Lincoln Cares is more than just a philanthropic slogan for our company. It represents our philosophy of helping those in need, inspiring action in those that have the means to contribute and ultimately, promoting the common good in our communities. We’ve been busy lately and not just with the midterm elections but also our charitable endeavors.
On Sunday, October 28, 15,000 people from around Arizona came together to celebrate the 13th Annual Autism Speaks Walk in partnership with SARRC. We were there with our family and friends and thanks to so many of you, our Lincoln team raised approximately $1,000! We walked to raise funds for the mission of Autism Speaks – to fuel innovative research and make connections to critical lifelong supports and services for the autism community. With the CDC upping the statistics for now 1 in 59 children receiving an autism diagnosis, the need is now greater than ever.
As many of you know, Lincoln employees are personally touched by autism. One employee has two children on the spectrum, another has an adult brother that lives with autism and another has a niece and nephew with the condition.
How thrilled we were to know that the Autism Speaks Walk brought together 530 walk teams, volunteers, sponsors and partners who supported autism awareness in our community. Together, more than $650,000 was raised to support critical autism research and resources!
Fast forward a couple weeks to Saturday, November 10th when we participated in another wonderful event with New Empowerment Refugees (NER). These courageous refugees have been through unimaginable pain and great loss and come to us from the Reuree camp in Kenya, the largest refugee camp in the world. To assimilate effectively and integrate into American society, these individuals need to learn English. This is where Lincoln Cares enters the picture.
We donated numerous laptops so refugee families can use online software to further build self-sufficiency and learn the language. “We were honored to donate the laptops and have a small part in helping them rebuild a new life here in the states,” said Tiffani Sproul, NER board member. “But these laptops are just the beginning. We have a vision to obtain a warehouse and turn it into a refugee community center.”
At the end of the NER event, Tiffani Sproul, led the call to action and raised an additional $1,800 from those in the audience to further the dream of the community center! Etienne Ahayo, Executive Director of NER has a saying, “We believe that change is possible and can happen against all odds.” These souls have certainly had the hardest of realities thrust upon them and yet persevere and adapt.
Giving back continues as we head into the holiday season. Lincoln Cares will be involved in “Adopt-a-Refugee-Family” for Christmas and holiday wrapping for Courtney’s Place at Scottsdale Fashion Square.
As life gets busy over the next few weeks with parties and merriment, what will you do to give back? As Winston Churchill so eloquently said, “From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.”