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INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- International Medical Group® (IMG®), an award-winning global insurance benefits and assistance services company, is excited to announce the winners of its sixth annual Leave Your Mark contest: Forward Edge International, Advocates of Love, and Dare for More. The winning organizations will receive $5,000, $3,000, and $2,000 respectively.
The first-place winner, Forward Edge, works throughout the world to assist children in need (especially those with disabilities) and their families by providing meals, education, drinking water, healthcare, and more. Forward Edge impacts more than 8,500 lives throughout the world through its programs.
"IMG's gift of $5,000 will help pay the salary of a nurse to care for 20 Central American families with disabled children through routine visits," said Forward Edge Director of Development, Nancy Hellman. "We thank IMG for partnering with Forward Edge to provide these children and families with resources and support not available to them otherwise."
The second-place winner, Advocates of Love, provides physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual care to neglected and abandoned children in Samaná, Dominican Republic. The Florida-based ministry operates its residential Children's Home in the Dominican Republic with 17 staff members and 24 children currently under their care. Advocates of Love also runs a community program for less fortunate children in Samaná who have a safe living environment but still require assistance with day-to-day essentials and care.
"Advocates of Love operates solely on the support of our partners and monthly child sponsorships to maintain our three properties in the Dominican Republic, house and feed the children in our care, and provide for our staff members," said Advocates of Love Communications Director, Melissa Schol. "We are grateful to IMG for awarding us $3,000 for our annual operating costs, allowing us to reach more children."
The third-place winner, Dare for More, gives women impacted by trafficking, abuse, and poverty the opportunity to heal and build a sustainable life for themselves and their children. Dare for More offers two training programs to women in crisis in Guatemala: a baking program and a sewing program. These programs teach women the skills they need to start their own businesses to provide for their families.
"Our goal is to meet the immediate needs of women and children through food, clean water, and medical treatment, but then we follow up with long-term transformation by offering education, skills training, mentoring, and more," the Founder of Dare for More, Reba Bowman. "Thank you to IMG for providing us with the funding to help more women and children in crisis through our training programs."
"Congratulations to Forward Edge, Advocates of Love, and Dare for More on being the winning organizations of this year's Leave Your Mark contest," said IMG Chief Operating Officer, Amanda Winkle. "It is an honor to support mission and social good organizations such as these, and I look forward to seeing the global impact each of the winning organizations will continue to have in the communities they serve."
IMG has insured mission and social good organizations since the early 1990s, providing key benefits and assistance services for thousands of members who travel or live internationally to serve others. The company launched the Leave Your Mark contest in 2017 to give back to organizations with charitable missions.
International Medical Group® (IMG®), a SiriusPoint company, is an award-winning global insurance benefits and assistance services company that has served millions of members worldwide since its founding in 1990. The preeminent provider of travel and health safety solutions, IMG offers a wide range of insurance programs, including international private medical insurance, travel medical insurance, and travel insurance, as well as enterprise services, including insurance administrative services and 24/7 emergency medical, security, and travel assistance. IMG's world-class services, combined with an extensive product portfolio, provide Global Peace of Mind® for travelers, students, missionaries, marine crews, and other individuals or groups traveling, working, or living away from home. For more information, please visit www.imglobal.com.
Forward Edge International conducts child-focused community development programs throughout the world helping vulnerable children and their families have access to nutritious meals, safe drinking water, quality education, health care, vocational training, and spiritual discipleship. Learn more at www.forwardedge.org.
In 2013, Advocates of Love began the first ministry and children's home within the entire Province of Samaná in the Dominican Republic. To date, Advocates of Love is the only children's home and ministry for orphaned and vulnerable children in the province. Advocates of Love's vision is to develop and maintain an approach that meets the spiritual, physical, academic, emotional, and medical needs of the people it serves. Advocates of Love's dream is to see orphans and vulnerable children integrate into a healthy, productive, and caring community by giving them the tools they need to establish themselves as agents of change in their own communities. Learn more at www.advocatesoflove.org.
Dare for More builds relationships with communities around the world to create lasting, sustainable change for vulnerable women and children in crisis. The mission of Dare for More is to create an arm of prevention and intervention for women who are impacted by trafficking, abuse, and poverty. Dare for More's approach is both strategic and relational, and the organization bases all of its work on building relationships with individuals and communities. Learn more at www.dareformore.org.
