General Information

Give an Hour™ is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), founded in September 2005 by Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a psychologist in the Washington, D.C., area. The organization’s mission is to develop national networks of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic conditions that arise within our society.

Currently, GAH is dedicated to meeting the mental health needs of the troops and families affected by the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We provide counseling to individuals, couples and families, and children and adolescents. We offer treatment for anxiety, depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, sexual health and intimacy concerns, and loss and grieving.

In addition to direct counseling services, our providers are working to reduce the stigma associated with mental health by participating in and leading education, training, and outreach efforts in schools and communities and around military bases.

GAH  has been featured and Dr. Van Dahlen has been interviewed in countless articles, television segments, and radio casts in the last few months, as the mental health needs of the troops have become strikingly apparent.

You may be interested in our general brochure, our military brochure, our press kit, or a recent video about GAH.  We also produce a bimonthly newsletter: to get on our mailing list, please write us at info@giveanhour.org.

 

Media Inquiries

Please send media inquiries to Lauren Itzkowitz, at litzkowitz@giveanhour.org.

                                                                          

Policies and Finances

We believe it is vital to the success of our organization that we conduct ourselves with honesty and integrity in all our everyday actions on behalf of Give an Hour™.  The following letter refers to our Code of Conduct and how we apply it.

 

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

A Give an Hour™ guiding principle is to operate transparently within the letter and spirit of all applicable laws and regulations.  And to that degree, I fully endorse the Give an Hour™ Code of Conduct.

Our servicemen and servicewomen and their families subscribe to the standards and principles of the U.S. Military Code of Conduct, which far exceeds any such accord outside the armed forces. Accordingly, all Give an Hour™ staff, volunteers, and board members must subscribe and conform to our Code of Conduct.

Our Code of Conduct promotes honest and ethical conduct, including the handling of conflict-of-interest issues; accurate and clear disclosure of financial matters; legal compliance; confidential use of proprietary information; and prompt internal reporting of violations of the code. It is readily available to the public on our Web site.

As part of this policy, leadership, staff, volunteers, and board members are prohibited from using their position with Give an Hour™ for personal financial gain or other benefit, including the receipt of gifts other than those of nominal value. There may be no conduct of private business or personal services between any such Give an Hour™ personnel and the Give an Hour™ organization except those conducted in an open and objective manner to ensure equal competitive opportunity and equal access to information. They must represent unconflicted loyalty to the interest of the organization. This accountability supersedes any conflicting loyalty such as that to advocacy or interest groups, business interests, personal interests or paid or volunteer service to other organizations. It also supersedes the personal interest of any staff or volunteer member acting as a consumer or client of Give an Hour™ services.

We are fortunate to have assembled an Executive Board of Directors and an Advisory Board composed of members competent, knowledgeable, and sufficiently diverse.  I have asked them to provide credible and effective oversight of all aspects of Give an Hour™  work, specifically adherence to our code of ethics.

Sincerely,
Barbara Van Dahlen
Founder and President
Give an Hour™

 

Moreover, we operate in compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements and maintain standards in specific areas through related policies and guidelines such as our Conflict of Interest Policy, Document Retention and Destruction Policy, and Whistle Blower Policy. Our financial records, including our most recent IRS Form 990, are available to the public.

Please direct any questions about our policies and finances to Elizabeth Hurwit, at ehurwit@giveanhour.org.