The organizations listed below are part of the 2024 Guide to Giving. Return to the guide’s homepage by clicking here.
Arts for the Aging (AFTA)
Arts for the Aging (AFTA) (artsfortheaging.org) aims to ensure that more than 1,000 older adults in our region can age with creativity through multidisciplinary arts programming. AFTA delivers regular workshops year-round in which participants paint, tango, play the drums, write poetry, perform improv and more. Intergenerational programs, hands-on artmaking, and a senior dance company promote deeper connection through the arts, while therapeutic workshops for professional and family caregivers ensure that those who care for older adults have a space to connect.
HEADQUARTERED: Gaithersburg
SERVES: Montgomery County
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $100 provides teaching artist fees for one virtual workshop.
– $500 provides a virtual exhibition to celebrate participants’ creativity.
SSL HOURS: No
INTERNSHIPS: No
ArtStream
ArtStream (art-stream.org) provides challenging arts opportunities for adults with disabilities and encourages them to be artists as well as audience members. ArtStream’s six inclusive theater companies and four cabaret companies invite actors with intellectual and developmental disabilities—including autism—to collaborate with theater professionals and trained volunteer mentors to build skills while developing and presenting original musical theater productions. Participants can also take theater-based classes to boost self-confidence and strengthen communications. Super Social Saturday workshops help participants learn how to socialize, let loose and have fun.
HEADQUARTERED: Rockville
SERVES: Montgomery County
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $100 provides two students access to a Super Social Saturday.
– $250 provides a skills-building and friendship-building class for 15 students.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– Ongoing: Serve in a variety of drama and social skills classes, help at events.
SSL HOURS: No
INTERNSHIPS: No
Care for Your Health
Care for Your Health (care4yourhealth.org) delivers inclusive, trusted and multicultural healthcare directly where it’s most needed, ensuring every community member enjoys autonomy and an enhanced quality of life. It provides accessible services at local events, in a clinical setting and through in-home care. Its innovative programs like Home Care for Elders, Hospital at Home, and Integrated Behavioral Health with Grief Counseling, have revolutionized how health care is delivered, making it more personalized and effective.
HEADQUARTERED: Silver Spring
SERVES: Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Howard Counties
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $220 funds a home visit by a nurse practitioner.
– $1,000 funds a year of grief counseling for one patient.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– One day: Host a drive to provide resources for isolated seniors or assist at pop-up clinics.
– Ongoing: Fundraising, Data support
SSL HOURS: Yes
INTERNSHIPS: Yes
CaringMatters
CaringMatters (caringmatters.org) helps children express their feelings and acquire vitally important coping strategies through its children’s bereavement programs. Specially trained volunteers guide the Good Grief Club, a bereavement group for children at county public schools. Camp Erin, an annual weekend camp for children ages 8 to 17, supports children through grief work intertwined with camp activities. Adults dealing with loss or life-threatening illness get help from Volunteer Helping Hands, which offers companionship, respite for caregivers, and help with errands and household tasks. Adult Bereavement Groups enable people experiencing loss to share their stories, learn from one another and heal.
HEADQUARTERED: Gaithersburg
SERVES: Montgomery County
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $100 provides a seriously ill client with a two-hour, in-person visit.
– $500 provides one child access to seven sessions of the Good Grief Club.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– Ongoing: Facilitate support groups and provide social and emotional support and companionship.
SSL HOURS: No
INTERNSHIPS: No
Community Reach of Montgomery County
Community Reach of Montgomery County (cmrocks.org) provides medically underserved adults with health education and quality care (including the treatment of COVID-19), in person and via telehealth through its health clinic. Senior Reach provides assistance for low-income seniors to age in place, with volunteer callers providing human connection. During a financial crisis, any client can call the emergency financial assistance program to get help with prescription costs, prevent utility shutoffs or eviction, and receive referrals to other social services. Language and citizenship classes for adult learners and tutoring for children are much in demand, while a housing program provides permanent supportive housing with case management and life skills development to men and women who were previously homeless.
HEADQUARTERED: Rockville
SERVES: Montgomery County
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $100 provides two learners access to a semester of language class and two semesters’ worth of books.
– $250 provides one patient with two weeks of insulin and supplies.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– Ongoing: Serve as tutors and friendly callers, assist at the health clinic and housing program, and at events.
– One day: Assist with the Holiday Giving program.
SSL HOURS: No
INTERNSHIPS: No
Mary’s Center
Mary’s Center (maryscenter.org) provides health care, education, workforce development and social services to approximately 65,000 people annually to build healthier and stronger communities. Mary’s Center embraces culturally diverse clients to provide them with the highest quality of care, regardless of their ability to pay.
HEADQUARTERED: Washington, D.C.
SERVES: Metro region
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $200 covers the cost of a behavioral health appointment for an uninsured participant.
– $1,000 covers the cost of college application fees for two high school seniors in the after-school program.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– One day: Collect new toys or participate in a holiday toy drive with friends and family.
SSL HOURS: Yes
INTERNSHIPS: Yes
MobileMed
MobileMed (mobilemed.org) operates a network of seven low-cost health centers in fixed locations and on mobile vans. Created in collaboration with community partners and volunteer clinicians in the neighborhoods where patients live and work, the centers provide high quality medical care that is culturally sensitive and accessible. In addition to primary and preventive care, MobileMed also offers a weekly women’s clinic and two specialty clinics (heart and endocrine) in collaboration with NIH and Suburban Hospital. Patients receive free medications, referrals to exceptional pro-bono specialists, and donated diagnostic testing. Each year, MobileMed treats 4,000 patients through 15,000 medical and behavioral health visits. In its 50-year history, no patient has been turned away for inability to pay.
HEADQUARTERED: Rockville
SERVES: Montgomery County
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $100 provides one medical and one counseling visit
– $250 provides health education for 25 patients
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– Ongoing: Medical professionals can serve as clinical volunteers; office support or outreach
SSL HOURS: No
INTERNSHIPS: No
NAMI Montgomery County
National Alliance on Mental Illness—Montgomery County (NAMI-MC) (namimc.org) envisions a future where all people affected by mental illness live healthy and fulfilling lives supported by a community that cares. Trained volunteers with lived experience lead classes and support groups grounded in established, evidence-based resources, helping individuals, families and caregivers access critical information and feel less alone. In addition to free programs, NAMI-MC’s communities of peers conduct advocacy and outreach to break the silence around mental health.
HEADQUARTERED: Rockville
SERVES: Montgomery County
WHAT A DONATION BUYS:
– $50 covers a support group for 20 individuals.
-$500 provides training for four volunteers living with mental illness.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
– Ongoing: Serve as a facilitator (for individuals with relevant lived experience).
SSL HOURS: No
INTERNSHIPS: Yes
