LUTHERVILLE, Md. (Dec. 19, 2016) – ‘Tis the season for giving and the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland (NKF-MD) is challenging donors to give gifts that will directly impact day-to-day living for area kidney patients.
The Foundation has launched its first ever 12 Days of Giving campaign wherein donors can visit http://bit.ly/2996utH now through Dec. 31 and designate their gifts from the following 12 essential services:
$1,000
• Every two $1,000 donations fund a free kidney health risk assessment for 40 people.
• $1,000 helps pay rent or mortgage for five dialysis patients.
$500
• Pays for one month of transportation to dialysis for 10 patients.
• Funds groceries for a week for two families of four.
• Funds at least two patient emergency assistance grants.
$250
• Funds one month of transportation to dialysis for five patients.
• Buys equipment for a patient undergoing home dialysis.
$100
• Buys one-month supply of a nutritional supplement for a newly-diagnosed dialysis patient.
• Pays for prescription medication for one kidney patient.
$50
• Assists with gas/electric bill for a kidney patient.
• Funds a week’s groceries for a kidney patient.
$25
• Pays for an individual’s blood work at a free kidney screening.
“At this time of year in particular, we are reminded that so many people need assistance in order to afford the day-to-day services that we often take for granted,” said Traci Barnett,NKF-MD’s president and CEO. “When you add in the additional expenses those with kidney disease have to incur in order to survive, it can get rather steep with treatment for the average dialysis patient costing more than $83,000 per year.”
“With this in mind, we hope that people will make NKF-MD their charity of choice and give life-sustaining gifts this holiday season,” she added. “These donations will help our Foundation continue to annually provide an average of $100,000 in emergency assistance and transportation funds, and help more than 1,000 patients and their families meet basic, urgent life needs.”
About NKF-MD
Serving central and western Maryland, the Delmarva Peninsula and portions of Virginia and West Virginia, the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland is the area’s only voluntary health agency dedicated to preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well-being of individuals and families affected by these diseases, and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation. For more information, visit www.kidneymd.org.
