INO Cares - WV Flood Relief

This past week has been crazy! The news has been dominated by Brexit, the house sit-in, and the ever entertaining presidential campaign. There was also tremendous tragedy in West Virginia as devastating floods took lives and destroyed homes. A few members of our staff live in this wild and wonderful state. Although they are safe, many of their state's residents are suffering great losses.

We have donated to the flood relief efforts as part of our INO Cares campaign. We hope that our contribution will be used to provide both material and emotional comfort for the flood victims.

If you have it in your hearts to contribute to the West Virginia Flood Relief, there are many ways to do so. Below you will find a few organizations that are trying to make a difference for this broken community.

Red Cross
United Methodist Foundation of WV (Memo: Flood)

I hope you'll keep following along as we try to make the world just a little bit better with random acts of kindness.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.

Miriam's Kitchen - INO Cares November 2015

Every month this year, we've asked an employee to nominate a cause for our INO Cares campaign. So far this year we've helped St. Judes, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Anne Arundel Medical Center, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Maryland Therapeutic Riding, Bike Like A Girl and more really amazing organizations.

This month was a little different as all of us wanted to go back and serve at Miriam's Kitchen. We dug out our aprons and hats and jumped into the kitchen in Washington, D.C., serving a delicious meal to over 160 men and women of the chronically homeless community.

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Last year after we finished our dinner shift, staff members immediately asked, "when can we do this again?" So of course this was our staff pick for INO Cares this year!

There is something so satisfying about giving both money and manpower to an organization that is doing amazing things in our area.

Once again this year we had a great time working side-by-side with our fellow colleagues and sharing a little love with random strangers. The staff at Miriam's is phenomenal and their passion for service is simply contagious. The smiles of the guests are heartwarming and we hope the food nourished their bodies as much as the evening nourished our souls.

There are over 7,000 homeless individuals in Washington, D.C., 1,764 of which are chronically homeless. Miriam's Kitchen is committed to ending homelessness in D.C. by establishing meaningful relationships with chronically homeless individuals, connecting them with permanent supportive housing, and ensuring they have the necessary support to remain in housing.

Miriam's Kitchen serves breakfast and dinner to 200-300 people each day, 365 days a year. They also provide mental health services, medical services, legal services, therapeutic resources, clothing and toiletries and housing assistance. To learn more about Miriam's Kitchen or how you can help, please visit www.miriamskitchen.org.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
The INO Cares Team

Maryland Therapeutic Riding - INO Cares July 2015

When someone here at INO.com needs something, they all seem to run to Rachel. Rachel does it all and we are grateful to have her as a colleague! This month we ran to her to get her pick for our July INO Cares project.

Rachel has been riding horses for over 25 years. She first fell in love with horses after her mother gave her a My Little Pony set when she was 5 years old. Throughout her life, she has trained horses, taught lessons, managed an equestrian retail shop and cared for her own horses. She has also volunteered with numerous organizations who help rescue horses as well as provide therapeutic resources for those in need through equestrian programs.

Rachel currently has a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood named Mojave (Mo) who is pictured to the right.

For her pick, Rachel selected Maryland Therapeutic Riding (MTR) to receive a donation from INO.com in honor of our July INO Cares campaign.

MTR uses the healing and therapeutic power of horses to improve the balance, strength, muscle tone, self-image, self-confidence, and quality of life for individuals with special needs. Their riders, with challenges such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, neuromuscular disorders, post-traumatic brain injury, emotional disabilities, autism and attention deficit disorder, use horses to experience an overall improvement in their quality of life.

Learn more about Maryland Therapeutic Riding.

If there are any causes that are important to you, tell us about them! We’d love to pick organizations nominated by our blog visitors for next year’s INO Cares campaign.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.

Half Marathon Follow Up - INO Cares March 2015

In March, we told you about my sister, Casey Thompson (now Casey Berry as she got married last month), who was running in the Frederick Half Marathon to raise money for The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. INO.com was proud to contribute to Casey’s fundraising.


For Casey, raising money for The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, is so incredibly important because she suffers from MS herself.

On Sunday, May 3rd, Casey powered through the Fredrick 1/2 Marathon despite her physical challenges! Casey ran the race with her husband, Jim and Amy Maher (wife of INO.com co-owner, David Maher). The three of them pushed each other through the race on one of the nicest spring mornings thus far and finished in a very respectable 2 hours and 20 minutes!

They were cheered at the finished line by some members of the INO.com family.

I am so proud of Casey, Jim & Amy! With every step and every dollar of her fundraising efforts, Casey is that much closer to finding a solution to a high-quality life with MS.

If you have a suggestion for a non-profit, please email

su*****@in*.com











and tell us why it's an important cause to you. We would love for our visitors to select beneficiaries/events for our upcoming INO Cares campaigns!

Here's to a better world.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.

5K For The Bay - INO Cares April 2015

In 2015, most INO.com employees have made it a mission to get in shape. Lunch breaks consist of outdoors runs, elliptical workouts and ab routines. It also happens that INO.com's corporate office is located right on the water with one of the best views of the Chesapeake Bay that there is.

Melissa, our Customer Support Manager, is an avid exerciser and makes sure she gets in her daily activity. Melissa thought that for her INO Care's pick, she would select an event which would help protect the Chesapeake Bay while also allowing our employees to get moving!

We were proud to participate in the 5K For The Bay on April 11th as part of our April 2015 INO Cares campaign! A handful of INO.com employees and their families put on their sneakers and set out early in the morning for a walk/run. Some ran for time, while others took a leisurely stroll! It was a fantastic day!

This event benefits the Chesapeake Bay Trust which is a non-profit grant-making organization dedicated to restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay through environmental education and restoration projects. We were also thrilled to present the Trust with a donation so that they may continue their work protecting the Bay that we love and enjoy so much every day!

If you have a suggestion for a non-profit, please email

su*****@in*.com











and tell us why it's an important cause to you. We would love for our visitors to select beneficiaries/events for our upcoming INOCares campaigns!

Here's to a better world.

Best,
Lindsay Bittinger
INO.com, Inc.