Creating Healthier Communities, Together
By: Thomas G. Bognanno, President and CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities
You may have noticed that Community Health Charities looks a little different. That’s because today we introduced a new name and brand, CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, that better aligns with our present-day commitment and long-term vision for the future.
Together with our staff, national board of directors, and community partners, we’ve reflected on our past 60+ years and how we describe our work, priorities, vision and community engagement.
Just as our work has evolved, so too should our brand.
Community Health Charities has always been committed to health and wellbeing, but over the past few years our nonprofit partners have grown beyond just chronic disease, our definition and understanding of health has evolved, and our role in creating healthier communities has expanded.
During our early years, we worked with public and private sector leaders to drive resources to organizations that were fighting some of our biggest health challenges—from cancer and Alzheimer’s to heart disease, autism and arthritis.
But we and our partners know that health is more than healthcare. Supporting the health and wellbeing of a community requires a coalition of diverse partners—faith-based, social justice and equity, mental health, traditional health and human service and beyond—and a complex web of supports that touch on every aspect of life—where we live and what we eat, our access to opportunities for quality education, sustaining employment, and more.
Achieving our vision—where every person in every community has an opportunity to realize their greatest potential—requires more partners and more complex work. Yes, we still mobilize significant resources through workplace giving and employee volunteering. But we’ve also embraced our role as a catalyst for change, bringing leaders together and tackling tough community issues.
Our new name leads with our mission of Creating Heathier Communities and articulates our holistic commitment to health and wellbeing. Organizations we partner with have bold visions of affecting, addressing, and alleviating health disparities and inequities—as do we. We will continue to prioritize and listen to our partners and community leaders who have the best pulse on what their respective community needs to address disparities in health and wellbeing.
Join us at chcimpact.org, sign up for our newsletter, and engage with us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. We look forward to sharing this next phase of our journey with you and creating healthier communities together.
Thomas G. Bognanno, President and CEO for CHC
Thomas G. Bognanno has been the President and CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities formally Community Health Charities, since January 2006. Prior to that, Tom had a distinguished 20-year career with the American Diabetes Association (ADA), where he served as the Chief Field Officer. He was instrumental in revitalizing ADA’s community-level infrastructure and acting as one of the chief architects of the Everyday Choices for a Healthier Life partnership between ADA, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society. Before ADA, Tom spent six years with the American Cancer Society.
At CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, Tom has been a catalyst for consolidating the organization and creating a new direction for its more than 2,000 charity partners nationwide and its network of over 17 million caring employees. Under Tom’s leadership, CHC: Creating Healthier Communities evolved its mission to empower people to take action to improve health and wellbeing to build stronger, healthier communities. CHC supports education, treatment, and prevention for those with health challenges; brings organizations together to improve community health; provides individuals with opportunities to get involved; and increases the capacity of nonprofit organizations.
Residing in northern Virginia, Tom and his wife Suzan have been married for over 35 years and have raised three children.
