LLS Maryland Chapter Nationally Recognized as Nonprofit Partner of the Year
BALTIMORE, MD - The Maryland Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was recently awarded the Mutual of America Nonprofit Partner of the Year Award by the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance in partnership with Towson University. LLS is the world's largest voluntary nonprofit health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing information and support to patients and their families.
The Nonprofit Partner of the Year Award recognizes a nonprofit organization that has demonstrated leadership and commitment to supporting the preparation of the nonprofit sector workforce through their partnership and support of Nonprofit Leadership Alliance campus programs.
Located in Owings Mills, the Maryland Chapter of LLS has long been a partner of the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance program at Towson University. Through this collaboration with the Family Studies and Community Development Department, Towson students have contributed nearly 3,000 hours via internships, community service and volunteering to assist LLS with the overall management and fundraising for an annual free conference that educates professionals and families on the issues that children, youth and young adults with cancer face during and after treatment.
During Towson's spring 2012 semester, a Nonprofit Leadership Alliance service learning group worked on LLS's Light The Night® Walks which raise money for cancer research and patient services. Light The Night Walks take place in nearly two hundred communities each fall across North America and are a signature fundraiser of LLS. The group of Alliance students developed a $200,000 fundraising plan that included marketing analysis, grant application, a small and large donor component and corporate sponsorship. The group also developed a grant application to provide blood cancer-related education, screening, financial assistance and treatment options to Baltimore city's Hispanic community.
"Our unique partnership with the Maryland Chapter of LLS has benefited both them and us," says Dr. Sharon Jones-Eversley, Alliance Campus Director and Assistant Professor, Family Studies and Community Development Department at Towson University. "We nominated LLS for this award because of their demonstrated long-term commitment to nonprofit workforce development. They provide our nonprofit leadership and management students with hands-on opportunities to apply what they learn in the classroom to actual projects in the community."
"Our Chapter of LLS believes in the mission of the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, and their goal of strengthening the nonprofit sector with a talented, prepared workforce," says Tracy Orwig, the Chapter's Patient Services Manager who accepted the award on their behalf. "We are more successful in fulfilling the LLS mission and meeting the needs of our constituents with the professional knowledge, skills, and passion these students bring to the table."
Sponsored by Mutual of America, the Nonprofit Partner of the Year Award is presented at the Alliance's annual Management/Leadership Institute (AMI). AMI 2013 was held in Atlanta, GA, January 2-5 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
Founded in 1948, the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance exists to strengthen the leadership of the social sector and to sustain the ability of nonprofits to fulfill their missions with a talented and prepared workforce. They accomplish this by partnering with colleges and universities to prepare, certify and connect professionals to nonprofit careers. In 2011, the Alliance launched a new credential - the Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP). It is the first professional designation of its kind nationwide. The CNP demonstrates that a job candidate possesses critical nonprofit leadership and management competencies the sector looks for when hiring.
Founded in 1866, Towson University, Maryland's Metropolitan University, is the second-largest school in the University System of Maryland. Since 2006, LLS and the Family Studies and Community Development Department have co-sponsored the Staying Connected Conference held at Towson University and annually attended by more than 100 education and healthcare professionals, students and parents. Towson University in Towson, MD has been a Campus Partner of the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance since 2008.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The mission of LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds life-saving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services.
