Marion.County.Kidney.Foundation

Who We Are

Marion County Kidney Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping individuals affected by kidney disease in Marion County Florida.

OUR MISSION

Through empowerment and innovation, we are committed to improving the well-being of persons with chronic kidney disease and our community. while being responsible stewards of our resources.

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FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The Foundation provides micro-grants to assist local kidney patients experiencing financial hardship. Grants are available for prescription assistance, food, transportation, utilities, dietary supplements, and other essential items needed to ensure proper patients are able to continue proper care and treatment.

APPLY FOR ASSISTANCE

BRIDGE TO TRANSPLANT GRANT

The foundation also offers the “Bridge to Transplant Grant” for Marion County kidney patients who are eligible to receive a kidney transplant, and meet all the criteria for listing for transplantation but have exhausted all other options for meeting the financial eligibility criteria for kidney transplantation.

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EDUCATION

The Foundation is committed to improving the well-being of persons with chronic kidney disease and our community. One of the ways in which this is accomplished is via materials and resources designed to educate patients, their families and the community.

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DONATIONS

The Marion County Kidney Association is 100% volunteer run organization. We are incredibly proud that 98% of our donations go directly to patients in need.

Your donations help support the hundreds of micro-grants MCKF provides to kidney patients in Marion County Florida. Additionally, through the help of our generous sponsors, we are able to provide eligible patients with the means to meet the financial eligibility criteria for kidney transplantation through our newly created Bridge to Transplant Program.

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VOLUNTEERS

We are incredibly proud that we are a 100% volunteer run organization.

Volunteers

Izu Nwakoby, MD, FASN

Board Chair

Dr. Nwakoby has been an active member of the MCKF board for several years. He specializes in caring for adult patients with kidney disease and has been in private practice in Marion County Florida, with the Ocala Kidney Group, since 2002. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology and an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine with the University of Central Florida, College of Medicine. He regularly provides training on the diagnosis and management of kidney diseases to Internal Medicine Residents at the Ocala Regional Medical Center. In his spare time, he enjoys running, biking and traveling.

Volunteers

Joanne Brayton, RN

Vice Chair

Joanne Brayton is a Registered Nurse in the field of Nephrology. Her mother, several aunts, two of her sisters, and her son are all in the medical field. She works for the Ocala Kidney Group and oversees the clinical aspect of a Nephrologist. She has a lifetime of wholistic approach to healing, and with the encouragement and support of the Nephrologist she works for, she encourages each person to be all they can be.

Volunteers

Marilyn Vazquez

Board Treasurer

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Florence Charbonneau

Grant Reviewer

Florence has been volunteering with the MCKF since 2005 when she moved to Ocala from New Hampshire. She truly enjoys working with Kidney patients and hopes she can help make their lives easier by assisting them.

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Patricia Allen

Education & Outreach Chair

Volunteers

Donna Cohn

Board Secretary & Digital Marketing

Donna has contributed to the MCKF Board since 2016 and has been the Board Secretary since 2017. She earned her Bachelors Degree in Marketing from SUNY Oswego and has over 25 years of experience in Marketing Communications. In addition to supporting MCKF, Donna is also passionate about the Mental Health Awareness movement and enjoys hiking the beautiful trails throughout Marion County.

Volunteers

Drexel Collins

Volunteer

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Deanna Collins

Volunteer

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Claudeth Henry, Esq.

Volunteer

Attorney Henry is the Founding Partner of CJ Henry Law Firm, PLLC (founded in 2009).

Volunteers

Bruce Howard

Volunteer

BS Weber State Physical Therapy Degree - University of Texas Medical Branch Private Clinic Practice in Ocala since 1985

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Dr. Suresh Lakshminarayanan

Volunteer

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Wanda Lasher

Volunteer

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Janine Manning

Volunteer

Janene brings a varied background to the Marion County Kidney Foundation. She is a retired banker with over 35 years’ experience. A kidney transplant patient herself, having received her transplant in September 1992 after losing her kidney’s because of Lupus. She is an active horsewoman, four-wheeler, air boater and hunter. It Janene’s hope to bring her banking experience and contacts together with her personal hobbies to provide vital financial and supportive information to the many kidney patients in Marion county.

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Tila Skipper-Resendiz

Volunteer

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Dr. Melvin Seek

Volunteer

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Dr. Mahesh Vaghela

Volunteer

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Veronica Valila

Volunteer

Testimonials

If you would like to share your experience, please contact us - we would love to share your story.

“My name is J. C. and I have been on dialysis for ten years.
I have been very fortunate to have Marion County Kidney Foundation help with financial issues such as utilities and rent over the years.
It is really a blessing to have a Foundation that assists dialysis patients.
God bless you and keep up the wonderful work.”
“We are grateful to the Marion County Kidney Foundation for gas and food cards.”
– DC and RT.
Ms. R H was grateful to the Marion County Kidney Foundation for help with Duke Energy bill.
Her experience was positive and the time was quick in getting help.
An anonymous patient was thankful for assistance allowing then to obtain a supplement, Nepro, to improve her nutritional status and lab values.
An anonymous patient was appreciative of financial assistance after a family member passed away unexpectedly.
The patient stated that due to the assistance provided, they were able to pay their electricity bill and manage expenses the following month.

Corporate Sponsors

Thank you so much to our corporate sponsors that continue to support the Marion County Kidney Foundation!

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Let Us Help

The Foundation provides grants to assist local kidney patients experiencing financial hardship. Grants are available for prescription assistance, food, transportation, utilities, dietary supplements, and rent/mortgage among other things. Over the years, the Marion County Kidney Foundation has provided hundreds of these grants to kidney patients in Marion County Florida. We are incredibly proud that as a 100% volunteer run organization, over 98% of our donations go directly to the patients in need.

The Bridge to Transplant Grant

The MCKF Kidney Transplant Grant was developed with the intention of assisting residents of Marion County Florida, with advanced kidney disease, to qualify for a kidney transplant.

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Micro-Grants

The Foundation provides micro-grants to assist local kidney patients experiencing financial hardship. Grants are available for prescription assistance, food, transportation, utilities, dietary supplements, and other essential items needed to ensure proper patients are able to continue proper care and treatment.

REQUEST ASSISTANCE
Kidney Education

In Marion County, there are more than 500 patients receiving life-saving kidney dialysis and about 10,000 more who are dealing with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

LEARN MORE

Contact

Connect with us today and see how you can help support families in Marion County Florida who are affected by kidney disease. Whether you want to volunteer or have a testimonial we want to hear from you.

(352) 622-0531

mckfhumanity@gmail.com

facebook.com/MCKForg

Donate via PayPal

2980 SE 3rd Court
Ocala, FL 34471

Designated by the IRS as a Public Charity under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code
Employer ID Number: 26-3333665