In recent months, ACT for Alexandria has been convening a group of community members to learn about their lived experience and perspective through the lens of race, immigration, and socioeconomic status. Through reflection and consensus, they created a vision statement: Alexandria is a just, vibrant, equitable place where all who live and work here thrive and feel like they belong.
Health and wellness are key to this vision and a thriving Alexandria. According to annual health survey data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1993 to 2017, including around 5.5 million Americans ages 18-64, Americans' self-reported health has declined. The pandemic further impacted the health and wellness for many and especially had a profound negative effect on mental health with many experiencing anxiety, depression, loneliness, and other mental health concerns.
How can we work toward greater overall health and wellbeing in our city? Fortunately, our city has many nonprofit organizations that work to enable accessible care and promote healthy lifestyles. Neighborhood Health provides primary health care for 11,000 uninsured City of Alexandria residents. According to Dr. Basim Khan, Executive Director of Neighborhood Health, "For twenty-five years, Neighborhood Health has provided health care to the most vulnerable and lowest income residents in our community. As we continue to expand access to care, we remain grateful for the support of our partners including ACT for Alexandria and Spring2ACTion. We couldn’t do this without you!”
Another example of a wellness-focused nonprofit is Miracle League of Alexandria, which gets children and adults with mental and physical disabilities on the sports field and lets them experience the joy of recreational activities. There are 55 nonprofits serving in the health and wellness space. To find out more about how these nonprofits and how they are serving Alexandria, click here.
On April 26th, 185 locally-serving organizations will tap into the collective spirit of giving by participating in Spring2ACTion, Alexandria’s 13th annual Giving Day. Last year, community members, like you, answered the call to support with 7,700 donors giving $2.65M to Alexandria nonprofits through Spring2ACTion.
Will you join us in giving back to the community we love? You can invest in a healthier Alexandria by taking just 5 minutes to give $5 to an organization of your choice. While the official giving day is April 26, early giving has started! Like early voting, you can make a donation anytime between now and April 26. To learn more about Alexandria’s Giving Day, visit: www.Spring2ACTion.org. Spring2ACTion is hosted by ACT for Alexandria and presented by Amazon and the City of Alexandria.
About ACT for Alexandria (ACT)
Launched in 2004, ACT is Alexandria’s community foundation and the home for philanthropy and people who want to make a difference. For more information about ACT and how you can support the pressing needs of the nonprofit community in Alexandria, contact ACT at 703-739-7778 or visit www.actforalexandria.org.
