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Awake in America

PO Box 51601
Philadelphia, PA 19115

www.AwakeInAmerica.org/

Mission and Programs

Mission

MISSIONS OF AWAKE IN AMERICA, INC.] [1. PROMOTE THE ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL AWAKE IN AMERICA GROUPS] -- Awake In America plans to promote and assist in the organization of local sleep disorder groups across the United States. [2. CREATE AWARENESS AMONG THE GENERAL PUBLIC, BUSINESS, AND CORPORATIONS] -- Awake In America plans to work on creating awareness of sleep disorders among the general public, businesses, and corporations around the country. [3. CREATE AWARENESS OF SLEEP DISORDERS AMONG ALLIED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS ] -- Awake In America plans to work on creating awareness of sleep disorders among allied health professionals around the country. These efforts will be primarily aimed at primary care physicians, to help educate them about warning signs of sleep disorders, as well as help them better identify people at greater risk of sleep disorders, as well as other mitigating conditions, such as stroke, high blood pressure, heart attack, congestive heart failure, mood swings, excessive daytime, sleepiness, and sexual dysfunction. [4. FUNDRAISING MEMBERSHIPS] -- Awake In America plans to offer fundraising memberships to individuals and corporations. [5. CREATE AWARENESS AMONG GOVERNMENT AND ELECTED OFFICIALS] -- Awake In America plans to work on creating awareness of sleep disorders among government and elected officials around the country. Government officials would be, for example, those involved with various departments of transportation, state police agencies, and health and human services offices. [6. AWAKE IN AMERICA WEB SITE] -- Awake In America hopes to educate and increase public awareness about sleep, sleep deprivation, and sleep disorders by maintaining an organizational web site that will act as a resource center for people suffering from sleep disorders. [7. ADVOCACY] -- In support of its goal of education and increasing public awareness, Awake In America plans to keep on top of the current legislative and legal environment with regard to sleep disorders.

Programs

xPAP DONATION AND RELIEF PROGRAM: program where people or business can donate equipment used to treat sleep apnea, which is then given to individuals in need who cannot obtain the equipment necessary to treat diagnosed sleep apnea. BENEFICIARIES: people who cannot afford essential medical equipment. SLEEP STUDY RELIEF PROGRAM: Similar in nature to the xPAP Relief Program, except this program is designed to assist individuals without the financial means or health insurance coverage, obtain a sleep study for the purpose of diagnosing suspected obstructive sleep apnea. LOCAL GROUPS: help others around the country launch community education and support groups throughout the United States -- beneficiaries: individuals with sleep disorders. DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAM: We have in place a full relief program to assist individuals from specific large disasters, approved by the Awake In America Board, with replacement equipment, such as CPAP or BiPAP machines, nasal masks, and humidification units, when applicable. The program is open only at times when determined by the Awake In America Board, and works in conjunction with FEMA and other disaster organizations on national and state levels. This program is based on a program we created to assist victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (see http://www.AwakeInAmerica.org/Katrina/ for more information)

Additional Comments from the Organization

Awake In America launched "Operation Restore CPAP" in response to the devastation from Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005. The program had a pre-determined lifetime of 90 days, and in that time, we assisted 97 individuals directly. We replaced all their equipment, shipped it to them, and covered shipping and related shipping insurance costs. Estimated value for all replaced items is $47,000. We continue operating our ever-growing xPAP Donation and Relief Program, as well as our Sleep Study Relief Program. Both are helping many people. We average 30 applications each month for the xPAP Relief Program alone, and assist an average of 25 people in any given month. Note that even though we receive an average of 30 applications per month and assist 25 people per month, on average, the other five per month, on average, are not rejected. Those applications are generally the ones received at the end of the month, with processing taking place the following month. We have very low rejection rates for the program. Information about the program may be found at http://www.AwakeInAmerica.org/DonateRelief/. At end of 4Q 2007, we have assisted almost 500 U.S. citizens since the program's inception in 2004. A site redesign has been underway, with testing and development by almost 100 individuals around the world, ensuring usability on both the public side, as well as virtual use by volunteers working remotely from anywhere in the world. The number of support groups in the U.S. continue to grow. We have about 22 in the U.S. right now, most based in sleep centers and open only to their patients. Each group decides how the group will run, and Awake In America maintains to control over the group. We provide support and resources to the coordinators, but allow them to run the groups autonomously.

Who We Are

Works to promote sleep awareness about sleep and sleep disorders; helps establish community education groups around the country; CPAP/bi-level equipment relief program; sleep study relief program.

NTEE Code

Goals and Results


Accomplishments for Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2007

  1. Continued operating the xPAP Donation and Relief Program and the Sleep Study Relief Program (see http://www.awakeinamerica.org/DonateRelief/ for more information, applications, and FAQs)
  2. Worked on revamping our site. We will be launching a new Web 2.0-based site, complete with RSS feeds, in early 2008. With the site revamp, we will also be launching associated sites, as well as new services and features.
  3. Continue launching support groups around the country, as well as continuing outreach to individuals, health care professionals, industry, and government officials.

Objectives for Fiscal Year Beginning January 1, 2008

  1. Finish development of new site (will be launching by late March 2008), which will bring in new features, such as dedicated RSS and ATOM feeds (with discovery), audio, video, and more.
  2. Continue expanding the xPAP Donation and Relief Program to help more people each year
  3. Create several educational outreach programs (general public, health care providers, and schools)

Basic Information