Category: INO Cares

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - INO Cares

Posted on by admin

We are so happy to kick off the second year of our INO Cares campaign! Last year, we made donations to 15 nonprofit organizations and our employees got into the action - repairing houses, feeding the hungry, cycling and running to raise awareness for their favorite causes. What amazing experiences we had and we know that 2015 is going to be even more incredible.

This year, I thought it was important to ask our employees to nominate charities and organizations that were close to their hearts. We hope that you'll enjoy meeting some of our employees, hearing their stories and learning about some fantastic nonprofit organization in our area, the United States and throughout the world.

Diane Phillips is our Director of Operations here at INO.com. Diane is a mother of 2 and a grandmother to 7. Her grandchildren are her world and she always has a story to share about her little cuties with her fellow colleagues.

Given her love for children, Diane wanted INO Cares to give to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for January!

St. Jude is a not-for-profit hospital that provides treatment to children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases and boasts one of the highest survival rates for some of the most aggressive pediatric cancers. Patients at St. Jude and their families will not receive bills for treatment, travel, housing or food due to the charity of individuals who cover their $2 million per day operating cost.

We are proud to make St. Jude Children's Research Hospital our INO Cares January recipient!

If you know of a charity or organization that could use some help, please share it with me. We'd love to help support organizations that our blog visitors are passionate about as well!

Best,

Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.

Operation Christmas Child - INO Cares

Posted on by admin

How do you pack an enormous amount of love and joy into something as small as a shoebox? It hasn't been difficult for INO.com and the Duffey Memorial Methodist Church Youth Group in Moorefield, West Virginia.

Operation Christmas Child Packing PartyThis is the second year that INO.com has funded a major portion of this holiday project for this amazing group of kids. Read about their packing party last year. This year, they managed to pack and deliver 143 boxes to the Operation Christmas Child organization!

Operation Christmas Child, an organization centered in the Christian faith, will deliver these boxes, packed with love and basic necessities, to impoverished children in more than 100 countries around the world. This is a program that anyone can participate in. If you pack 1 box or 100, you will make a special child smile... there is probably no better gift that you will receive this holiday season.

We are happy to help this youth group deliver love all across the world!

Warm holiday wishes,

Lindsay Bittinger
The INO Cares Team

Miriam's Kitchen - INO Cares

Posted on by admin

On Thursday, November 13th, a small group of INO.com employees left the office early and headed down to Washington, D.C. We donned aprons and hats and got to work at Miriam's Kitchen. The chef and sou chefs efficiently directed our team. We helped create a delicious meal for over 140 men and women of the chronically homeless community.

When the doors opened and our guests arrived, we lined the window and served our guests their dinner. Our guests shared many thank-yous and grateful smiles as they accepted their trays. The gratitude was contagious!

After we finished serving dinner and cleaned the kitchen, members of the INO Team gushed about the experience. One of the first question they asked me was, "when can we do this again?" It was a wonderful evening and an organization which we will continue to support!

There are over 7,000 homeless individuals in Washington, D.C., 1,764 of which are chronically homeless. Miriam's Kitchen is committed to ending homelessness in D.C. by establishing meaningful relationships with chronically homeless individuals, connecting them with permanent supportive housing, and ensuring they have the necessary support to remain in housing.

Miriam's Kitchen serves breakfast and dinner to 200-300 people each day, 365 days a year. They also provide mental health services, medical services, legal services, therapeutic resources, clothing and toiletries and housing assistance. To learn more about Miriam's Kitchen or how you can help, please visit www.miriamskitchen.org.

Best,

Lindsay Bittinger
The INO Cares Team

CF Cycle for Life - INO Cares

Posted on by admin

It was a beautiful morning! Although chilly and very windy, it was still a great day for a bike ride. We bundled up, broke out the spandex and jumped on our bicycles to participate in the Cystic Fibrosis Ride for Life at Herrington Harbour in North Beach, Maryland. Our November INO Cares project was a great success. We helped the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation raise over $40K and we had two newbie cyclists each finish a 20 and 40 mile race! Family and friends came to cheer on our riders and join us for a great after-party.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a fantastic organization that funds research in hopes of finding a cure to this fatal genetic disorder. Learn more about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the nationwide Cycle For Life events.

Best,

Lindsay Bittinger
The INO Cares Team

Duffey Footprints 5K & Toni Hansen - INO Cares

Posted on by admin

We had so many amazing organizations and events that we wanted to select for our August INO Cares Campaign. We just couldn’t choose between them, so we decided to carryover the giving into September.

If you recall, in August we sent a donation to Hope For Guatemala, as a close friend of the INO.com family was traveling to the area on a missions trip. Read all about the organization and Richard Lusk’s adventure.
Duffey Footprints
This month, we would like to highlight two causes that are very near and dear to our hearts!

INO.com partner, David Maher and his wife, Amy Maher, are very involved in the youth program at their church in Moorefield, West Virginia. Amy and Dave are passionate about personal and spiritual health in their tight-knit community. Along with other church members, the Mahers helped the youth group and community members train and prepare for a 5K. The final event was the Duffy Footprints 5k/1Mile Race to raise money for the new Family Life Center and youth programs at Duffey Memorial United Methodist Church.

This self-improvement program used the Run For God curriculum. Run For God began as a 2010 Bible study that paralleled faith and endurance. Since then, tens of thousands have walked successfully though this program and many have adopted new lifestyles which value both physical and spiritual health.

The Mahers also recognize that their home state of West Virginia is a state with one of the highest obesity rates in the country. The CDC reports that 67.4% of adults living in West Virginia are overweight and adolescent obesity is on an up-trend. The Duffy Footprints 5k/1Mile Race was an amazing opportunity to promote healthy living and exercise in their community, while also raising money for a Family Life Center that will help strengthen families in their spiritual faith.

The Duffy Footprints Race took place on August 2nd, 2014. There were approximately 115 runners and the event raised $3,100.

INO.com was proud to sponsor this race and provided the t-shirts for the runners. Because of this, 100% of the registration fee and race proceeds were given to the Duffey Memorial UMC to support their Family Life Center program. We hope that the congregation will make this an annual event!

---

There was also a cause that came up quickly and we felt compelled to send aid. In August we wrote about Traders For Toni. This fundraiser was set-up by some of the most well-known and respected traders in the industry to help fellow trader, Toni Hansen.

Toni Hansen is a mother, author, trader, teacher, and friend to many people in the trading community. She has personal relationships with those here at INO.com and her call for help has been heard loud and clear!

After blacking out at home, Toni was taken to the ER. After numerous hospital visits, spinal taps, CT scans and MRIs, Toni has been accurately diagnosed with a spinal fluid leak. The doctors were able to treat her and she is currently in the recovery process. Unfortunately, her insurance company has denied a bulk of her claim and her medical bills have become unmanageable.

INO.com has made a donation to Toni to help ease the burden of out-of-pocket costs for her procedure. To learn more about Toni’s story or to make a contribution, please visit her fundraising page.

If you have any ideas for a future INO Cares campaign, please send them our way!

Best,

The INO Cares Team