Humanitarian Support Foundation VA helped kick start the Fuel for Families food drive for the United Way of Henry County and Martinsville on July 1, 2015. The United Way kicks off this event at the Martinsville Speedway each year just in time for the local Fourth of July Celebration to help keep local food banks in stock of needed items. Those attending the fireworks celebration are encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item to help feed our community.  The food donated impacts multiple organizations including Grace Network and the Salvation Army food pantries. Each year during the summer months the food pantries often experience a hard time keeping their shelves stocked and the need to help families become increasingly important during the time that school is out.Humanitarian Support Foundation VA collected hundreds of items to help impact our local community and those in need and to help the United Way in their mission to help ensure food banks are able to help everyone in need. Humanitarian Support Foundation VA looks forward to helping with this outstanding cause in the future.  

On June 25, 2015 the Humanitarian Support Foundation VA office partnered with the Danville Regional Medical Center to host the first ever Humanitarian Support Foundation blood drive. Employees helped to setup appointments as well as also donating blood during the event. In total over 20 pints of blood were donated to help our local hospital and community.  With each pint collected it is estimated that up to 3 lives may be saved.

On June 26, 2015 the Humanitarian Support Foundation VA office participated in the National Day of Reading with the United Way of Henry County and Martinsville. Employees went to local schools, community centers, and day care locations to read to kids in the area. The event is held annually to help to teach kids the value of reading and the importance of books. Each child is given a book to take home of their very own at the end of the event. Humanitarian Support Foundation VA is committed to help children in our community and this is the second year Humanitarian Support Foundation has participated in this national event.

As part of our ongoing commitment to help the Salvation Army of Martinsville and Henry County Humanitarian Support Foundation VA employees voulenteered on June 10, 2015. Employees helped to prepare a meal of tacos as well as desert to help feed those in need in the Martinsville and Henry County area. The employees also served the meal to over 30 people. Humanitarian Support Foundation VA has committed to make this a monthly event to help give back in our local community.

On Friday, May 15, 2015, Humanitarian Support Foundation VA employees volunteered at the local Salvation Army. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Salvation Army serves a free lunch to the community. Volunteers cooked and served lunch to the community, and cleaned up afterwards. A lunch of baked spaghetti, garlic bread and salad was served. Humanitarian Support Foundation VA has committed to adopting a day every month to prepare lunch for the community with the Salvation Army.

On Saturday, April 25, 2015, Humanitarian Support Foundation employees volunteered at the SPCA of Martinsville & Henry County. Volunteers helped to organize storage buildings, washed animals, walked dogs, and assisted with the all-around care of the animals. In honor of the volunteer hours worked to help this organization Humanitarian Support Foundation also donated $525.00 in addition Humanitarian Support Foundation VA collected $68.36 in the office for the SPCA’s Million Pennies Campaign to help supply needs for the animals. Funds will continue to be collected in the VA office to help continue to support the SPCA. If you would like to donate to the SPCA of Martinsville & Henry County, please visit http://www.spcamhc.org/make-an-online-donation/.

Atlanta Employees hosted Bingo night for patients and their families at the hospital. Employees provided and served dinner for 50 families. Humanitarian Support Foundation purchased a variety of gifts for the bingo games, each patient and their families had an opportunity to win a special prize.

Watching the children and their families having fun together was a rewarding experience for Humanitarian Support Foundation’s employees.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is a not for profit organization that provides specialized care to children from all walks of life.  More than half a million patient visits each year, including children from all 159 counties in Georgia. They are one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country.

Supporters like Humanitarian Support Foundation form the backbone of Children’s Healthcare organization, enabling patients to get the care they need and experience the childhood they deserve.

On Tuesday, November 18, 2014, Humanitarian Support Foundation employees shopped for children that were adopted from the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree. Humanitarian Support Foundation made a donation of $1000 which allowed employees to purchase $100 worth of Christmas presents for each child.  With the assistance of the Salvation Army’s Captain, Shauntrice Williams, Humanitarian Support Foundation’s volunteers had a great time searching out gifts for each child. Using the generous donation, the volunteers were able to purchase necessities for each child as well as toys or items from their “Wish List.”

Humanitarian Support Foundation partnered with Rooster Walk, Inc. to make matching donations of $1,000 to support the Martinsville High School Jazz Band program. A portion of the funds went toward the purchase of a Casio Privia keyboard with the remaining funds being used to create an instrument donation and repair program.

Humanitarian Support Foundations donation was made in memory of Todd Eure, both a former Humanitarian Support Foundation employee and member of the MHS Jazz Band, who passed away nearly a year ago. Blake, our general manager, was quoted in the Martinsville Bulletin saying, “I don’t know how good Todd was with an instrument, however, I do know that Todd was very much a giving person. He was the guy in our office that would help whoever with whatever he could at any given time. This keyboard and music program that Rooster Walk is putting together to provide instruments to kids in need will make a difference to the students here in our community. The program is a perfect memorial for Todd and his family.”

On Wednesday, November 12, a group of Humanitarian Support Foundation employees volunteered their time and effort at Medshare in Decatur in order to help get medical supplies to areas of the world where they are scarce and much needed.  The evening started with an overview of what Medshare does and how they make an impact on a global scale.  Medshare gathers new, unused, excess medical supplies from both hospitals and manufacturers.  These supplies are sorted and inventoried, and different organizations in need of them (hospitals, hospices, etc) are able to select exactly what they need through an online system.  The requested supplies are then sent to the area in need (Humanitarian Support Foundation gladly helps with the logistics of sending the supplies).  This system is what makes Medshare stand in contrast to other similar programs as it minimizes waste by sending specifically what is asked for.  Most of the organizations who take advantage of Medshare’s inventory are in areas of the world where having medical supplies can be the difference between life and death; a story was told of a man losing both his wife and newborn child due to the doctor in his local village not having the medical supplies needed to help them both through labor.  After this sobering tale, all the volunteers at Medshare were eager to get started and contribute to this significant cause.

The evening consisted of volunteers taking boxes off of a central set of pallets and sorting the supplies within them by type and size.  Supplies included gloves, masks, syringes, and gowns amongst other items.  If the original boxes were damaged, the items were repackaged in new boxes and labelled appropriately.  If there weren’t enough of one item to fit in a box, it would be put aside until more of those items were found to fill the box.  As the night progressed, everyone worked more and more efficiently and boxes were being filled quicker and quicker.  By the time all was said and done, the majority of the boxes were sorted.  Excess items were put back on the pallets for the next set of volunteers to work with.  Alvaro, our supervisor, told the volunteers that 237 boxes and 1,100 pounds of supplies were sorted.

Though the work might sound monotonous, it was both meaningful and enjoyable due to the company of fellow volunteers and the spirit of giving back.  It was also crucial work- Medshare’s online selection and inventory system couldn’t function as it does without it.  At the end of the night, the volunteers were told that the supplies they sorted would be sent to Cote D’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and other areas of West Africa.  Knowing exactly where the supplies would be going gave the volunteers a true sense of the impact they made during their three hours there.  The night wrapped up with the sorting area being cleaned in order for it to be presentable for the first lady of Honduras who was going to be visiting the next day.  Alvaro expressed his deepest gratitude to all the volunteers, and he made sure that Humanitarian Support Foundation was given a round of applause for their role in helping with the logistics of getting Medshare containers overseas.  The night was a rousing success, and Humanitarian Support Foundation looks forward to partnering with Medshare in the future.

We would like to extend our thanks to all the Humanitarian Support Foundation employees who took time out of their evening to help contribute to this cause.  Though the drive was long and dinners were missed, everyone took part with a smile on their face and charity in their heart.  For more information on Medshare, please visit www.medshare.org