August 17 is National Nonprofit Day – it is a day to recognize the ongoing efforts of the organizations around us to serve the local community.

Below is a round up of notable nonprofit organizations that are serving and uplifting Arizonans in a huge variety of ways. From supporting adults with congenital heart disease to uplifting children in emergency shelters to helping those with PTSD heal through therapeutic horse riding, each of these organizations have found important ways to impact Arizona’s communities.

Adult Congenital Heart Association

The mission of the Adult Congenital Heart Association is to empower the congenital heart disease (CHD) community by advancing access to resources and specialized care that improve patient-centered outcomes. The Adult Congenital Heart Association was founded in 1998 and is the only national advocacy program that focuses on the 2 million adults with CHD. Research has found that only 10% of those 2 million patients are getting the specialized care they need, and the Adult Congenital Heart Association has become the number one resource for adults with CHD to find care. Learn more, donate or sign up for the November 5 1 in 100 walk at https://www.achaheart.org/

Arizona Helping Hands

Founded in 1998, the mission of Arizona Helping Hands is to support the foster care community by providing essentials to benefit children in foster care. As Arizona’s largest provider of essential resources, it offers foster care families beds, cribs, clothing, diapers, and personal care items. Arizona Helping Hands also provides backpacks with school supplies to help children succeed in school and fulfills birthday dreams to help raise self-esteem by showing children they are special and loved. Additionally, it provides state-required home safety items to help families become licensed providers by ensuring they can offer a safe home environment. To learn more, visit http://www.azhelpinghands.org.

Phoenix Rescue Mission

Phoenix Rescue Mission provides Christ-centered, life-transforming solutions to persons facing hunger, homelessness, addiction and trauma. The nonprofit Mission, which has been operating since 1952, is asking the public for support of its many programs designed to transform lives, including Hope for Hunger Food Bank, Hope Coach Street Outreach, Temporary Shelter Programs, Men’s Addiction Recovery Programs, and the Changing Lives Center for Women and Children. To learn more, visit https://phoenixrescuemission.org/

United Food Bank

United Food Bank has provided hunger relief to people in the East Valley since 1983. The local food bank collects, acquires, stores and distributes food to 150 partner agencies and programs throughout five counties. Each year, United Food Bank distributes over 21.6 million pounds of food to Arizona families facing hunger; that’s approximately 49,000 meals a day. To learn more about United Food Bank visit http://www.unitedfoodbank.org/.

New Life Center

New Life Center serves more than 1,000 children and adults annually through an emergency shelter and outreach support program, where more than 70 percent of the shelter population is children. In 2017, New Life Center served more children and provided more beds than any other single facility providing emergency shelter to domestic violence survivors in Arizona. The New Life Center owns a thrift store called Hope’s Closet where every child and adult seeking refuge at New Life Center’s emergency shelter has access to all the clothing and furnishings offered at the store completely free of charge. All proceeds from Hope’s Closet are used to support New Life Center’s shelter operations. To learn more, visit https://newlifectr.org/support/.

The Singletons

The Singletons is a homegrown Arizona-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted to meeting the needs of single-parent families battling cancer by providing strength, hope, resources and community. The organization experienced a 50% increase in families requesting support and services in the last year, creating a critical need for monetary donations, corporate sponsorships and community volunteers to help onboard the families who need help. To learn more about The Singletons programs and services, as well as how to support this organization, visit https://www.thesingletonsaz.org/.

Arizona Animal Welfare League

The Arizona Animal Welfare League is the oldest and largest no-kill shelter in Arizona. Founded in 1971, AAWL rehomes and rehabilitates more than 4,000 rescue animals across the state that have been abandoned or surrendered. Besides adoptions, AAWL offers a variety of services such as animal foster programs, rural rescue outreach, youth education and low-cost clinics. For more information, visit aawl.org.

Arizona’s Children Association

Arizona’s Children Association is one of the largest providers of child welfare and behavioral health services in the state of Arizona. Their mission is to protect children, empower youth and strengthen families and to provide the resources and support for every Arizona family to be safe, strong and resilient. Arizona’s Children Association seeks to provide a personalized approach to behavioral healthcare, child welfare services and preventative support. For more information, please visit https://www.arizonaschildren.org/

Phoenix Children’s

The mission of Phoenix Children’s is to advance hope, healing and world-class health care for children and their families in Arizona and beyond. Over the past 40 years, Phoenix Children’s has expanded from a single hospital into a nationally recognized pediatric health system, offering care in over 75 pediatric subspecialties across more than 40 locations throughout the state. The motto of Phoenix Children’s is When we improve the health of all children and allow them the opportunity to reach their full potential, we also improve our communities for years to come. Learn more at https://phoenixchildrensfoundation.org/

Hunkapi Programs

Hunkapi, based in Scottsdale, brings to the Valley a variety of horse powered activities for children and adults including: therapeutic riding lessons, equine assisted psychotherapy and garden therapy. Hunkapi Farms offers therapeutic programs to participants with a wide variety of diagnoses including PTSD, autism spectrum disorder, emotional disorder and more. The name “hunkapi” is taken from a Native American word that means “I am related to everyone” and expresses the deep sense of connection between horse and human. For more information on the program, please visit the website at http://www.hunkapi.org



Arizona Jewish Historical Society

The Arizona Jewish Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. AZJHS is seeking community resources and donations for its Capital Campaign with a goal to further educate the public about Jewish history. The renovations and expansion of the existing Cutler Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center will include a new building featuring a state-of-the-art technology and a Holocaust education center with interactive features such as immersive media transition experiences. To learn more about the Capital Campaign please visit http://www.azjhs.org

Equality Health Foundation
Equality Health Foundation is a nonprofit organization that aims to level the healthcare playing field in culturally diverse and underserved communities. Established in 2019, the organization works to expand access to care, accelerate health education, and eliminate healthcare inequalities. A bold vision like this cannot be accomplished alone and requires extensive collaboration across local communities around the country to make a sustainable and transformative change—a movement for advancing equal health for all. Learn more at https://www.equalityhealthfoundation.org/