Ayden’s Alliance: Best Non-Profit Organization of 2019
Ayden’s Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those with disabilities and special needs, low-income individuals, and veterans afford access to medical cannabis in Missouri.
Ayden’s Alliance was overwhelmingly voted as one of the best non-profit organizations in Missouri by Greenway’s readers. Greenway talked to Ashley Markum, Ayden’s mom and the president of the organization to get an understanding of the impact they are making in the community.
Ayden’s Alliance was created by Ayden’s parents after seeing “first hand how cannabis therapy helped our son, and how difficult it was for our family to navigate.”
Ayden was born premature, and though he grew stronger, he began to have frequent seizures. The seizures responded to cannabis therapy after Ayden became the 5th medicinal hemp cardholder in Missouri in 2015.
Because of their experience, they wanted to create a resource that helped families avoid the roadblocks they had to go through to simply get their son’s medicine.
“Cannabis therapy is still considered ‘alternative,’” Markum tells Greenway. “And if you have a chronically ill family member that doesn’t respond to conventional methods, you know that alternative isn’t covered by insurance. While it will likely be sometime before cannabis and many other plant medicines are mainstream, we hope to help fill that void in the meantime.”
Ayden and his family were heavily involved in campaigning to pass Amendment 2. Markum tells us that she and Ayden “traveled the state to speak at town halls and participate in various interviews. It was very taxing, but thankfully we had a great support system of family and friends. I even pounded the pavement, collecting signatures with a very large pregnant belly (Ayden’s little sister). And I would do it again so my family would not have to uproot and become cannabis refugees for their brother, Ayden.”
Since the creation of the organization, Ayden’s Alliance has been able to help over 200 patients to get their medical cards, as well as providing educational classes and creating a community of resources. Markum tells Greenway the biggest thing the organization needs is sponsors. “All of what we do costs money,” says Markum. “And if you multiply 200 patients by the cost of their doctor visit, state fees, and home cultivation expenses, it adds up quickly. We hope to help as many patients as possible, and what started as an idea to help special needs families, is growing into something so large that I couldn’t have dreamed of it.”
