Iowa is getting more than $9 million to improve its system of care for stroke patients, and to address staffing issues among public-health workers in rural areas.

The money is being donated by the Helmsley Charitable Trust, with $6 million of it going to the American Heart Association's (AHA's) "Mission: Lifeline Stroke" initiative across the state.

Michelle Scharnott, national vice president for business development and strategic initiatives for the American Heart Association, said the program strives to bring more coordination and efficiency to hospitals, first responders, rehabilitation centers and others when delivering this kind of care.

"It's figuring out that destination decision and who has what capabilities within the state," Scharnott outlined. "And assessing that patient immediately to make sure the best decision is made."

The association, which is also contributing funds, noted stroke is among the leading causes of death in Iowa, with more than 1,400 such cases in 2020.

Helmsley is also granting $3 million in Iowa and two other states for AHA to launch its "HeartCorps" program. It involves adding public-health workers in rural settings, especially in counties ranking among the least healthy.

Officials explained the workers can focus on helping people improve their cardiovascular health. As for streamlining stroke care.

Walter Panzirer, trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said it helps to ensure patients return to their lives and their communities.

"In small towns, if the owner of a lumber mill, for example, or any small-town business, has a life-threatening stroke, that business might not be around anymore," Panzirer emphasized.

Previously, the philanthropic organization donated nearly $5 million for a similar AHA program in Iowa to address heart-attack care. And it recently provided funding for large trucks to travel to smaller Iowa communities, allowing rural health providers more access to training and equipment for general health care needs.

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As Americans make end-of-year donations to their favorite causes, those that help children with cancer and their families say these households need support in difficult situations. A Minnesota-based group says inflation underscores the need.

The Pinky Swear Foundation has grown into a national philanthropic organization that will soon celebrate its 20th anniversary. The group's marketing manager, Jake Leif, said it's important that people also support cancer research and medical-debt initiatives, but groups such as his fill in the gaps in areas that might not receive as much attention when a family goes through this type of journey.

"When the child has cancer, life carries on," he said, "and so [there's] a lot of gas and grocery bills, rent, mortgages, car payments."

Leif said it makes it harder when a parent has to pause working, and the total cost of a child's cancer journey can exceed $800,000. He added that inflation has affected everyone's wallets this year, and these families are no exception. Support from the foundation, including individual donations, is designed to remove the pressure of those daily expenses.

While platforms such as GoFundMe are another good tool, Leif said they can only do so much when a situation quickly overwhelms a family's finances.

"We hear from families all the time that they had a beautiful nest egg, they had a healthy, healthy savings account," he said, "and childhood cancer came through and just blew it down."

The organization also will observe national Pinky Swear Day on Sunday. That proclamation originated from action in 2014 by then-Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. It reflects how the group was inspired when a 9-year-old boy named Mitch, who was diagnosed with cancer, gave his savings to families on the pediatric oncology floor where he was receiving treatment. Before his death, he asked his father to promise to carry out this mission moving forward.

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Economic uncertainly created by the pandemic did not stop Americans from boosting charitable donations to record numbers in 2020 and overall giving in 2021.

But with inflation, it is unclear if it will continue. About 20% of charitable giving occurs between today and New Year's Eve.

Thomas Tighe, president and CEO of the nonprofit Direct Relief, a humanitarian organization providing emergency medical assistance and disaster relief in the U.S. and internationally, said choosing a charity you believe in is the first step to feeling good about making a contribution.

"Once you decide what it is that you care about, it's worth doing your homework to find a group that's going to do right with your money; going to make you feel proud," Tighe explained. "They're meeting these transparency standards. And that's a good thing to do, just to make sure that the cause speaks to you. Is your money going to serve the cause?"

Despite inflation, online Black Friday sales in the U.S. topped a record-breaking $9 billion this year, according to Adobe Analytics.

Tighe believes civic engagement is ingrained in American culture, evidenced by the existence of 1.5 million charities nationwide. According to Kindness Financial Planning, individuals accounted for almost three-quarters or $324 billion of charitable giving in 2020.

"For groups that rely on charitable support, it's a time of 'cross your fingers and hope you did everything well and that people are in a position to give,' and that's the big unknown, what the effects of inflation are," Tighe noted.

Among Baby Boomers, 72% give to charity, compared with 60% of millennials and 59% of Gen-Xers. Tighe added younger people often give smaller amounts to groups or causes not associated with corporate workplace campaigns.

"There's no sense that people who are younger care any less, I think they may engage differently in the type of giving that they do or engagement," Tighe explained.

To make sure your contribution goes as far as possible, consumer-guidance services such as Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau rate charities for a variety of trust factors.

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UPDATE: This story was modified 10/26/2022 at 2:30pm MST to reflect a request for comment from The California Alliance of Pregnancy Care, which represents pregnancy resource centers across the state.

CLARIFICATION: Information was added to this story from the California Alliance of Pregnancy Care. (7:30 p.m. PDT, Nov. 1, 2022)


In the wake of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Crisis Pregnancy Centers are drawing more scrutiny.

In June, California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned the centers advertise reproductive health care services, but their true mission is to dissuade people from seeking an abortion.

Stephanie Peng, senior manager of movement research for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, said the centers sometimes make false claims about the risks of the procedure.

"There are really intentional practices to lure people who are seeking abortion information," Peng contended. "And then really mislead them away from having an abortion without giving them a choice to even think about it."

Allison Martinez with the California Alliance of Pregnancy Care said in a statement that state-licensed pregnancy help centers are "committed to honesty, and use only licensed professionals to perform medical procedures, including ultrasounds."

She added that centers without a medical license do not represent themselves as providing medical services, and all centers agree to not obstruct or delay a decision to terminate. Martinez described most centers as "faith-based and nonprofit, each with its own governing board," and said many offer pregnancy classes and free diapers.

State data show 179 such centers operate in California.

A recent report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy looked at Internal Revenue Service records and found the centers and their tax-affiliated organizations took in $4 billion from 2015 to 2019.

Peng pointed out the centers often have ties to much larger organizations, many affiliated with the right-to-life movement.

"There's this common misconception that CPCs are just really small, individual-run organizations that are all volunteer-based; they might be operating out of a church," Peng noted. "But what we found is that $4 billion is a substantial amount of revenue that they are getting. "

The report recommended charitable donors and foundations check to see if the organizations they support are funneling money to the centers.

Fourteen states moved to ban or severely restrict abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this summer. Peng added donors concerned about the right to choose may want to contribute to groups helping low-income women who may have to travel out of state for the procedure.

"The philanthropy and foundation sector really needs to support the local and state-based abortion funds," Peng urged. "Who are really providing the financial and practical assistance to individuals who are seeking abortion care."



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