The DC Abortion Fund is pleased to release its FY2014 Annual Report! Although this was a challenging year for pro-choice legislation across the United States, DCAF had its most successful year yet and worked to improve the lives of patients right here in the DC area. Here are some highlights from the last 12 months:

DCAF screened over 3,100 calls from patients, and was able to offer financial assistance pledges to nearly 1,000 of them. The total amount of pledges offered was nearly $200,000 – an increase of more than 20 percent from last year! Over 700 of these pledges were redeemed, which is 700 people who were able to access abortion services that might not have otherwise been able to.

DCAF also continued its Brighter Futures Together program, distributing educational materials and engaging in outreach efforts to youth ages 10-21. Our most successful training – Let’s Talk About Sex – incorporated a series of lunchtime forums on sexual and reproductive health for service provides who work with youth. DCAF also exceeded its goals by assisting nearly 200 youth through our helpline and providing nearly $25,000 in funding to youth patients.

2014 also saw some great additions to the DCAF team – our roster of case managers continued to rise and now includes 48 volunteers who work with callers in the metro-DC area and liaise with our partners to get our patients seen. We also hosted trainings and apprenticeships for new volunteers, as well as an in-service refresher for veteran case managers.

In March, DCAF accepted a Washington Women of Excellence in Public Health award from the District of Columbia Commission for Women. This award recognizes the continuing importance of DCAF’s work, which would not be possible without your support! We are incredibly grateful to the Commission for Women and to the Mayor’s office for giving us this honor.

“With the release of our annual report, it’s great to see on paper what we already knew: the last year has been a phenomenal year for DCAF,” said board President Val Vilott. “We’re a strong fund that’s sustained by such an incredible group of volunteers, and it really shows. We have so much to be proud of! I hope our supporters enjoy reading the report as much as we enjoyed creating it.”

Check out the report in its entirety here.

Written by volunteer Bethany O.