The National Kidney Foundation of Maryland (NKF-MD) recently held its annual Volunteer Awards Reception at The Baltimore Museum of Industry.
Sponsored by Mid-Atlantic Nephrology Associates, the Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland and Johns Hopkins Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center, the event recognized individuals and organizations for their time and hard work on behalf of the Foundation.
“Our volunteers truly are the lifeline of this lifesaving organization,” said Cassie Shafer, NKF-MD’s president and CEO. “We thank them for all their time and hard work in helping us in our fight against kidney disease, which remains #9 in the top 10 causes of death.”
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With WJZ-TV’s Ron Matz as emcee, NKF-MD presented 25 awards, including the Community Health Partner of the Year Award to Mid-Atlantic Nephrology Associates (MANA).
When describing the Halethorpe-based company, NKF-MD said the following:
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“Mid-Atlantic Nephrology Associates has been a long time NKF-MD supporter with the gala and our kidney screenings. They were also one of the founding members last year of our annual partnership program and were one of the first to renew their partnership for next fiscal year.
They jumped on the opportunity last year to help us launch our new Kidney Cap Initiative at the Kidney Walk. These caps are very special as only kidney patients get the orange caps and only transplant donors or recipients receive the green caps.
MANA was also a gold sponsor at Santé: A Culinary Odyssey and they are a generous sponsor of our reception the Volunteer Awards Reception as well.”
In addition to honoring the volunteers, the reception celebrated NFK-MD’s many accomplishments throughout the year, such as:
- KEY: Kidneys, Evaluate Yours free community health screenings reached more than 750 people, identifying at least 24 percent of these individuals with a possible risk factor for kidney disease.
- The Kidney Health Risk Assessment (KHRA) reached more than 300 people with information and awareness about kidney disease.
- Educational talks continued to touch a real need in several new areas of the state, including inner-city Baltimore.
- NKF-MD is on target to raise more than $1 million through special events, the CAR donation program and other revenue sources.
- The Foundation continued to fund $200,000 to valuable life-saving research in Maryland, which is more funding towards research than any other NKF division or affiliate in the country!
- NKF-MD’s patient emergency assistance program funded over $165,000 to meet the emergency needs of dialysis patients and transplant recipients, whose lives have been dramatically altered by kidney disease.
- The Foundation spent $12,000 on medical alert jewelry for patients.
Serving central and western Maryland, the Delmarva Peninsula and portions of West Virginia, the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland is the area’s only voluntary health agency dedicated to the prevention, treatment and cure of kidney and urinary tract diseases. For more information, visit www.kidneymd.org.