A Wider Circle Revenue and Competitors

In 2001, Dr. Mark Bergel was working as a health professional, part-time faculty member at American University, and consultant when he volunteered to deliver food to impoverished residents in the Washington, D.C. area. He was startled by the depth of poverty, poor health, and general inequalities he witnessed in the region. As he went home-to-home distributing food, he met families living without a secure food supply, without beds on which to sleep, and without access to basic health and wellness information. With these families in mind, Dr. Bergel began discussions with social workers, shelter managers, school personnel, and nonprofit leaders in the region about creating an organization that would develop programs to address the "whole person" - programs that would not only tend to people's tangible needs (e.g., furniture and home goods), but also to their "inner needs" (e.g., stress management, financial planning, and healthy self-esteem). A Wider Circle was founded in October 2001 and began delivering programs in February of 2002. That year, we served 1,081 individuals; by 2012 we were serving more than 23,000 people per year. To date, through all of its programs, A Wider Circle has served more than 225,000 children and adults. A Wider Circle currently operates out of its 35,000 square-foot Center for Community Service in Silver Spring, Maryland. The organization has 55 staff members, 12 university interns, and more than 30,000 volunteers each year. It is their energy and commitment that allows A Wider Circle to now furnish the homes of more than 15,000 children and adults each year and deliver educational programs to thousands of men, women, and children.