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Top Ten Best Health Charities 2002
American Association on Mental Retardation The American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR) advocates for persons with developmental disabilities, encouraging awareness and positive attitudes among the public as well as full societal inclusion. AAMR works to increase opportunities and access to health, education, and vocational services for individuals with intellectual disabilities and provides assistance to families and other caregivers, among other activities. AAMR is based in Washington, D.C.
American Kidney Fund The American Kidney Fund (AKF) is dedicated to helping kidney patients in need with financial assistance. The AKF also operates several education programs to raise awareness of kidney failure and provide information about prevention, including the African American Outreach Program. Other programs are specially designed to teach coping skills and provide information on treatments and lifestyle changes for kidney patients and their families. Based in Rockville, Maryland, AKF is also committed to promoting organ donation.
Birth Defect Research for Children, Inc. Birth Defect Research for Children, Inc., (BRDC) provides much-needed information and breaking news about birth defects to parents and organizes a parent-matching program to connect families of children with the same or similar birth defects. BRDC also supports the National Birth Defect Registry, an effort to track down the causes of birth defects. BRDC is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
Caring for Children and Families with AIDS Caring for Children and Families with AIDS (CCFA) is a Los Angeles-based charitable organization that houses children from infancy to 16 years of age who are HIV-infected or come from families affected by AIDS/HIV. A 24-hour residential and nursing staff cares for the children, and mental health clinicians and child development specialists assist in the rehabilitation and treatment of each child. The program aims to reunite the children with their families when possible, by working directly with the families to resolve the issues that resulted in placement with CCFA. When this is not possible, CCFA supports adoptive or foster placement for children.
Disabled American Veterans Through its volunteer, employment, legislative, and service programs, Disabled American Veterans (DAV) advocates for and assists disabled veterans and their families. Volunteers for DAV’s Transportation Network drive veterans to VA medical centers for treatment, while highly trained National Service Officers help veterans attain the full range of benefits and programs available to them. The organization is also committed to defending employment rights of veterans and providing special assistance to homeless veterans, including the establishment of several shelters. DAV’s national headquarters are in Cold Spring, Kentucky.
The Garland Appeal Musician Paul McCartney established The Garland Appeal in honor of his late wife, Linda, who lost her battle with breast cancer. The charity is registered in both the United States and the UK. In the United States, funds support the MRI Breast Cancer Research Program, which aims to develop a highly effective method for early detection of breast cancer.
Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry The Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry, located at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, is pursuing research into the causes of familial ovarian cancer, including studies aimed at identifying genes associated with the disease. Through these means, the organization hopes to improve counseling for women who may be more susceptible to the disease in order to help reduce their risk. The Registry is also focused on educating and providing peer support to high-risk women. The toll-free help line allows women to speak with concerned and knowledgeable volunteers, who can provide information to help callers make sound healthcare decisions.
Lymphoma Foundation of America The Lymphoma Foundation of America provides many services to lymphoma patients and their families, including counseling, support groups, and a matching program to connect patients with lymphoma survivors. The foundation also provides referrals to lymphoma specialists, conducts research into the possible causes of lymphoma, sponsors educational programs, and assists individuals with job security and patients’ rights issues. It is based in Arlington, Virginia.
National Federation of the Blind The National Federation of the Blind, the largest membership organization of blind persons, is dedicated to educating the public about blindness, advocating on behalf of blind persons, and providing aids and adaptive equipment. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, the organization provides direct support for blind persons and their families through information and referral services, scholarships and literature, and indirectly through development and evaluation of technology to aid individuals with impaired vision.
PRIDE Youth Programs PRIDE’s programs encourage young people to take a lead in drug and violence prevention. Specially designed programs for elementary, middle school, and high school students aim to steer young people away from drugs and violence while training them to reach out to their peers with the same message. PRIDE’s annual World Drug Conference brings together youth from around the world, along with hundreds of organizations and experts in drug and violence prevention to share ideas and inspiration. PRIDE is based in Newaygo, Michigan. Please note: Charities are not ranked; they appear in alphabetical order. November 2002 |
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