor lives in a rural area of Kentucky and travels about 5 ½ hours to Cincinnati to see a pediatric rheumatologist (unavailable where he lives). The effects of the disease and its treatment have altered his ability to participate in many physical activities he had previously enjoyed including baseball and Tae Kwon Do.
Now 18, Taylor is a very accepting young man and rarely complains about the many symptoms and inconveniences that accompany this disease. His positive attitude is one of hope and perseverance. He and his family have demonstrated their unending concern and desire to make a difference by serving as volunteers and advocates to the Arthritis Foundation since his diagnosis.
The Harbin family was new to the world of advocacy and unsure of how their voice could impact the decision makers in Washington, DC at the 2005 Arthritis Advocacy Summit. One of their assignments for the Ohio River Valley Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation was to visit Representative Edward Whitfield(R), a member of the House Appropriations Committee from Kentucky to ask for his support of the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act. Their trip was funded from an Arthritis Foundation family scholarship with hopes high that they could make a difference.
Upon returning home, Mrs. Harbin made follow-up calls to everyone they had visited in conjunction with a local newspaper article about Taylor and his Washington trip. Congressman Ed Whitfield’s office called back to tell her that he was going to sign on the bill. Why? I will quote the
Congressman’s assistant, “Your child told us his story and it made a real difference for us.” Remember, one individual can still make a significant difference!
Mental Health America – a proud member charity of Community
Health Charities and the leading advocacy organization addressing the full
spectrum of mental and substance use conditions and their effects nationwide –
works to inform, advocate and enable access to quality behavioral health
services for all Americans.
At the age of 10, Taylor Harbin was diligently working toward a three year goal of Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He began complaining of aches and pains in his joints which his parents attributed to the many hours of practice. As time progressed, he began to refuse his little brother’s request to go outside and play. Eventually the pain progressed until he could not get out of bed by himself. At the end of the year fairly severe pain in his arms caused his parents to take him to their pediatrician. He was referred to a pediatric rheumatologist and diagnosed with polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. 
