Learn more about the Take Steps Walk and search for your local walksite at cctakesteps.org or join the ADCS Central Florida Team Page for ADCS at online.ccfa.org/goto/adcscentralflorida.
Advanced Dermatology became the inaugural national team dedicated to fundraising through Take Steps at multiple walk locations. By partnering with Take Steps and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), this unique team provides opportunities for employees in communities across the country to fundraise for local CCFA chapters. They also participate in walk day festivities where the dedication and success of our participants are celebrated with live music, food, patient education, and a short walk in honor of the 1.6 million patients living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, two incurable, debilitating digestive diseases.
“We’re proud to partner with CCFA and join forces for the IBD community,” said Dr. Matt Leavitt, Founder and CEO of Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery and CCFA National Board Member. “To meet patients at local walk events and hear their stories is overwhelming. I have a very personal connection to this disease, and it is incredibly empowering to see my staff come together and rally behind the same cause.”
Corporate partnership with Take Steps and CCFA offers several benefits to businesses. Companies can demonstrate their corporate responsibility through increased community visibility, help foster teamwork and collaborate of their staff, and offer leadership development opportunities. Companies involved in the local community tend to have employees with higher morale and higher retention – employees whose companies support cause-related issues are 40% more likely to say they are proud of their company’s values and nearly 25% are more likely to be loyal to their employers.
Dr. Leavitt didn’t join Take Steps to promote his business but by partnering with CCFA and joining the local community, his business has reaped the benefits. What started as one team in Orlando has grown to include staff teams in Denver, Fort Collins, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Detroit. Those teams have met dozens of working professionals in the local community who have become patrons of their healthcare practice.
Teams bring their hobbies and interests to walk day – an Advanced Dermatology practice in Denver volunteered their band to perform for participants during the walk festivities. Staffs use the events as a team building exercise – teams develop and execute fundraising events before the walk, helping to build leadership, planning, and project management skills.
Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis will kick off the 2016 season with events in more than 120 communities across the country. Last year, more than 40,000 walkers pledged their time, resources, and funds to support our patients and raised more than $10 million. In 2016, participants will connect to raise mission-critical funds for research advancement and patient support programs. Participants connect with the IBD community to bring hope to the 1.6 million American adults and children living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
About Take Steps
Take Steps is the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America’s national walk program. These walks raise funds for critical research and increase awareness of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, painful and unpredictable digestive diseases. Our walks are family friendly festivals with activities for everyone including games, music, and great food. Funds raised through Take Steps will help transform the lives of those impacted by these diseases, and support CCFA’s critical research, education, and patient support programs. Walk with us today: get started at cctakesteps.org.
About the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America
The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) is the largest voluntary non-profit health organization dedicated to finding cures for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). CCFA’s mission is to cure Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults who suffer from these diseases. The Foundation works to fulfill its mission by funding research, providing educational resources for patients and their families, medical professionals, and the public, and furnishing supportive services for those afflicted with IBD. For more information, visit ccfa.org, call 888-694-8872, join us on Facebook at facebook.com/ccfafb and facebook.com/ccfatakesteps, or follow CCFA and Take Steps on Twitter at twitter.com/ccfa.
About Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
Known collectively as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis affects 1 in 200 people. They are painful, medically incurable diseases that attack the digestive system. Crohn’s disease may attack anywhere along the digestive tract, while ulcerative colitis inflames only the large intestine (colon). Symptoms may include abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fever and weight loss. Many patients require numerous hospitalizations and surgery. Most people develop the diseases between the ages of 15 and 35; however the incidence is increasing in children.
About Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery
Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery is the largest dermatology practice in the country with over 120 locations. We are committed to providing comprehensive and unparalleled dermatologic care in a welcoming and engaging environment. We seek to make each patient experience unique by combining superior patient safety and privacy standards in treating dermatologic and cosmetic concerns. We strive to combine the best of the art of medicine with the latest advances in research and technology in formulating individualized treatment plans to achieve a unique, desired, and aesthetically pleasing result.