Category: INO Cares

Our 2016 INO Cares Mission

Posted on by lindsay

When we created the INO Cares campaign, we wanted to touch the lives of those in our community and throughout the world. We've provided scholarships for Nepalese children to attend school, completed our team building in a soup kitchen, funded and cheered for marathon runners raising money for very worthy causes, and so much more. It's been such a rewarding use of our time and resources!

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For 2016, we've decided to change it up a little bit. This year, we will be performing random acts of kindness for those in our community and those that touch the hearts of INO.com employees.

For our first act, we put together 60+ blessing bags. These bags, adorned with an encouraging message of hope, are packed with goodies and helpful items (socks, water, hand-warmers, chapstick, tissues, toothpaste, toothbrush, snacks, and more) for those who may need some extra assistance.

We also had enough supplies to send items to a local high school for their backpack buddies program and to a church in West Virginia for their ongoing support ministry.

At a recent team meeting in Alexandria, Virginia, we were able to hand out a few blessing bags to those we encountered in the city. It's such a quick, and yet wonderful moment to see a smile from someone who may find it difficult to find things to smile about.

These blessing bags are perfect to keep on the passenger side seat of our cars. Not only will our help be just an arm's-length away, but they will also be a great reminder of the gratitude we should be carrying in our hearts at all times.

We hope that you'll follow along with the many acts of kindness we hope to accomplish in 2016!

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.

Miriam's Kitchen - INO Cares November 2015

Posted on by lindsay

Every month this year, we've asked an employee to nominate a cause for our INO Cares campaign. So far this year we've helped St. Judes, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Anne Arundel Medical Center, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Maryland Therapeutic Riding, Bike Like A Girl and more really amazing organizations.

This month was a little different as all of us wanted to go back and serve at Miriam's Kitchen. We dug out our aprons and hats and jumped into the kitchen in Washington, D.C., serving a delicious meal to over 160 men and women of the chronically homeless community.

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Last year after we finished our dinner shift, staff members immediately asked, "when can we do this again?" So of course this was our staff pick for INO Cares this year!

There is something so satisfying about giving both money and manpower to an organization that is doing amazing things in our area.

Once again this year we had a great time working side-by-side with our fellow colleagues and sharing a little love with random strangers. The staff at Miriam's is phenomenal and their passion for service is simply contagious. The smiles of the guests are heartwarming and we hope the food nourished their bodies as much as the evening nourished our souls.

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 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.