Privacy Policy

Last Updated January 1, 2025

Easter Seals, Inc. (an Ohio not-for-profit company hereinafter referred to as "Easterseals," "we," "our," or "us") understands that data privacy and the protection of personal information is important to you. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use and share your personal information, and your rights and choices regarding the personal information we collect about you. 

Please read this Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your personal information and how we will process it. You can also click on the links below to navigate to a specific section. 

1. Scope of Policy
2. Personal Information Collection
3. How We Use Personal Information
4. How We Disclose Personal Information
5. Easterseals Affiliate Members
6. Links to Other Sites
7. Security of Personal Information
8. Transmission of Health-Related Information
9. Retention of Personal Information
10. Your Rights and Choices Regarding your Personal Information
11. Cookies
12. International Transfers of Personal Information
13. Information from Children
14. Changes to this Notice
15. Contact Us
16. The Bridge Center Privacy Policy

1. Scope of Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all donors, members, website visitors, business partners, employees, job applicants, and individuals who otherwise interact with Easterseals whom we collect personal information from. We often refer to your interactions with us as using our "services" throughout this Notice. 

2. Personal Information Collection

We collect a variety of information as part of our operations, including personal information and other information. "Personal information" is any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with an identifiable individual. 

a. How We Collect Personal Information

Easterseals collects information, including personal information, from and about its donors, event attendees, and program participants, individuals who interact with our affiliate members, employees, and job applicants, individuals who visit our website, and other individuals who choose to interact with us. We collect information from or about you in the following ways:

• Directly from You: We collect information directly from you when you make a donation, create a user profile on our website, attend an event or program we are offering, apply for employment or gain employment with us, when you visit our website, and when you otherwise voluntarily submit or provide information to us.
• Automatically: When you visit and interact with our website, we collect information automatically through cookies. For more information about cookies on our website, please visit the section below titled "Cookies."
• From Easterseals Affiliate Members: We rely on our affiliate members to provide us with information about the individuals they provide services to and interact with so that we can understand the impact of our and our affiliate members' programs and services, yield actionable insights, and drive future-forward decision making to ensure that our services and programs make the most impact in the communities we serve.
• From Other Sources: We may collect information about you from other sources, and we may combine information from other sources with information we collect through our services or interactions with you. Examples of the other sources we most frequently collect information from include national donor databases and registries, and companies that compile mailing lists about individuals.

b. Types of Personal Information We Collect

The types of personal information we collect depend on how you interact with us, including whether the interaction is through one of our affiliate members or directly with us. In many cases, the personal information we collect will be apparent from the context in which you provide the information.

We collect the following types of personal information from you, depending on how you interact with us (e.g., donor, employee, etc.).

We may not collect all the above categories of information from each category of individual who interacts with us. Please note that if you voluntarily provide us with additional information when you interact with us that does not fit one of these categories of information or individuals set forth above, we will collect the information and use it for the purposes you direct or that we disclose to you.

In certain circumstances, we may also inadvertently receive "Protected Health Information." "Protected Health Information" ("PHI") is individually identifiable health information. While we never intentionally collect PHI from an individual, we sometimes collect aggregated PHI when we gather information about the effectiveness of our programs in order to understand whether a program that we or our affiliate members offered resulted in improved outcomes for the individuals or communities our programs are designed to serve.

3. How We Use Personal Information

We use personal information for our legitimate business purposes to further our mission and for other purposes disclosed to you at the time data is collected. More specifically, we use personal information in the following ways:

• Provide our services, programs, and events to the communities and individuals we serve.
• Send you confirmations about event or program registration, or donations.
• Process donations and gifts made to Easterseals or our Affiliate members.
• Understand our donor base and potential donors.
• Measure the effectiveness of our services, programs, and events, including services, programs, and events offered by our Affiliate members.
• Communicate with you about our services, programs, events, happenings, and news.
• Respond to your comments, inquiries, and customer service requests.
• Market our events, services, programs, and potential donor opportunities to you. You may opt-out of marketing communications at any time.
• Provide you with employment, or consider you for employment with Easterseals.
• Process payroll and other benefits afforded to our employees.
• Improve and personalize our content and services.
• Monitor and analyze trends regarding our services, programs, and events, including services, programs, and events offered by our Affiliate members.
• Protect against and prevent fraud, unauthorized transactions, and manage risk exposure.
• Enforce our legal rights and agreements.
• Comply with applicable legal requirements.
• Carry out any other purpose you consent to, that we disclose to you at the time your data is collected, or that you direct us to.

We may aggregate and de-identify personal information we collect from you to understand the effectiveness of our programs, services, and offerings, as well as to understand our donor base and donor trends. When we aggregate or de-identify information, it is no longer personally identifiable.

4. How We Disclose Personal Information

Easterseals may share your personal information in the following circumstances, and as otherwise described in this Notice:

• Affiliate Members: We share information with our Affiliate members in order to understand and improve the impact of our and our affiliate members' programs, services, and offerings. Please see the section below titled "Easterseals Affiliate Members" for more information.
• Service Providers, Vendors, and Consultants: We rely on third-parties to perform functions on our behalf. Some of these service providers include marketing service providers, payment service providers who help us process donations and pay our employees, cloud storage providers, website hosting platforms, client relationship management providers, HR or employee benefits providers, and content providers. We endeavor to ensure written agreements are in place with all service providers, vendors, and consultants where feasible and appropriate. All service providers, vendors, and consultants are required to use the information we disclose to them at our direction and only for the purpose(s) for which it was disclosed to them, and they are required to adhere to security and confidentiality measures.
• List Rental and Exchange Program: We may share certain information about our donors with national donor registration and list service providers in order to grow our donor base and more effectively reach current and prospective donors. If you do not wish for your information to be shared with these third parties, you may opt-out by contacting us via a method set forth in the "Contact Us" section below or by visiting our website and contacting us through a means listed on our website. If you would like to know which third parties participate in the list rental and exchange program, you may also contact us via one of the methods listed below.
• Law Enforcement Agencies, Courts, Regulators, Government Authorities, or Other Third Parties: We may disclose your information: 1) to apply with a legal obligation or court order; 2) when we believe in good faith that the law requires it; 3) at the request of governmental authorities conducting an investigation; 4) to verify or enforce our policies, procedures, terms of service, and other agreements, or to protect the rights, property, safety, and security of Easterseals, our members, vendors, business partners, service providers, affiliate members, website visitors, or the public; 5) to respond to an emergency; or 6) when we believe it is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity.
• Successor Entities, Buyers, Transfers and Mergers and Acquisitions: We may disclose your information to a buyer, potential buyer, successor in interest, or to an organization in connection with a bankruptcy, transfer, merger or acquisition, or other transfer of some or all of Easterseals' or an affiliate's assets, which may include your information. If this occurs, we will endeavor to ensure that the successor entity uses your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Notice or provides you with notice and a choice about future use of your personal information.

5. Easterseals Affiliate Members

Easterseals has a number of Affiliate members throughout the United States who interact directly with the populations we serve by bringing Easterseals' mission and work directly into the community in which the affiliate member operates. While our Affiliate member organizations are associated with and use Easterseals branding, they may have their own practices regarding how they collect, use, share, and retain information when you interact with them.

As described above, Affiliate members share information with us, and we share information with our Affiliate members. This information sharing occurs so that we can understand the impact of our and our Affiliate members' programs and services, yield actionable insights, and drive future-forward decision making so that we can continue to further the Easterseals' mission.

6. Links to Other Sites

Easterseals' website may contain links to other sites, including to our Affiliate members, as well as links to non-affiliated third parties, such as social networks or business partners. These linked sites may have personal information collection, use, and disclosure practices that differ from Easterseals' practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of websites that you visit before sharing your personal information with them. Please also be aware that if you disclose personal information, PHI, or other sensitive information through public forums, at an event, or on online message boards, this information may be used by others. We take no responsibility for the content, security, or confidentiality of any information posted on or conveyed in these public spaces.

7. Security of Personal Information

Easterseals knows that information security is of the utmost importance to our donors, affiliate members, website visitors, and individuals whose information we collect. We maintain reasonable technical, administrative, physical, and organizational safeguards in proportion to the sensitivity of information we collect that are designed to prevent unauthorized access, use, and disclosure of personal information.

However, no electronic data transmission or processing of personal information is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee the security of personal information. We encourage you to assist us with securing your personal information by using a strong password and not disclosing your login credentials, where applicable, to anyone. If we become aware of an incident that affects your personal information, we will investigate and comply with all reporting obligations.

8. Transmission of Health-Related Information

Easterseals understands the sensitivity of collecting and using health-related data. It is not Easterseals' intent to collect personally identifiable health-related information or PHI. If we do collect personally identifiable health-related information or PHI, it will not be used by or shared with entities other than Easterseals or our affiliate members, unless the information is de-identified. Any transfer of personally identifiable health-related data between Easterseals organizations will take place in a secure environment with access allowed only to certain qualified employees of Easterseals. Easterseals will comply with all regulations set forward by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). To learn more about HIPAA, visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

9. Retention of Personal Information

We will retain your information only for as long as necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected. This may mean that we will continue to retain certain information even after we stop providing our services directly or indirectly to you, after you delete your user profile, or cease interacting with us, as required by law or for our legitimate business purposes. We may also retain de-identified, aggregated, or anonymous information that does not identify a particular individual. In all cases where we retain data, we do so in accordance with limitation periods and record retention obligations that are imposed by applicable law.

10. Your Rights & Choices Regarding Your Personal Information

Easterseals offers various rights that are consistent with state consumer privacy laws. Easterseals offers the option to access, correct, and delete your personal information. If you are a registered user of our website, access your Easterseals profile and update your contact information and user preferences. Upon your request, we will delete, aggregate, or de-identify personal information related to you that is retained in our organizational databases, unless we are required to continue to retain the information in an identifiable format. To exercise your right to deletion, or to modify or correct your information other than through the link above, please contact us via a method set forth in the below "Contact Us" section.

You can also change your communication preferences and opt-in or opt-out of marketing communications from Easterseals. To opt-out of receiving email communications, postal mail or from participating in the list rental and exchange program, or to request a disclosure of list rental and exchange information, please follow the directions below.

• Email: If you are a registered user of easterseals.com, log in to change your email preferences.You may also opt out of certain non-essential marketing email communications using the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the email.
• Postal Mail: Opt-out of postal mail solicitations
• List Rental and Exchange: Opt-out of list rental and exchange program
• Disclosure Request: Request disclosure of list rental and exchange practices

We will endeavor to fulfill all requests within a reasonable timeframe.

11. Cookies

Our website uses or may use cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, and similar technologies (collectively, "cookies"). Cookies are small text files stored directly on a website visitor's computer or mobile device that automatically collect certain information from users such as browser type, IP address, time spent online, pages visited, referring URL, and additional aggregated website traffic data. We also rely on partners to provide features of our services, which may involve using cookies.

We use cookies for the following purposes:

• Functionality: These cookies are necessary for us to ensure that the website functions properly.
• Security: These cookies are necessary for us to mitigate the risk of data breaches and similar attacks by ensuring that requests are submitted to our website from proper domains.
• Authentication: These cookies allow us to authenticate user requests and to maintain session information related to users.
• Preference. These cookies allow our website to remember which events you have signed up or registered for, the products you place in your shopping cart, and to recognize your device.
• Advertising: These cookies allow us to provide you with more relevant advertisements.
• Analytics: These cookies enable us to learn more about how users and visitors interact with our website, including pages visited, how much time is spent on each pages, and similar information. We use this information in aggregate.
• Third-Party: These cookies are placed by third parties such as Google and social media networks. These cookies track and monitor how you interact with our services and other websites, provide us insight into how you interact with our website (such as analytics), facilitate account registration and login, and also enable the sharing of content from our services to these third parties. We do not control the data use or sharing practices of these third parties. If you do not wish to accept third party cookies, we encourage you to update your browser settings accordingly.

The use of cookies has become standard among website operators. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. You can usually set your browser to refuse cookies that are not necessary or to indicate when a cookie is being set. To understand your options regarding cookies, you can visit the help section of your web browser.

If you refuse cookies, you may not be able to use certain functions on our website and our website may not function as smoothly as it does when cookies are enabled.

12. International Transfers of Personal Information

Easterseals and all of its Affiliate members are located in the United States, and all programming offered by Easterseals and its Affiliate members occurs in the United States. Because of the global nature of the internet, the Easterseals website may be accessible from jurisdictions other than the United States, even though Easterseals does not operate, provide, or market its services outside of the United States. If you access the Easterseals website outside of the United States, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States. Since the data protection laws of various countries differ, information transferred to the United States may not be subject to the same level of protection as the jurisdiction in which you reside. If you choose to access our website from a jurisdiction outside the United States, we rely on your consent to transfer the data to the United States. To the extent you do not consent to data transfers to the United States, please do not provide us with your personal information or visit our website.

13. Information from Children

Our website is not directed towards children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13 through our website without parental consent. If you become aware that we have collected personal information from an individual under the age of 13 through our website without parental consent, please let us know so that we can take appropriate action.

14. Changes to this Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. If we make material updates to this Notice, we will endeavor to provide you notice by placing a prominent notice on this website and/or sending an email notification of the change. We will also update the "last updated" date at the top of this policy. Any changes will be effective immediately on posting unless otherwise indicated. Continued use of our services after updates to our Notice will be deemed consent to the changes.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Notice or our information practices, please contact us or write to us at:

ATTN: Privacy Manager

Easter Seals, Inc.
141 W. Jackson Blvd
Suite 1400A
Chicago, IL 60604

The Bridge Center Notice of Privacy Practices

Last Updated November 2023

This notice describes how your medical information may be used and disclosed by Easter Seals Massachusetts, Inc. (d/b/a "Easterseals Massachusetts," or “ESMA”) ("we," "our," or "us") and how you can obtain access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Your Rights 
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and our responsibilities to help you.

• Receive an electronic or paper copy of your medical record.
  • You can ask to see or receive an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Please request, in writing, if you would like to receive an electronic copy of your records by writing to the Compliance Officer, Easterseals Massachusetts, 18 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Worcester, MA 01608.
  • We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for physical copies.
• Ask us to correct your medical record.
  • You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us for help if you feel this is necessary.
  • We may not be able to honor your request, but we will explain our decision in writing within 60 days.
• Request confidential communications.
  • You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
  • We will honor all reasonable requests.
  • All requests will need to be submitted in written format to the Compliance Officer, Easterseals Massachusetts, 18 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Worcester, MA 01608.
• Ask us to limit what we use or share.
  • You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations.
    • We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
  • If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer.
    • We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
• Receive a list of those with whom we have shared information.
  • You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we have shared your health information for the six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
  • We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We will provide one accounting a year for free, but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for any subsequent requests within a 12-month period.
• Receive a copy of this privacy notice.
  • You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
• Choose someone to act for you.
  • If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
  • We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
• File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated.
  • You can file a complaint if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us at Compliance Officer, Easterseals Massachusetts, 18 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Worcester, MA 01608.
  • Complaints of confidentiality will be investigated with appropriate parties and, if necessary, utilize the risk-of-harm assessment tool for prompt mitigation. ESMA ensures the rights of individuals to voice grievances regarding confidentiality violations without coercion, discrimination, reprisal, or unreasonable interruption of services if applicable. All individuals are treated without prejudice in the due process of this policy.

Your Choices
For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, communicate with us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

• In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
  • Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care.
  • Share information in a disaster relief situation.
    • If you are not able to tell us your preferences, or if we do not have your written request on file, for example, if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
• In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
  • Marketing purposes
  • Sale of your information
  • Most sharing of psychotherapy notes
• In the case of fundraising:
  • We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

Our Uses and Disclosures
How do we typically use or share your health information? We typically use or share your health information in the following ways:

• Working with you.
  • We can use your health information and share it with other professionals and support staff who are working with you.
• Run our organization.
  • We can use and share your health information to run our organization, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.
• Invoice for services.
  • We can use and share your information to invoice and receive payment from you or other entities.

How else can we use or share your health information? We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways, usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information, see https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/guidance-materials-for-consumers/index.html.

• Help with public health and safety issues.
  • We can share health information about you for certain situations, such as (but not limited to):
    • Preventing disease
    • Helping with product recalls
    • Reporting adverse reactions to medications
    • Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
    • Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.
• Research
  • We can use or share your information for health research.
• Comply with the law
  • We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it.
• Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests.
  • We can use or share health information about you:
    • For workers' compensation claims
    • For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
    • With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
    • For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services
• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions
  • We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

Our Responsibilities
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.

• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and provide a printed copy of this if requested.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you provide permission in writing. If you provide this permission, you may change your mind at any time. You must let us know, in writing, if you change your mind by writing to the Compliance Officer, Easterseals Massachusetts, 18 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Worcester, MA 01608.

For more information, see https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/notice-privacy-practices/index.html.

Changes to the Terms of This Notice
We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our website.

This Notice of Privacy Practices applies to the following organization: Easterseals Massachusetts, 18 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Worcester, MA 01608