Volunteers are often the foundation of non-profit organizations because they help gain support for the organization’s mission. At the American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF), we believe in our volunteers and the impact they are having now as well as in the years to come. There are many ways you can help AHAF, or one of our programs. From hosting a personal event to writing letters, you can make a difference!

Create a Personal Event Page

Generally, a personal event is an activity that people may host or participate in to raise funds. Family reunions, marathons, walkathons, dinners, chili cook-offs, basket bingo, yard sales and bowling competitions are all good examples of fun, personal events. Personal events are an enjoyable and memorable way to raise awareness and donate funds for research. For example, we have one group of friends who instead of exchanging gifts during the holidays, donate to a collection and send the money they’ve collected to AHAF.

Our organization now gives you the opportunity to champion the cause near to your heart, by creating a personal fundraising page. This page will enable you to tell your story, raise awareness, and support your cause with or without planning an actual event. Personal fundraising champions create their page and send its link to their family, friends and colleagues. This is an excellent and time efficient way to raise money for research and spread awareness. Please see last year's annual report, where we show our appreciation to those individuals held personal events for our programs.

Creating Your Personal Event Page is Easy

All you have to do is:

1. Build it - Building your page should only take between 5 and 10 minutes. Customize your own page by writing a personal story or adding a photo. Then you can post the tribute online and make it available to the general public or only to friends and family to whom you provide the web address of your page.
   
   
2. Share it - Even though your page is available online, your friends and family will not be able to see it until you tell them about it. Email those whom you care about and tell them about the tribute that you’ve created. Make sure to include a direct link to your page so that it is easy for them to find.
   
   
3. Update it - Now that you’ve built it and are sharing it, you will want to keep it up to date. Interact with your friends and family. The "Lasting Tributes" management center enables you to send emails, post updates to your page, and check on the impact that your page is making.

To get started, click the link for the program you wish to support, or to support our whole organization click on the "American Health Assistance Foundation" link:

• Alzheimer's Disease Research
• Macular Degeneration Research
• National Glaucoma Research
• American Health Assistance Foundation

View a Sample Page

For more information regarding the different ways that you can become a champion, contact Barbara Spitzer at 1-800-437-2423 ext. 138.

Volunteer

Volunteering for the American Health Assistance Foundation gives you the opportunity to help others and fulfill your own goals. Through volunteerism, you can make a meaningful difference in your community, help support research, and build lasting relationships. We are flexible and provide opportunities that fit your schedule. For information about available opportunities, visit our volunteer opportunities page or contact info@ahaf.org.

AHAF will also post opportunities on Volunteer Match, 1-800 Volunteer.org and locally in the Maryland/DC/Virginia area through the Montgomery County Volunteer Center.

• VolunteerMatch is a national nonprofit that strengthens communities by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect. Its award-winning online service, www.volunteermatch.org, helps visitors find local volunteer opportunities by location, interest area, and/or keyword.
  
  
• 1-800-Volunteer.org is a national database of volunteer opportunities powered by a volunteer management system for non-profits.
  
  
• The Montgomery County Volunteer Center connects volunteers with non-profits and businesses in the Maryland/DC/Virginia area. AHAF offers volunteer opportunities through both the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and the Student Service Learning (SSL) program.

Create a Tribute Page

Creating a tribute page is not only a meaningful way to memorialize or honor someone special, but it is also an effective way to personally raise funds for research. If Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration or glaucoma has touched your life, a tribute page may be the perfect way to communicate your admiration of the special person in your life who has suffered or suffer from one of these diseases. It will also spread important awareness and promote fundraising within your community about Alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration, and/or glaucoma.

Learn more about creating a tribute page

Send Letters or Emails to Your Family, Friends and Colleagues

Volunteers, who share their personal stories of how they became involved with AHAF, help to spread the word about how we are helping patients and caregivers. It also sheds light on the research we are initiating that will hopefully lead to the cures for Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. As a volunteer, you could send out letters asking your family members and friends to join you in supporting our cause by increasing awareness of these diseases and/or by choosing to make a donation. When you write personal letters, paper and postage are the only costs that you will incur . In other words, all of the proceeds go directly to help fund crucial research. For examples of text for your letters or answers to your questions, please contact Diana Villegas, Development Officer, at 1-800-437-2423. If you would like to learn more about raising funds and awareness by sending emails, you can do this by creating a personal fundraising page.

Other Ways to Give

There are many ways to give. Gifts of cash, securities, real estate, and assets also provide tax savings to the donor and are extremely beneficial to AHAF. Donate online, make a "challenge gift," or increase your gift through AHAF's matching gift program. Learn about the different ways that you can give.