Responding to the Health Impact of Hurricanes

While the tragedy and loss suffered by the Harvey and Irma hurricanes has been heartbreaking, the outpouring of support as communities come together has been equally inspiring.

Community Health Charities’ Disaster Response fund meets the short and long-term health and mental health needs of those impacted by crisis.

Funds raised will provide emergency medicines and medical services to meet long-term needs related to health and mental and emotional wellbeing. Long-term recovery and rebuilding takes time and resources, as it is more than supplies and buildings—it’s rebuilding people’s lives.

Read about the efforts of our charity partners in the wake of the storms, plus review preparedness resources during National Preparedness Month. Lastly, read this BBB Wise Giving Alliance article featuring Community Health Charities and many of our charity partners as trusted, accredited charities for Hurricane Irma relief.

Help Prevent Suicide

“I don’t think of it as courage,” said Peter Dudley, Community Health Charities board member, on sharing his family’s struggle with suicide. September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, October 5th is National Depression Screen Day, and October 10th is World Mental Health Day. Use this time to share your story, support those in need, and review our mental health resources.

Perk Place Cafe Caffeinates for a Cause

Jeff and Natalie Meyer opened Perk Place three years ago in Oklahoma City with a simple business model: giving back. Each of Perk Place’s locations donates 25 cents of every transaction to its designated charity.

Along with the primary charity, Perk Place highlights a different nonprofit every month. The coffee is free from 7 to 8 AM, encouraging patrons to donate to the “generosity jar” in honor of the chosen charity. Perk Place has partnered with Community Health Charities to spotlight a variety of our charity partners; the shop has collected an average of $400 for our charity partners’ every month one is highlighted.

In the words of Perk Place, “generosity rules.”

Read the full story.

Welcome to our Newest Charity Partners

Community Health Charities is excited to welcome its newest charity partners: Cancer Support Community Central Ohio, Crescent Cove, Cure SMA Illinois Chapter, Gildas Club Metro Detroit, KOA Care Camps, Maine Cancer Foundation, Paralyzed Veterans of America, San Jose Firefighters Burn Foundation, Sickle Cell Disease Association of Florida, Inc., and Veterans4Warriors.

Make a Small Change for a Big Result

What you eat and how you live affects more than weight: USDA research indicates that a healthy diet full of nutritious food plays a part in preventing chronic disease.

Whether you’re making school lunches or healthy changes to your lifestyle, it’s hard to make a big change all at once. To get started, try these four small changes, provided by the Choose My Plate campaign, to make your health and long-term wellbeing a priority.

Pet Partners Provides Emotional Support and Wagging Tails

Pet Partners, a Community Health Charities charity partner, utilized their furry employees to bring comfort to those recovering from Hurricane Harvey: trained therapy dogs visited a relief site in Victoria, Texas to provide emotional support to those in need.

Read how more of our charity partners make an impact.

9News Recognizes Denver Heroes at Work

At Community Health Charities’ 7^th Annual Health Heroes at Work Recognition Breakfast on August 18 in Denver, attendees celebrated Colorado’s commitment to building stronger, healthier communities and enjoyed breakfast at the Studio Loft at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Don Parsons, a retired surgeon general working at 9Health Fair, was the 2017 Health Hero of the Year. Winners of the 2017 Campaign Excellence Award included Great-West Financial, Kaiser-Permanente, King Soopers/City Market, and TIAA. Winners of the 2017 Campaign Success Award included Pinnacol Assurance, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Hyatt Regency Denver. The event was emceed by 9News anchor Corey Rose with special remarks by Beth Bowlen, daughter of Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen.

Check out the 9 News Denver story and read more about the event.

Stay Safe During Wildfires

Wildfires are burning across the west coast, affecting both the communities witnessing active fire and those surrounding them—a 2011 study found that two thirds of the United States was affected by smoke-induced air conditions. The fine particles dispersed into the air during fire are linked to a range of health conditions, ranging from burning eyes to aggravating chronic heart and lung diseases.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends those living in areas affected by smoke and worsened air conditions take active steps during wildfires.

U.S. News and World Report and Fox Business Feature Community Health Charities

Community Health Charities was recently featured in the news for our anti-bullying campaign and workplace engagement initiatives. Read the articles here.

New Board Members Welcomed at September Meeting

The Community Health Charities Board of Directors’ September 14 meeting introduced four new board members: Peter Dudley, Erin Gollhofer, Xiaoteng Huang, and Tiffany Reeves.

Volunteer Toolbox: Blankets of Comfort

Community Health Charities has easy onsite volunteer opportunities for your employees. This month’s featured tool is Blankets of Comfort—make a simple 5-step blanket to provide warmth and comfort to children and adults in the hospital, transitional housing, or homeless shelters.

This volunteer opportunity, and many more, are available in our “Volunteer On the Spot” toolkit.

Additionally, find volunteer opportunities by zip code and keyword through our online search.

Campaign Resources: Casual for a Cause

Check out Community Health Charities’ library of campaign resources to help engage your employees and advance the causes you care about. This month’s featured resource is Grand-ola Wrappers: thank your employees who support workplace giving campaigns with granola bars in grand-ola wrappers celebrating their compassion, commitment, and dedication.

For more details and to explore the rest of our campaign tools, ideas, and guidelines, check out our Campaign Resources.