The 2019 Breakthrough Impact Awards: Recognizing the Dedication of Those Who Help Others

Charity organizations help those in need worldwide by providing them with essential resources and assistance. Their selfless volunteers, dedicated employees, and generous donors make a positive difference in our lives through their work in fields including healthcare, social activism, and community development.

Even in the best circumstances, nonprofits can be challenging to create and sustain innovative programs and services. Breakthrough Healthcare is launching the Breakthrough Impact Awards as a token of their gratitude and appreciation to the charity sector. As part of this initiative, Breakthrough will provide pro bono assistance to a select set of nonprofits to help them create new, ground-breaking programs and services that will positively impact and expand the scope and power of their missions.

The Ethan Lindberg Foundation and the National Network to End Sexual Assault and Sexual Violence are the recipients of the 2019 Breakthrough Impact Awards (RAINN).

Ethan Lindberg Foundation

The Ethan Lindberg Foundation was established to provide direct aid to people living with CHD and their families. The Foundation’s goals are to increase patient access to high-quality care, facilitate open lines of communication between patients and their doctors, promote shared medical decision-making, and encourage the development of cutting-edge surgical procedures and anesthesia methods that yield better patient outcomes. The Foundation gives families financial assistance so they can stay at apartments in Boston during extended or frequent stays at Boston Children’s Hospital for cardiac care.

The Foundation will use the funds from its Breakthrough Impact Award to design and implement a study in 2019 that will analyze the economic burdens placed on families caring for children with congenital heart disease. The Foundation will collaborate with an academic research institution to design a study methodology and instrument, administer the survey to a representative sample of the U.S. population, and report the findings. The results of this research will be used to develop policies and programs that aid families dealing with congenital heart disease navigate the many financial obstacles they face.

According to Jessica Lindberg, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Ethan Lindberg Foundation, “although we understand the medical impact and research requirements of the CHD community, we need to quantify the social, emotional, and financial impact CHD has on patients and families.” We are honored to receive this grant and look forward to directing this research effort alongside our Breakthrough colleagues.

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN)

In the United States, RAINN has more members than any other group working to end sexual violence. RAINN runs the DoD Safe Helpline and the National Sexual Assault Hotline in collaboration with over a thousand local treatment providers around the country. RAINN also runs initiatives to help prevent sexual assault, support victims, and bring those responsible to justice.

Consulting, program assessment, training, and hotline services are just some of how RAINN’s consulting services team helps clients in the public, commercial, and nonprofit sectors build better sexual misconduct prevention and response programs. RAINN plans to utilize the funds from its Breakthrough Impact Award to develop better methods of overseeing the expansion of its programs and to explore untapped avenues for increasing its influence and helping more people get well and live in safer, healthier environments.

Clara Kim RAINN‘s Vice President of Consulting Services, said, “We look forward to continuing our work helping companies assess their sexual violence policies and practices.” Working together to boost our joint efforts is essential as more businesses and organizations turn to RAINN for help with program evaluations and preventative initiatives.