Monday, December 27, 2010

A Personal Holiday Greeting from T. Wade Clegg III

On behalf of our small pool of very active volunteers who make up Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, and for all the UVA Medical Center social workers for whom we support for their concern for patients and families, please allow us all to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday.

Thanks for so many days of lodging and eating for so many visitors to our community who have been allowed to have a hotel room and adequate food for their stay. It has been a marvelous year.

Just in case you missed the very definitive newspaper article in the Charlottesville Daily Progress of November 28, 2010, please read our blog entry directly beneath this article and the link to the newspaper article. Then share it with a friend or neighbor.

Allow me to leave this lovely bit of advice in your thoughts as a gift…
“Many men and women know the laws of mathematics and are skilled in the arts, but most know very little about the laws governing life, the art of living. One may be able to build an airplane and circle the globe and yet be entirely ignorant of the simple art of how to be happy, successful, and content. When studying the arts, place first upon the list the art of living.” Author Unknown
“Surely at the heart of the art of living… is the giving.” ... T. Wade

Blessings….T. Wade, Elisheva and Sam
Founding Members of IHS

Friday, December 24, 2010

A Personal Holiday Greeting from T. Wade Clegg III

On behalf of our small pool of very active volunteers who make up Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, and for all the UVA Medical Center social workers for whom we support for their concern for patients and families, please allow us all to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday.

Thanks for so many days of lodging and eating for so many visitors to our community who have been allowed to have a hotel room and adequate food for their stay. It has been a marvelous year.

Just in case you missed the very definitive newspaper article in the Charlottesville Daily Progress of November 28, 2010, please read our blog entry directly beneath this article and the link to the newspaper article. Then share it with a friend or neighbor.

Allow me to leave this lovely bit of advice in your thoughts as a gift…

“Many men and women know the laws of mathematics and are skilled in the arts, but most know very little about the laws governing life, the art of living. One may be able to build an airplane and circle the globe and yet be entirely ignorant of the simple art of how to be happy, successful, and content. When studying the arts, place first upon the list the art of living.” Author Unknown
“Surely at the heart of the art of living… is the giving.” ... T. Wade

Blessings….T. Wade, Elisheva and Sam
Founding Members of IHS

Monday, November 29, 2010

Charlottesville's Daily Progress Newspaper highlights IHS's charitable efforts!

It is not likely that many of you have heard of or read The Daily Progress of Charlottesville, Virginia; however, please turn your attention to a front page Sunday article, November 28, 2010. Here is the direct accessible link:

http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2010/nov/27/fluvanna-couple-helps-families-uva-patients-hotel--ar-679903/

We were truly gratified with the front page placement of a lengthy article with a few photographs on Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum.

This recognition of the charity's objectives comes at a most appropriate time. The holiday period through the winter months was the most pressing for lodging requirements last year, and to receive notice locally has such merit. Please open the link to the newspaper and read the article.

It's never too early or too late to tell you that we are blessed to be able to participate in this totally independent, non-religious public charity which is devoted to assisting the UVA Medical Center Social Workers who are serving families and patients who travel from great distances to this marvelous University of Virginia Medical Center.

Blessings....Elisheva, T. Wade and Sam
Founding Members of Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

IHS Announces our First IRS Tax Return available on line!

I know that most of you reading this short entry received some important updates on November 12, but this update needed to be added. Although it is not required, we have decided to post the 2009 Tax Return. It can now be accessed from the IHS "Home" page or directly here: IRS Form 990-EZ.

What will be evident is that all of us serving the charity are volunteers. Yes...hours are posted for the record, but those hours represent a minimum required in the initial year, and throughout 2010 we have been accessible 24/7 for social worker contact.

Beginning in 2010 we allowed all wedding couples who use our ministerial services to donate a sizable part of their wedding fee directly to IHS for a tax deduction. That allowance not only gave each wedding an added depth of meaning, it has become a prominent source of income to sustain the charity, since IHS has never received a grant or an adequate number of consistent monthly donors.

Food Support from Charlottesville's Thomas Jefferson Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church has made such a difference in recent months. Their objective of 200 full day rations for caregivers at the UVA Hospital Pediatric Clinic will be realized after just one month. In fact, Teresa Bevins indicated that some of those gallon size zip lock bags, crammed with nutrition for a full day of eating for an adult, have been shared with caregivers at the Children's Cancer Center which is experiencing the same needs.

Someone asked a prominent question last week, "Are you telling me that those parents are here for weeks on end and without funds to properly eat?"

How were so many of these parents and family members who are here for weeks and months being sustained for their food needs? Isn't it evident from reading Teresa Bevins plea in the April 2010 entry? The answer is that they were going hungry most days, while their children were being treated by the most expensive and best care possible. Some were eating once a day from their own depleted funds. Some were being given money from social workers, nurses, doctors just to get by for a few days. Yes, some staff was sharing when these circumstances were noticed, since all too often these caregivers will simply allow themselves to be hungry before seeking assistance. There is already the feeling that their children are receiving excellent medical treatment, and to relate that they are going hungry is not acceptable. Pride can and has left far too many malnourished.

Someone else asked, "Where did those late night arrivals to the Medical Center sleep before you guys got involved?"

That question has been answered from the day this charity started.
"THEY WERE SLEEPING IN THE CORNER OF A LOBBY WHEN ALLOWED. THEY WERE SLEEPING IN THEIR CARS. WITH CHILDREN. THEY WERE EATING CRACKERS AND SODA FROM A MACHINE."
Two nights ago at midnight, we received a call for an overnight social worker. A family had arrived with their child from southern Virginia. He was checked and released for a NEXT morning appointment in the medical center. Not entered as expected, and with inadequate funds for a hotel room, and a policy of no children in UVA Hospitality House, and too late for check-in at Ronald McDonald House, the social worker had only one place to call. He called IHS. Problem solved.

This was the third late night call for similar situations in two weeks with children. In the past a social worker was placed in the most awkward of positions. Please consider the strain on a social worker who has to tell a parent there is nothing he or she can do.

This was the past...and these situations must remain a thing of the past. They simply must!
It's that time of year when we are told that giving is most prominent. We are hopeful that a wind is headed into your life and the spirit of giving will allow you to share some of it with us. We have some pressing lodging needs at this time and winter brings a renewed sense of urgency.

I am only asking for each of you to seek to provide a few dollars a month.
If more is possible, we will keep the pantry filled with food in Pediatrics, and the co-pay fund prepared and ready.

Please review what is possible. We will continue to perform full-time and allow our ministerial fees to sustain to the extent possible, but truthfully, we need your assistance now.

Blessings…T. Wade and Elisheva Clegg

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Notes for November - an Update for Friends

It seems hard to believe, but we are now at that 2 YEAR MARK AS A CHARITY. Yes, the actual retroactive date on our IRS notice was November 13, 2008, but we began exploration before that date, and necessarily had to wait until June 2009 to engage in activities to begin assistance. The challenges began from day one, and they have not diminished. UVA Medical Center Social Workers were often faced with too many who could not afford lodging, food, co-pays and periodic transport needs. Nothing has changed, EXCEPT that IHS provided another safety net, a "go-to responder" accessible 24 hours every day.

Please consider the numbers assisted

The figures are significant from that beginning in June 2009 when the phone line was opened for social workers to call and indicate specific needs. The main emphasis has been and will remain a need for TEMPORARY lodging for those who arrive from considerable distances without adequate funds.

November has started with an increased need for commercial hotel rooms, since UVA Hospitality House (HH) becomes fully booked weekly. This period is especially challenging since funds seem to diminish at the same time as the need increases. Not counting this first two weeks in November 2010, and since the beginning activity for lodging in June 2009, this charity has provided for 356 people in 563 overnight rooms. These people, often with children, would simply not have had a place to sleep had this challenge not begun.

The original lodging objective has continued and expanded

Two methods of assistance were established: (1) When UVA Hospitality House (HH) is full, or a family with a child under 18 arrives and cannot be accommodated at HH, then this charity will place those who have been fully screened and approved by a social worker in selected commercial hotels for temporary stays, and (2) When HH has a room available and a visitor simply cannot afford that extremely reasonable and often flexible fee, then IHS will assist.

Since those initial months, IHS has expanded assistance to the extent possible and paid for many visitors to Ronald McDonald House (RMH). This occurs when a family arrives prematurely or RMH has found its eighteen rooms fully booked. In addition, there are many occasions over the last year when out-patients for the Cancer Center need to stay for 4-5 weeks in HH for chemotherapy, and special rates are allowed for the patient and IHS will contribute to secure the stay.

Just this past week another problematic pregnancy resulted and the patient was not able to return home where there are no medical facilities to handle her condition. IHS placed the family in a hotel and then arranged for up to 28 days assistance as needed at HH while waiting for the new arrival. Yes, this is more than temporary, but working with the very capable Manager of Hospitality House, we have both learned to stretch to meet unusual situations.

Food Project is receiving marvelous support

Several months ago we received our first request for consistent food assistance from Clinical Social Worker Teresa Bevins in the UVA Medical Center Pediatric Clinic. Her emotional appeal is seen in the blog entry of April 27, 2010. Scroll back and read it again, since these same caregivers and others continue to arrive and now receive daily meals.

One manufacturer extended a helping hand with 500 coupons for family size frozen dinners. Pinnacle Foods, one of the nation's largest producers, has made these early months in the program so manageable; however by January 2011, those coupons will have all been used.

A New participant has come forward at just the right time

Early last month Margaret Gorman of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church in Charlottesville offered to engage families in her neighborhood, then the children in her church. Every two weeks Margaret's kids spend time making zip lock gallon packets filled with items for a fully nutritional day of eating. This marvelous project has now received full support from the church's Social Action Council, and is presently providing a significant impact in this monthly need at the Medical Center. In one month alone they have provided 80 full day rations for the caregivers who are waiting with their seriously ill infants in the Pediatric Clinic.

Margaret has asked to become a very active part of our local outreach program. She doesn't have an official title, but suggested that "Meal Packet Trainer" might be appropriate. Margaret has made a science out of her kid's project from procuring items to filling the packets, and all with the intent of providing a fully nutritional 1300 calorie offering. She is ready and prepared to offer guidance if a church or organization (such as girl and boy scouts) in or near Charlottesville, Virginia wishes to learn and/or share in this terrific experience of dedicated giving. Anyone who would like to know how Margaret has modeled her program, please e-mail her at gormanmargaret@hotmail.com.

It is absolutely amazing how one small group of children with a monthly objective of a few dozen full day rations in one gallon zip lock bags every other week can impact our need. If just a few more groups can reach out monthly and join Margaret's Sunday School classes, the load can be shared and sustained in a marvelous manner.
November is our month for the "Nickels for Non-Profits" program at Whole Foods Market in Charlottesville, VA
It is so gratifying to be selected again to participate in this Whole Foods charitable opportunity. The Market is located at 300 Shoppers World Court along US 29 North in town. In case you are not aware of the program, local non-profits are featured on a collection box prominently displayed for exiting shoppers to place their wooden nickels received from the cashier at check-out. You have to ask the cashier for the nickels as you complete payment for merchandise, and upon leaving you drop the nickels into the slot which says Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum.

IHS is featured as one of the two nonprofits for the entire month of November. Customers from as far away as 30 miles of the Charlottesville store come to shop at Charlottesville's largest organically oriented food market. Please take a moment to remind a friend or family member who lives in the area to remember this opportunity throughout November. Those nickels can turn into hundreds of dollars to support lodging, co-pay and food needs.

Don't be shy! Giving has such a healing power.

It's Thanksgiving, and we are so thankful for those who remember that we depend on funds solely from friends and acquaintances who receive this monthly blog. Remember... that as little as $10 can secure a person in Hospitality House, and $50 for one night in a hotel when that is the remaining alternative.

Here is our direct donation link for your convenience:

http://interfaithhumanitariansanctum.org/donate.php

Also remember what we said from day one:
"NO MORE CHILDREN SLEEPING IN CARS OUTSIDE THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MEDICAL CENTER. NO MORE FAMILIES GOING HUNGRY WHILE A LOVED ONE LINGERS IN CRITICAL CONDITION. NO MORE!"
Thank you for your support over this holiday period. It is very much needed.

Blessings....Elisheva, T. Wade and Sam
Founding Members of Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum

Friday, October 29, 2010

Young People at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church -Unitarian Universalist in Charlottesville, VA are Making a Difference

On Sunday October 24 I visited the TJM Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church located at 717 Rugby Road in Charlottesville for their morning service. Since meeting members Margaret Gorman and Leia Durland-Jones several weeks ago, and not having any out of town engagement last Sunday, I drove to town and joined the congregation as a first time visitor at their 11:15 AM service.
Perhaps you will remember my mention of Margaret’s ideas for assisting with our food efforts for UVA Medical Center caregivers in the Pediatric Clinic from the September 29 blog entry.

I did not know that IHS would be the lead topic in their Sunday Bulletin, nor that a thorough explanation would be presented to the congregation regarding the church’s planned participation. It was a truly gratifying experience.

Margaret Gorman had researched items for consideration for food packets to provide no less than 1300 calories for a one day’s ration for recipients, and explained in her presentation and in the bulletin some most helpful tips. I did not know that the high school Sunday school class was busy filling up 24 zip lock full-day rations that morning, and completed them and gave to me for delivery the next day to Teresa Bevins in the hospital. It was the second such delivery in the past two weeks. Margaret had begun by soliciting in her own neighborhood, and scouted for sales and ideas to present to parents and children.

I am providing that excerpt from the UU bulletin, for it provides ideas which can prove most helpful for reference for other churches and organizations in the future who may wish to assist in this never ending need. I am using the bulletin ideas since the food recipients do not have access to kitchens, just microwave ovens in the hospital.

Items which allow for ease of preparation and consumption are necessary. The innovation with enclosure of a microwavable disposable bowl and some plastic utensils does offer diversity for preparation in case small cans are used as a part of the assorted items for a one day’s ration. Just ideas to consider.

Some groups or churches may wish to provide funds from their outreach program, which will go to our largest funding need, namely funds for lodging, co-pay and transport; however, any church, neighborhood group, nursery school, school class, or even a business, with a desire to replicate or diversify with these food ideas can help secure our present needs, as we enter the holiday season with increased demand. Remember – IHS is a public charity, and even the smallest donation of $5, when provided as a check, is proof of a charitable donation for tax deduction consideration. Just a reminder.

By the way please note the expiration dates on food items. This is prominent, so that items can be stored for several months if any one product arrives in large numbers and needs to be distributed over a longer period in the months ahead.

The lead item in the October 24, 2010 UU Sunday Bulletin reads:

“TODAY… Food Drive for Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum (IHS).
Our children will be creating, in their Religious Education classes, one-day meal packets families for patients (and caregivers) at UVA who come from far away for care and cannot afford food or housing while they are here. We need particular food items to make the packets: one one-gallon zip lock plastic bags, napkins, spoons and forks, instant oats, instant grits, breakfast bars, granola bars – the healthy kind, Minute Maid vitamin fortified 100% orange juice boxes or other 100% fruit juice boxes, single serving boxed milk, 5 oz. cans mixed fruit in light syrup with a flip top lid, single serving packets of peanuts, other nuts or crackers, Minute Rice single serving microwavable rice, especially Spanish Rice (healthier), Chef Boyardee single serving (8.75 oz.) microwavable meals, Hormel single serving microwavable meals, Healthy Choice single serving microwavable meals and soups, Campbell’s soup to go, single serving and microwavable, other food items (not cookies and candies) that you think would be a good addition to a meal pack for one person for one day.”
A special thanks to Margaret Gorman and her very organized group of teens who are making our food delivery trips to the hospital much more substantial.

Blessings .... T. Wade Clegg III

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Our place in the scheme of things is not diminishing!

Allow me to catch you up on some happenings recently. Some will touch on previous activities, but repetition of needs is why charities exist. Please read through the various topics and think about ways you can assist. It only takes a few minutes!

NO MORE FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN SLEEPING IN CARS...I MEANT IT!

I know many of you think it was a one-time event when I said I found it alarming that a family with children who comes to UVA Medical Center are sometimes left with no alternative but to sleep in their car. It was that first exposure which made it evident that we needed to make sure this seldom, if ever, happens. This charity's presence has practically eliminated that from happening.

It is worth reminding everyone why and how this happens. And it happens monthly that someone is spared the uncomfortable and degrading circumstance of not having a place to sleep with a child or children while waiting and monitoring another child or relative in the UVA Medical Center. It happened again last night.

The social worker called at 2 AM concerned that a couple with an infant in the hospital was too late for entering Ronald McDonald House (RMH) and that the next available entry time would be 1 PM. The UVA Hospitality House (HH) does not take in people with children under 18, and this couple had a toddler with them, in addition to the infant in the hospital. They live hundreds of miles from Charlottesville.

The social worker said, "I'm concerned that they have this child and they've mentioned that they will sleep in the car until RMH has an opening later in the afternoon. That's eleven hours, and I just wanted to know what you can do."

Please remember that a UVA Social Worker already knows the situation with each patient and family regarding their financial status. This is not a guessing game. So - the answer was simple. This was no ordinary night. It was blowing rain and humid and a miserable night under any circumstance. This is exactly the kind of situation which should alarm all of us. I made contact with one of the three hotels which works with us, and booked a room for the family immediately.

This intimate and immediate working arrangement with the social staff and our availability 24/7 is the most effective way to remove an immediate need for lodging and food. NOW - all we need is your generosity to help us pay for the rooms and keep this safety net strong.

Regarding Food Supplies

The family above also had access to a frozen dinner or microwavable meal which we supply several times monthly for monitor Teresa Bevins, clinical social worker. Food access for all social workers for those with little or no funds to balance their stay has become a vital assist. That includes the 24-hour social workers in the Emergency Department (ED), who can access a few meals as he or she determines is needed immediately.

Last week we delivered up to 60 meals on Monday, and then again 60 on Friday. Teresa said it had been a particularly active month. We received some really needed assistance from the Pinnacle Foods Corporation in New Jersey with manufacturer coupons of 100 frozen meals monthly through December 2010. This represents about 25% of the frozen meals needed at this time. This was a really big deal, and we are so appreciative for this assistance from this giant corporation, which seldom reaches out so far for a very small charity. Yet - the people at Pinnacle heard the appeal and responded for this set period of time.

It would really be nice if you would send a thank you to Mr. Bob Gamgort, CEO, Pinnacle Foods Group, 1 Old Bloomfield Avenue, Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046. This is a multi-billion dollar firm. They took the time to read our appeal for assistance and actually committed to 500 Hungry Man dinners. This was so heartening. Does your note or thank you card count? YOU BET IT DOES!

A local lady heard the call also

I have never met Margaret Gorman, but she sent an e-mail and made a wonderful suggestion. She said, "My friend Alyson Ball of the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) gave me your information card recently."

(Margaret is referring to the IHS card which is about our last blog entry regarding the excellent article written and seen at the CNE website. If you missed it, please see the last blog entry.)

Margaret continued, "I am a volunteer at our church and am designing some religious education lessons for the elementary school children. We are the Unitarian Universalist congregation on Rugby Road near the University of Virginia. For the month of November I'd like to have the children create gift bags to give to people who could use them. We think we could make between 50-75 zip lock gallon plastic bags with granola bars, dried fruit, and so on. The children could create greeting cards with messages of friendship and caring to tuck into the bags, and we could put them in a box for you to distribute."

I wrote back that this was a grand idea, and suggested some items which make for a really nutritious balance to include microwavable soups such as Healthy Choice and Campbell's Chunky meals, just as suggestions.

Then Margaret came back with an update yesterday. "This morning I sent an e-mail to my neighbors, asking for money and some of the foods you suggested. So far, two have responded, and I expect more will help. Patrick, my 17-year old son will help scour the stores for the sales next Saturday. I have invited neighborhood children to help pack meal bags, and I think some of them will participate. This is aside from the food drive project for our Sunday School. "

Thanks to Margaret, Patrick and all their participants. I hope this will give each of you an idea of what one person can do to assist in the elimination of hungry visitors to our community in a time of great stress. Also to those of you who can simply send a small check of $5, $10 or more, we will use the funds to balance all of the needs which are presented.

Please note that we are still actively funding the co-pay fund

During the last 30 days, we have twice added to the co-pay fund in the Office of Social Work. Some of you may not know that we supplement this needed social work program as requested for Pay Grade 1 category patients (indigents). Just sharing.

In closing, allow me to make special mention

Since April 2009 when we first needed those initial donations, two contributors have never missed sending a significant donation every single month. Others have sent significant periodic donations. But - I just wanted to thank Dr. Jean B. Lee of Madison, Wisconsin (soon to be a Charlottesville resident), and Pope and Cassandra McElvy of Asheville, North Carolina for their consistent giving to a charity which is so far from them, yet so close to their hearts.

YOU are ALL our strength in this very important effort. We are ALL volunteers in this project. We just happened to be at a time and place in our lives to funnel some of the giving.

Blessings ... Chaplain Elisheva

Thursday, September 9, 2010

IHS spotlighted for September 2010

Most vibrant, giving communities have a local resource dedicated to strengthening nonprofits to realize the potential of that community. That resource in Central Virginia, especially the Charlottesville, Virginia area, is Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE).

Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum (IHS) has been a member since 2008. CNE has over 250 nonprofits, businesses, and consultants working to enhance the quality of life for all area residents.

For September 2010 CNE is spotlighting IHS! Visit their website at www.thecne.org, click on News & Features, locate Member Spotlight, or access the article directly at the following link: http://www.thecne.org/newsitem.php?id=184

Your kindness in forwarding this rare article on this charity to others is indeed appreciated.

Sincerely…T. Wade Clegg III, A Founding Member, IHS

Sunday, August 29, 2010

A Giant Corporation and a Tiny Catholic Church

A giant corporation and a tiny Catholic Church both reached across the miles to assist this small charity in its efforts to weave a stronger safety net.

August 2010 brought us two supportive partners, namely Pinnacle Foods Group, headquartered in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, and Christ the King Catholic Church in Abingdon, Virginia.

Pinnacle Foods began providing coupons to assist with purchases of their brand of large frozen dinners, at least through the end of 2010. This has made such a difference, as you will recognize in the e-mail (see below) we received from Teresa Bevins, Clinical Social Worker and coordinator of the program at the UVA Medical Center Pediatric Clinic. The Pinnacle assist covers half of our present monthly need, a big share indeed.

In her very personal note to me, Michelle Weese, Pinnacle Foods Communications, stated:
“First, let us commend you for the fabulous works you are doing for the families visiting the UVA Medical Center. The role you are playing as an advocate for these families is one that is very important. We realize that these families are going through life changing experiences and the trials that they are enduring are difficult. It is people like you that make a difference as you care for their needs and bring them the daily kindnesses that get them through the day, the week, and the event in their life. Thank you for your dedication and the tireless hours you spend caring for people. In response to your original appeal to us, Pinnacle Foods will be sending you coupons for frozen dinners monthly for the balance of 2010. We hope that this removes the worry for the basic need for food for some of the families who will be spending time at the UVA Medical Center. Our best wishes go out to those families and we hope that you can convey that for us. Best of luck in your charitable endeavors and again, thank you for your outreach to us.”

The other consistent contributor is Christ the King Catholic Church in Abingdon, Virginia. Abingdon is over 250 miles from Charlottesville.

Pastor Father Paul Maier wrote:
“Dear Friends, by way of explanation, our church hopes to make this a monthly pledge ($50) for as long as we are able. Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic follow-up patients will be heading to Charlottesville, so perhaps our little bit will help. God Bless…Father Paul.”

The RAM clinic patients referred to by Father Paul are those who have been treated in the free clinic in Wise, Virginia, and will often be sent to Charlottesville for further diagnosis and treatment. Most frequently they are unemployed, without insurance, and other than the free clinic, they have no access to medical and dental treatment. Father Paul and his small church became aware of IHS support of social workers who assist these long distance patients. IHS functions solely in support of the UVA Medical Center Social Staff.

Last Friday we received the following note from Teresa Bevins, in which she asked specifically to relate her note to those who support IHS with donations. She wrote:
“Dear Reverends Clegg, as usual we stay quite busy with families in need here at the hospital. Today , as last Friday also, I was contacted by adult social workers with caregivers and patients that were staying in the community to receive chemotherapy or radiation and did not have funds to eat. Fortunately, I had a significant amount of frozen meals and breakfast items that IHS donated to us and was able to meet these needs for 3 adult patients/ caregivers. It is understatement to say how much your valiant efforts are appreciated by the UVA Social Work Department in pursuing outside donations through your charity to help us meet these deserving people of various communities around Virginia. Some of these patients will be here for many weeks per our oncology social worker Vikki Bravo. It is a pleasure for us as social workers to be able help these deserving individuals and families in their time of need. In addition, I referred another social worker to you for lodging.

I know I speak for myself and others to say IHS is making a difference in the lives of patients and families here at UVA. It always amazes me how those with the least often try to donate such as the church you mentioned in your e-mail to me. These are truly angels working on the behalf of mankind. Please feel free to share my letter with your benefactors, as I am sure they will appreciate knowing the wonderful work you both are doing. Sincerely, Teresa Bevins BSW, Clinical Social Worker, UVA Children’s Hospital”

As many contributors and readers know, IHS has a responsibility to observe confidentiality of patients, and this we do with diligence. Therefore, it is so very much appreciated when a social worker relates exactly how the funds are beneficial from their own personal experiences.

Your $5-$25-$50 donation keeps the lodging and food available. Your discussion with your church, your golf club, your service club, your business, your own family to place us on an outreach program is so very much needed. Lodging donations are not presently matching the need. Please consider us in your giving, even with a few dollars a month. No one working for this charity receives a dime, and we are personally the largest donor to support this effort. Your gift is totally aimed at bills for lodging, food, travel and co-pays.

Direct link to IHS Donation Site: http://www.interfaithhumanitariansanctum.org


Blessings…T. Wade Clegg III

Friday, July 16, 2010

Forgetting to Give

We all experience grief when we see the visuals on television of a catastrophic event someplace in the world. It could be the eruption of a volcano, a tsunami, an earthquake, a hurricane or a flood. We still remember the pictures of Haiti from January of this year, and rightfully so!

It will take a long time for any type of normalization to be established. The majority of humans will immediately try to give what they can to alleviate the suffering and pain of the effected population. What always has a great impact are those pictures of suffering infants and children.

Seeing the outpouring of donations always makes me feel good knowing there are people who still care about others. At the same time I would like to remind all my friendship network not to forget the suffering and pain close by – right here in your back yard.

It’s not visually available on a television screen. So, when I write to you about the “unmet needs”, when I write to you about a mother sitting for weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or when there is a husband, wife or family members in need of lodging and food while awaiting the outcome of their loved one at UVA Medical Center, or a patient coming for treatment from a long distance but with no place to sleep and nothing to eat, I can only hope that you can visualize this yourself within your heart and minds.

I know television advertisements are very powerful, but we can only utilize the printed media to convey the suffering, agony, pain right here in our back yards. It’s a BIG BACK YARD – it’s West Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, DC and right here in Virginia.

The patients come from all these areas, and so do the unmet needs with them. The need for food in the freezers at the hospital has increased. The need for lodging and accommodations is increasing consistently as well as co-pays and subsistence for medical co-pays and transportation. These needs for funding are rising monthly.

Please remember we are a non-paid staff. We don’t have a fancy office. Every dollar donated is being allocated back to the charity and these needs. There are no fancy advertisements or pictures in your mailbox. Wade, Sam and I are still the largest contributors to the charity. So far, we have not had to turn anyone down or say , “No!” to any request, BUT it is getting very hard. And, I am worried about the future to be able to meet these unmet needs!

Is it possible next time you receive a IHS blog describing one of these cases, you visualize this case in your minds as vividly as sharply as any television plea or advertisement would be? We are not taking care of the whole world. We are not expanding with office space and overhead into other areas.

We just want to take care of the true needs RIGHT HERE … of those who are in need of help here in our own back yard coming from such long distances!

Allow me to mention a few real life cases this past week. Please understand the sensitivity issue for hospital patients and their privacy, although the chances of a patient ever reading this blog is slim. Remember – we are not known to patients and families 99% of the time. They only know that a social worker is assisting them to secure assistance.

Call from social worker X: “Can you assist with two nights in Hospitality House(HH) for patient Y? She’s here for an ovarian cancer appointment. She has Medicaid but the kind that she has doesn’t pay for HH. She and her family driver can stay in one room together.” Note: This patient cannot even afford the $10 per night rate for hospitality house. Room is secured.

Call from social worker T: Alert e-mail: “We are extremely low on meals this week. Can we meet Thursday? We had a high turnover of patients over the past few days (July 4th weekend). Families are very appreciative and this still continues to serve many areas of the hospital past the pediatric floors as my other social work colleagues are aware they can access the meals by paging me. We are down to about 5 meals on PICU, 7 on 7 west, and 7 on central. Thanks so much.” Note: We make contact with Teresa Bevins or associate every two weeks and shop and deliver within hours of an alert of low supplies (frozen dinners for at least three freezers).

Call from social worker K: “Indigent patient, stays in a home in southern Virginia, came up for an appointment on a one-way bus ticket that someone bought for him. Stayed last night in hospitality house (HH) (which he has no money for) and today missed his appointment because he couldn’t read the appointment slip. Has to stay over another night. No bus ticket home, and needs one more night in HH. Can you assist?” Note Response: If transportation fund in social work is low, we will reimburse for ticket home. Both nights in HH covered.

Call from social worker V: “Patient being treated for lung cancer coming from 5 hours away in Palliative Care Clinic. Has chronic pain. Return in same day very problematic, 10 hours on road. Not enough funds to balance a night here. Hospitality House (HH) full. Can you manage one night for her and her family driver in a hotel?” Note Response: Yes, here is her reservation number. Ask if she has enough money for food while in hospital. Access to freezer for sign-out is available through you.

T. Wade tells a story of his Mother’s admonition when he was a boy in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She would ask him almost every day, “Wade, have you checked on Miss Cora?” Miss Cora was the elderly woman just down the street. Wade’s Mother (Grace Wells McCullough Clegg) had a list of people in her mind that she called, visited and delivered hot meals. Grace was the ultimate example of caring for others with special needs. Watching out for Miss Cora is very much at the core of this charity’s existence.

There has never been a dedicated charity which responds with such immediacy to back up the UVA social workers seeking to serve so many clients coming to this major medical center. We are seeking diligently to maintain that posture for temporary assistance as their final safety net.

Will you help us out now by clicking below and reaching into your hearts? http://www.interfaithhumanitariansanctum.org/donate.php

Blessings…Elisheva

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Food supplies making a real impact!

Teresa Bevins, clinical social worker in UVA Medical Center Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) sent me a few notes this week. She related a recent case of a mother whose child from northern Virginia transferred here from an outside hospital. The woman speaks very little English and requires an interpreter; however, she was able to tell Teresa that she had no money, and her friends were watching her other kids at home and she needed help.

After providing this young mother with a number of meals, she responded to Teresa with, “God bless you” in Spanish.

Teresa has notified other social staff that they just need to page her to access the meals which IHS is providing directly to Teresa and stored in freezers in PICU every two weeks. There is a sign-out procedure in place, which has now extended access to all social workers in the main hospital to meet these family needs, even overnight.

Teresa said that this monthly stocking of freezers has enabled parents to stay with their little ones and not stress about how to afford a meal. She added, “Your efforts and those of donors who support you, are truly a blessing to so many families.”

A tiny safety seat is no small thing…

We have now received three calls in the last year from social staff for assistance with child safety seats. Last week it was for a booster seat for a child from out of state who was sent to the Medical Center in an ambulance. The family had a seat at home, but it was not brought with them when they were transported to be with the child. The family did not have funds to buy another one, and had already received gas vouchers to help get them home. A child cannot be discharged until he or she is able to be discharged to a vehicle for safe travel, and the booster seat made that happen. The seat can be used for the child’s little sister next year when she will need the extra one for traveling. We made the purchase of the seat and delivered it quickly.

Lodging needs shift monthly…

May and June have been active for fee assistance for UVA Hospitality House, especially for patients and families in need of week- long stays. It’s the most reasonable room rate around, but when one has no funds to stay for the week or balance that stay by not eating, then the most economical room is not reasonable.

Commercial hotel rooms are still very much used when Hospitality House is either full or a child is out of necessity with a family member. Also, when a child arrives with a family member by Medicaid taxi and Ronald McDonald House is full and not able to receive them upon arrival, then the alternative is a hotel room , of which many arrivals can simply not afford. IHS has assisted numerous times over the last year, and again last week.

Lodging funds running very low…

Most of you know that we are personally the largest funding source for this charity, and we are now doing that by allowing more couples to make their ministerial fee deposit as a donation directly to the charity. That is now about $150-$200 per wedding, but it is simply not enough to sustain lodging costs.

We only perform about 2-3 weddings a month throughout the year and those are generally concentrated from April –November. The other months are truly pressing. That means we are personally allowing ministerial fees up to $600 average monthly, and working full-time in the charity with overhead of accounting, legal, promotional and computer needs, and as you know, none of us takes a penny from these efforts. These internal costs are in addition to our direct donations to support the food, lodging, transport and co-pay donations. To say we could use your support is a bit of an understatement.

We know that most of you have a true appreciation for Virginia and the University Medical Center, which is a part of the University. The Med Center is a marvel with its new Cancer Center almost completed, its infant transplant clinic which is a magnet for the vast area served, and its trauma professionals serving all comers.

Sometimes, in all this building and professional offerings, some of those being served and their families are lost in the bigness of it all. So many arrive with a cry for help to the professional medical staff, but they are also crying from hunger and a place for their closest loved one to be near them through a crisis.

This charity was formed to seek to alleviate the unmet needs which are not noticed by the average insured and able visitors to this marvelous institution. We saw this need, and literally hundreds are helped. We are not asking for others to stop and witness this lost tribe in our own midst, those who are trapped without insurance and no work. We are only asking for a contribution so that WE CAN TAKE AWAY THE PAIN OF HAVING TO WORRY MORE ABOUT WHERE TO STAY THE NIGHT BEFORE OR AFTER A CRITICAL APPOINTMENT OR WHAT TO EAT, AND CONCENTRATE FOR THIS SHORT STAY ON THEIR CANCER, THEIR MISCARRIAGE, THEIR CHILD’S DEATH-THREATENING DISEASE.

When a social worker calls, she or he is asking to help them with assistance to remove these extra depressing needs of hunger and shelter. We are asking for your support to allow us to reduce the pressures which can literally kill people who feel they have nowhere to turn.

Try to imagine the pain of a father’s emptiness when sitting with a small child with a suitcase in a giant hospital lobby, just hoping a social worker can arrange a room for tonight, so he doesn’t have to suffer the embarrassment of staying in a lobby or car with a child who will enter the hospital tomorrow for treatment of a critical disease. IMAGINE PLEASE… AND MAKE AN EFFORT IN THE SMALLEST WAY THIS MONTH.

We have asked periodically for your consideration for as little as $5-$10-$20 monthly as a charitable contribution for an annual tax deduction. We know the range is wide, but if we could simply encourage each of you to consider a consistent pattern, it would be so appreciated.

Thank you for hearing….Blessings… Elisheva and T. Wade

Thursday, May 13, 2010

A Personal note from Rev. Elisheva Clegg

This will be a short note with a reminder of another permanent project to meet an unmet need on behalf of patients and families who are being served by the University of Virginia Medical Center. This charity is the net that is catching many of those most in need who are not served by any other source.

I’m sure you remember that emotional appeal about two weeks ago from Social Worker Teresa Bevins in the UVA Medical Center Pediatric Surgery Clinic. Teresa
stressed the need for food assistance for the parents who linger for weeks and months constantly by their babies as they await major surgery, including so many transplant procedures.

The toll on a parent who must divide their income while sleeping next to their child and also seeking to maintain a home with other children hundreds of miles from Charlottesville is simply unaffordable, and many of these parents simply go without eating because of lack of funds. Teresa made it very evident what was happening in her long e-mail which I posted as the last charity blog entry at http://www.interfaithsanctum.blogspot.com/.

The staff in pediatric surgery voiced their appreciation to Teresa, who called me about how much this support means. Then today, May 12th I received a follow-up to alert me that the staff has been monitoring the food supplies and that first delivery to cover about 3 weeks need is almost depleted. I have responded that IHS will make another food purchase tomorrow and deliver directly to the hospital on May 13th. The deal was: “Let us know when to resupply, and we will.”

Please know that we are personally allowing most couples this year to donate half of their weekend wedding fees directly to the charity for our services. They receive a tax deduction for the donation. We are limited as to how much we can personally allow from personal earnings, and I will be very open with you, that we have reached a limit. As you know, no one associated with IHS receives a salary.
Remember: $5 a month buys 5 meals; $10 a month pays for onenight in UVA Hospitality House; $50 a month allows a family with a child to stay for one night in a commercial hotel until there is room in Ronald McDonald House.

Someone asked if we have a church or a congregation, and T. Wade said, “Yes we do, but they don’t know us; they are those who come from everywhere to be served by a wonderful medical facility, and we are here to make sure they don’t go hungry, and never have to sleep in a car with their children.”

Your compassion with assistance to eliminate these situations of hunger and the stress of where to sleep is making such a difference.

Blessings…Elisheva

Monday, April 26, 2010

A Very Important Request for families of pediatric patients

A Personal note from Rev. Elisheva Clegg

On April 19th I received a very heartfelt and emotional e-mail from Teresa Bevins, social worker at UVA Medical Center. I will not seek to summarize what is so concisely written in her appeal on one detailed page. Names and detailed information is often altered for privacy purposes.

On April 23rd, T. Wade and I met with the Assistant Manager Katherine Runkle at the Barracks Road Kroger Store in Charlottesville, Virginia, who assisted us with sales items and a $10 gift card, and provided at her own expense four(4) insulated carrying bags for frozen foods and then donated half of the expense of the needed items to the charity for the pediatric ward for a 2-3 weeks supply. Teresa’s request was honored within the week, and future deliveries monthly will be determined based on need.

Whether it’s $5.00 for a few frozen meals, $10.00 for a one night stay at UVA
Hospitality House, $50.00 for a commercial hotel room, or whatever is possible for the general fund to meet all of these needs and more, your consideration for support is vital to these patients and family members.

Dear Reverend Clegg,

Thank you so much for your call on Friday. I will give
you a few case scenarios of the types of issues , families of our pediatric patients face while here at UVA.

Case 1: Adam is a 10 year old boy recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure, previously healthy, and now awaiting a heart transplant. This child cannot leave the hospital until a heart is found. His health condition is so precarious that the doctors cannot risk him being discharged at this time. He has lost a twin sibling of the same disorder several years ago. His single mother is struggling to be here and has not been able to work at her job which only pays minimum wage. They live 4 hours away from UVA and mother does not have a car. She relies on gas vouchers I donate for a friend to bring her to be with her child, but also to return home as needed for other children. She has no funds to eat and I secure a donated food box weekly from a local charity, but its contents are not enough for her to survive. She is very gracious and grateful for any food.

Case 2: Carmen is a 2 month old infant with a congenital heart problem at birth. She has never been home and her mother stays by her side and also awaits the time that her child is strong enough to go home after numerous surgeries. Mother speaks little English and father must try to continue to work so they have a home to return to. Father is struggling on low wages and little is left over to feed mother at the hospital and buy the gas he needs to travel here on weekends. Family lives 3 hours away. Mother is scared to leave her child for more than a bathroom break or shower. She also gets a food box but it does not meet all her needs. She is also very grateful for the assistance she gets.

Case 3: Johnny is a 7 year old receiving IV antibiotics for a clean out for his Cystic Fibrosis. He will be here for several weeks. He is one of 4 children in his family. Mom is divorced with no dad present, and her minimum wage job barely feeds the children at home and pays the rent. Mother has no money to eat and also relies on weekly food box from local charity and this doesn't meet her needs when she is here. She relies on extended family to care for the other children and Medicaid taxis to bring her here for the few times she is able to go home and check on the other children.

Case 4: Shania age 9. She and her family were in route to visit grandparents and were hit by another driver which resulted in her breaking a leg and arm. Her sibling sustained a head injury. Her father was injured also and is at another hospital. Mother accompanied the 2 children when they were transferred to UVA from Northern Virginia area. This family lives hundreds of miles away and has limited means. Mother is unable to afford the prices of cafeteria food and the food box she receives is not meeting her needs.

Although, we use food box donations, they are shrinking in size due to the increased numbers needing assistance in the local community. Often, parents have special dietary needs and cannot eat some of what is donated. Also, it is a 24 hour turn-around time before we can receive them and if the admission is on a Friday or the weekend we cannot order a food box until the following Monday which makes it arrive on Tuesday. These parents are struggling to survive and take care of their children. They often sleep bedside by their child and are not getting sufficient rest. Unfortunately, Ronald McDonald house stays full due to the large number of Cardiology patients we receive from all over Virginia due to the fact we are one of the few hospitals that do pediatric cardiology surgeries. We are also the trauma center for a large portion of Virginia and many patients are transferred to us from outside hospitals that cannot meet their medical needs. We in the social work department would be extremely grateful to be able to receive frozen meals for the parents/caregivers of these children so they can focus on being a support to their children. Most of the families we see are struggling financially before they have a health crisis and these crises often cause much stress for them and may lead to other issues without intervention from social work . We would like to be able to have emergency supplies of frozen or microwavable meals to provide support to these parents. If there is anything else you need from me, please do not hesitate to ask and I will gladly comply. Thank you for considering helping these families.

Sincerely…Teresa Bevins BSW, Clinical Social Worker
What we ALL do together matters. Love…US Elisheva

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Things You Need to Know To Help Us Grow

The other night I returned about 10 PM from a trip to UVA Hospitality House(HH) in Charlottesville. I had received a call about 5 PM from the Manager requesting assistance with food for a visitor who was simply without funds for eating. HH had some can foods on their shelves, but little else, and the staff had gone out and personally purchased cereal and a few incidental items, but nothing substantial for three days of eating.

One doesn’t need to ask, “How does one come from such a distance with so little to stay for an unexpected duration?” When a person’s spouse is near death, that’s all that one needs to know.

On several occasions in the last months, a person will be staying in HH and we will cover lodging for many days, sometimes working with the HH manager for a negotiated rate for as much as thirty (30) days. Perhaps it is a spouse, as described above, or an outpatient for extended radiation treatment. Too often, the person will already feel that what is being provided with lodging is already generous, and they will not say that they don’t have food money.

Sometimes this situation will not be related by a patient or family member to a social worker, and only discovered later, perhaps at Hospitality House by a staff member.

We are applying again for food grants this year, and hopefully someone will read our requests and offer a boost. Meanwhile, we must continue to allow you to understand the “boots on the ground” reality which continues. One can not depend on grants; at least 80% of all financial support must come from private contributions.

Let me back up and indicate how little it takes to feed someone as described above for the three days. When lodging is available, the per night stay at HH is $10 per person. It’s not asking a lot, but when one simply has no funds to last out their time in Charlottesville, then that $10 might as well be $100. But as you can calculate, as happened above, a 5-day HH lodging stay is $50.

As for food, the request for food stated above was for only three days. I drove straight to a local food store and located the best of the frozen dinners on sale, mostly two for one sale items. I received some good directions over the last months from the Nutritionist at the UVA Cancer Center for what is the best quality, especially for outpatient cancer patients we are assisting.

I came away with nine(9) excellent meals, and a case or 24 bottles of water. The dinners average $1.57 each, and the case was an astounding sales price of $2.50, or about ten cents a bottle. Not counting tax, that was $14.13 for nine dinners for three days of eating, and enough water bottles for extra guests at Hospitality House.

In other words, one person was fed for a total of about $1.67 per meal, or
$5.01 per day, or $15.03 for three days!

Can you see how much a difference you can help me make with $10 for a room, or $5 for a day’s food for one person? Please look at these figures again. Know that I will drive that 20 miles to town every day if asked, but we cannot do it alone. We really need the assistance from private donors.

We are still the largest single contributor but it only stretches so far…

I want you to know that we began this year to offer couples who are hosting large weddings, especially in larger venues of Virginia, Maryland and in Washington, DC, an opportunity to receive a total tax deduction for an increased wedding fee. We allow for a total tax deductible donation to support this charity in lieu of our ministerial fees, but we can only do this a few times monthly in summer.

This extra giving through our own funds can only stretch so far; therefore, I wanted you to know that we are continually giving of our own funds, our own time on call every day for social staff, and we still do not take a salary from this charity.

I am only asking for each of you to consider what is possible on a consistent basis for $5-$10 monthly which is a tax deduction. I know many can afford more, but even these small donations help so much.

Perhaps this very personal description assists in bringing our constant need home, especially lodging. Keep in mind that in our first nine (9) months we have
placed 176 people into 256 overnight rooms. About half were commercial rooms at $50 average per night. March bills are coming due. Don’t forget us.

We feel so very correct about the service we are providing to the patients and families who come with such meager funds from long distances to be served at this marvelous Virginia medical center. Consider us in your giving.

Blessings…T. Wade

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Snows kept coming…as did the need…and the needs were met!

Allow me to come straight to the point. It’s cold, freezing, snowing and this is the third time in the last six weeks! Central Virginia and especially Charlottesville has been front row to each winter blast. Phones, electricity, computers have all been disrupted, and travel eliminated on several days each hit we took. However, business at the University of Virginia (UVA) Medical Center was as active as ever.

The Social staff at the Medical Center were not deterred, and as needed, each one reached us within hours even with excessive disruptive communication. You will be pleased to know that every request for assistance was met with a YES WE CAN!

We really do need your help. Requests for lodging assistance was and IS very active. During January alone, this non-religious, nonprofit, no stock, public charity with no paid staff booked 42 overnight rooms, serving a total of 32 people. Now it’s time to pay, and only a few consistent contributors remembered us.

As you know by now, as important as there are individual stories to tell as to how we assisted a patient with a child far from home, or a family with children arriving to be near a dying parent, this is the limit which can be stated due to privacy considerations. In several cases the snow simply eliminated travel home to West Virginia, southern and northern Virginia. Without our quick late afternoon and evening intervention with hotel rooms when children were involved or with payments at the UVA Hospitality House for patients to await a ride home, the ability to balance the extra days for these long distance visitors to this major hospital would have been non-existent.
April 15th is just around the corner. Your donation to Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum (IHS) is tax deductable. Our tax exempt IRS letter is located as a hyperlink on the home page of the website. By PayPal or check, just keep a record of the donation and file it for the deduction.
Most of you may not think of becoming a benefactor for a charity, but a consistent monthly bequest personally or from your business could truly make this endeavor so fundamentally sound…and always allows us to say YES. Whether $10 or more…it’s the consistency which is so very important.

Love…Rev. Elisheva

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

The snow is melting…the road to UVA Medical Center is active again

Latest entry from Rev. T. Wade Clegg III

The biggest snow of record has melted in Charlottesville, and although extremely cold, activities are now at an increased pace.

The night the snow started falling caught so many off guard along the two lane Jefferson Parkway Highway (Highway 53) in front of Monticello, within hours the highway was shut down from so many cars off the side of the road, and eliminating passing. This was an indicator that anyone being dismissed as a patient from UVA Medical Center from a distance would be in for a surprise.

Fortunately only two people were stranded with no funds to take them through the three days they had to remain in Charlottesville. Both were from West Virginia, and the Hospitality House (HH) was full. There was simply no going over the mountain in a normal vehicle to reach West Virginia. They were extremely appreciative to know that someone was waiting to assist.

Today is January 6 as I write this update. As of the first five days of January, 14 patients and/or family members will be staying in lodging (hospitality house and commercial hotels) for a total of 17 nights. That’s 17 rooms booked in only 5 days. That’s a fast start and considerable expense in just under a week.

As you may know, when I tell little stories of specific situations concerning patients and/or families coming to UVA Medical Center, no names are mentioned. Also, sometimes the distance or place of residence will not be mentioned so as not to touch onto privacy. But – it does assist to let you know again and again the necessity for this charity and the service performed.

Very recently, a patient from no less than 100 miles away, needed to be here for a surgical procedure, not just a routine procedure, but a critical need. The patient has several children, and no supportive partner, just another adult to assist during these trying times. The Hospitality House (HH) can not accommodate the patient who needed the children nearby.

Without a place to stay the day before the procedure, the patient told the social worker that a cancellation was necessary, since funds for lodging were not available. There would not be enough money to feed the kids. They had to be with the patient.

The social worker called and said, “I know it’s late (about 5:30 PM) but this is the situation and this patient needs to have this surgery on schedule tomorrow. Can you help?”

The answer is always YES. Three days in a commercial hotel for the children and adult as they stayed close to the patient, but were able to return to a hotel room each night.

What a difference WE (you and you and us) are all making by securing these rooms, whether in HH or a commercial hotel. The four commercial hotels are five times higher than HH, but we are still afforded the best rates in the community. But as you begin to crunch the numbers, 17 rooms in 6 days is pointing to an expensive month.

Don’t forget about us. Whatever is possible will keep us saying YES when a social worker calls.
Remember – once a social worker calls, the need is now and the person(s) have been screened and the need is absolute. Also - the co-pay fund for indigent clients was fortified again two weeks ago with an additional $200 for the fund to meet needs.

Another reminder! So Important!

In closing, please know that January 19, 2010…that’s a Tuesday from 9 AM – 9 PM, we have been selected for Charlottesville’s Whole Foods Market 5% Day. Such an opportunity! 5% of the net sales to this charity. We will need volunteers for bagging groceries from 11-2 and 4-7 that day, while the advisory group and those less mobile handle a table with handouts.

At this time, we have only two volunteers for the 11 AM-2 PM shift and two volunteers for the 4-7 PM shift for bagging. We could use from 5-6 people each shift. One volunteer couple is among those we married two years ago and lives in Charlottesville. If more people are available, we might add some volunteers to the grocery staff for bagging from 2-4 PM

I just received a note from another couple who is driving up from Asheville, NC on the 18th to spend all day with us on the 19th to assist. That’s about 375 miles one way. Such consideration is so valued. If you are near and can assist, then please e-mail. Of real importance is to contact any friends in the Charlottesville area, and ask them to save their shopping for January 19, 2010.

The address is Whole Foods Market, 300 Shoppers World Court, Charlottesville, VA 22901.
This address is on Highway 29 North (also known as Seminole Trail). Anyone lost in the area that day in route to shop or assist, we will have our cell phones handy at (434) 825-0881 and (434) 825-0556. Cell phones are activated when we are away from home. Remember – Whole Foods has a marvelous deli, one of the best places to dine in town, so come on over and enjoy the visit. Thanks so much for whatever is possible, even if just an e-mail to a friend to SHOP, SHOP, SHOP!

Blessings…T. Wade