Author: lindsay

CF Cycle For Life - INO Cares September 2015

Posted on by lindsay

Yes, I know it's not September, but there were two great events that we wanted to participate in and they both fell in October.

CF Cycle For Life 2015On Sunday, October 11th, INO.com employees broke out their spandex and jumped on their bikes to participate in the Cystic Fibrosis Cycle For Life. The ride started and finished in Herrington Harbour in North Beach, Maryland. The event raised over $40K for Cystic Fibrosis research.

Cystic Fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disorder that causes persistent lung infections and progressively limits the ability to breathe. Approximately 30K people are living with CF in the United States. The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is to cure cystic fibrosis and to provide all people with the disease the opportunity to lead full, productive lives by funding research and drug development, promoting individualized treatment and ensuring access to high-quality, specialized care.

It was a chilly morning, but our riders did their 40 miles and then enjoyed the after-party put on by the CF Foundation. This was INO.com's second year riding in the CF Cycle For Life and we were happy to raise money and awareness for CF once again!

We really want to hear from you! What organizations or events should be included in our 2016 INO Cares calendar? We'd love to hear what organizations are important to you.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.

AAMC NICU - INO Cares August 2015

Posted on by lindsay

This month, our Director of External Advertising, Kenny Shay, picked our INO Cares recipient. Kenny thought long and hard about who in our community needed our help. He found himself torn between a few causes, but decided that he wanted to share some love with the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland.

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When Kenny’s first daughter, Kendall, was born in February of 2014, she spent some time in the NICU at AAMC. In what is a confusing and stressful time for the whole family, the staff, especially the NICU nurses, provided genuine care and comfort. He was so touched by the amazing treatment that he and his daughter received that he wanted INO to show our support for the nurses, the NICU babies, and their families.

For The Nurses
Long shifts and late hours makes coffee a necessity. We purchased Starbucks gifts cards to pay for those all important coffee runs for the NICU staff.

For The Babies
We went on a shopping spree to provide the NICU with newborn outfits for their little patients. We purchased the girls and boys some seasonal and everyday outfits and made sure to send some Soothie pacifiers for some sweet comfort.

For The Parents
AAMC's NICU has an amazing Journey Bead program. This program provides bracelets to the mothers of these bitty babies. As their child hits NICU milestones, the mothers are given beads for their bracelets to mark these significant moments. When their bracelet is finished, their babies are ready to go home. INO.com was happy to provide a donation to help fund this program.

Kenny knows how difficult this time is for the parents and also realizes how emotional and physically exhausting a NICU job must be.

Thank you to the staff at AAMC NICU. It takes so much strength and love to provide relief for vulnerable babies and parents during such a critical time. We appreciate what you do for the families in our community! We hope that our gift basket helped brighten your day and helped to provide some goodies for the parents and babies in your NICU. You all truly do something so wonderful.

If there are any causes that are important to you, please tell us about them! We’d love to pick organizations nominated by our blog visitors for next year’s INO Cares campaign.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.

Maryland Therapeutic Riding - INO Cares July 2015

Posted on by lindsay

When someone here at INO.com needs something, they all seem to run to Rachel. Rachel does it all and we are grateful to have her as a colleague! This month we ran to her to get her pick for our July INO Cares project.

Rachel has been riding horses for over 25 years. She first fell in love with horses after her mother gave her a My Little Pony set when she was 5 years old. Throughout her life, she has trained horses, taught lessons, managed an equestrian retail shop and cared for her own horses. She has also volunteered with numerous organizations who help rescue horses as well as provide therapeutic resources for those in need through equestrian programs.

Rachel currently has a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood named Mojave (Mo) who is pictured to the right.

For her pick, Rachel selected Maryland Therapeutic Riding (MTR) to receive a donation from INO.com in honor of our July INO Cares campaign.

MTR uses the healing and therapeutic power of horses to improve the balance, strength, muscle tone, self-image, self-confidence, and quality of life for individuals with special needs. Their riders, with challenges such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, neuromuscular disorders, post-traumatic brain injury, emotional disabilities, autism and attention deficit disorder, use horses to experience an overall improvement in their quality of life.

Learn more about Maryland Therapeutic Riding.

If there are any causes that are important to you, tell us about them! We’d love to pick organizations nominated by our blog visitors for next year’s INO Cares campaign.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.

Bike Like A Girl Breaks The Record

Posted on by lindsay

Well, they did it. No surprise here. Our sponsor team, Bike Like A Girl (BLAG), completed in the Race Across America (RAAM) and smashed the 8-woman record as they flew through the finish line early on Saturday morning.

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The 8-woman team, composed of 6 women from our very own neighborhood, set out from Oceanside, CA on June 20th. The ladies kept a grueling pace, averaging 19.14 mph, where the previous 8-woman record was 16.57mph. They crossed the country in 6 days, 12 hours and 58 minutes. Out of the 12 teams that left California, one was unable to complete the race. The other 11 teams reached the Citydock in Annapolis, MD, within 2 days of each other and BLAG finished only a little over 1 day behind the 8-person open winner, Team Riverside (US), which consisted of 7 males and 1 female rider.

INO.com is so proud of the Bike Like A Girl team. We enjoyed tracking you across the US. First California, then Colorado, a stop off in Missouri, in familiar Pennsylvania, and now back to Annapolis, MD! What a great experience to have been tied to such incredible and powerful women. BLAG has inspired so many and has raised money to support initiatives which empower and encourage young women through cycling.

INO.com president and avid cyclist, Adam Hewison, was there to represent INO.com as the ladies crossed the finish line at 4:30am, Saturday morning. He said that it was a touching and exciting moment.

So, congrats Bike Like A Girl. You women are amazing and we are so proud to have been one of your sponsors.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.

Bike Like A Girl - Almost Home!

Posted on by lindsay

Here's the latest update from the Bike Like a Girl (BLAG) team.

"We are in 5th place & on track to smash the 8-women record! We hope to see you at the finish line at City Dock in Annapolis early Saturday!"

If you remember earlier this month, we told you about the Bike Like A Girl team that we are sponsoring for our June INO Cares campaign. Here is one of the women sporting our logo which is on the front of their cycling jerseys. You are making INO proud, keep up the awesome work!

Visit the RAAM site to track the team's progress! Or track them on their Facebook page for the latest updates and photos.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.