Northern Virginia Donates $10,900.00
Through ImpactClub®, as Impact Venture Capitalists, we invest heavily in local charities that demonstrate a powerful “Story Engine” and have proven their willingness to fight for their cause – by competing in and winning a high-stakes competition. As a result, ImpactClub®, through Impact Venture Capitalism, has dramatically multiplied the Impact that a single person can have on charities in their local community.
The Charities
While most charities focus on the needs of the entire family (housing, food, etc.), AK focuses on the child’s unique needs that could affect their self-esteem. Working with a network of approx. 500 teachers, social workers and others, we pay for prom tickets, field trips, summer camps, chorus outfits, track shoes and other items that mean a lot to that child as they relate to their peers. We send a gift card for the item to the referrer who then passes it on to the parent. This way the child does not know they are receiving charity and the parent can “shine” for a brief moment. Last year we served 894 children and this year we will easily surpass that number. The bulk of our requests are from Fairfax County but we do serve children in 24 other states. Last year former President George Bush presented us the “Points of Light Award” and one of our biggest supporters is the comedian/television/movie star, Patton Oswalt. We work with a budget of approximately $130,000 and, to serve even more children we are hoping to grow that number!
In 1967, a group of parents whose children had special needs formed The Arc of Loudoun, a 501(c)3 organization, to start a preschool for their children when no one else would. Since then, it’s grown into a full-service organization that advocates for and provides direct service to people with disabilities from the Northern VA area, as well as their families, caretakers, and the professionals who work with them. Students with special needs are children first with all of the needs, desires, and feelings of children without disabilities.We offer multiple programs that together provide an integrated and innovative learning environment for children, which enable them to grow into adulthood and move out into the world with skills and confidence. Our growing list of programs include: Open Door Learning Center, The Aurora School, ALLY Advocacy Center, Aurora Behavior Clinic, and Ability Fitness Center. Our mission to maximize the potential of children while supporting families and individuals with disabilities so that they may thrive in the community. The Arc of Loudoun celebrated 50 years of serving people with disabilities in 2017 and is also the charity behind the fan favorite Shocktober.
On any given day, there are nearly 437,500 youth in the foster care system in the United States. Of the thousands of youth who enter the system each year, most arrive carrying little more than the clothes on their backs. If they are afforded the opportunity to collect any personal belongings, many are then given a trash bag in which to place and carry their personal items. It is a time of great upheaval and instability, and their first foster home placement is unlikely to be their last. Many youth in foster care will be moved from home to home multiple times, carrying their life’s treasures in a trash bag. At Comfort Cases, we believe that every child deserves to feel a sense of dignity. Every child deserves to pack their belongings in a special bag that they can call their own. It is our mission as a charity to provide a proper bag, filled with comfort and essential items, to these brave youth in foster care on their journey to find their forever home.
