For several nonprofit organizations, this year’s March Madness is more than the pinnacle of the college basketball season.

If you happen to be looking for additional gift ideas, I invite you to consider Missy’s Favorite Things.

Beautiful bath and body products can be found at Argrow's Moline, open Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Happy Coffee, co-founded by actor Robert Downey, Jr., is in partnership with the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) “to help create a world where mental health is valued and understood, and where help is accessible to everyone — free from stigma or fear.”

I was grateful for the drive to Muscatine the morning of my CPC visit. I used those mental miles to prepare myself for the 90-minute tour and introduction to the world of child abuse allegations, medical exams and forensic interviews.

Tapestry comes from the great Maya Angelou - ‘We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.’

We learned first responders are six times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population. More than 1/3 of first responders are afflicted with sleep disorders and grapple with alcohol dependency. In fewer numbers, but just as significant are those suffering from PTSD and clinical depression.

In their first application for a Capacity Building and Service Support grant last fall, we learned that Family Resources has a 175-year history that began with the Ladies Benevolent Society. This brought to my mind a group of determined women championing the causes of those in need with kindness and generosity — the very definition of benevolence.

Over the next few months, I will be taking field trips to the organizations receiving Better Health Foundation grants and sharing my experiences with you. These learning visits will inform our Foundation’s future grantmaking and deepen our understanding of the nonprofit agencies working to improve our health and well-being.

Today marks the first anniversary of the Better Health Foundation. Our story is just beginning.

The Better Health Foundation came to life with the marriage, or in business terms, the strategic partnership of Genesis Health System and MercyOne. Genesis gifted to us the bulk of our assets to enable grantmaking for programs and services that will help people live longer, healthier lives.