Consider this Final Appeal as a Truly Worthwhile Opportunit

December 31st is the end of the year. Only 4 more days.  While many will have donated to a charitable activity before Christmas Day, some of you who are friends of IHS  may want to take advantage of this final chance to receive a charitable tax deduction to assist  the indigent and severely underfunded who must come to Charlottesville to the UVA Medical Center for treatment.   Remember - your donation allows us to respond 24/7 to UVA Social Workers who call for assistance with lodging, food, prescriptions, co-pays or infant car seats for the UVA Pediatric Clinics when no other agency or organization is available as that final safety net. It's your chance to do good. Consider one of two methods for your donation. (1) Write a check to IHS and send it by regular mail to: IHS P.O. Box 163 Palmyra, VA 22963 Make a copy to retain for your IRS tax filing as a charitable donation for 2016. (2) Or donate by accessing the DONATE BUTTON at the end of this short reminder. In closing for these final days of 2016, thank you for whatever you can do to secure our efforts to sustain these vital physical needs for the least able among us.  Please know that no one in this public charity is paid. The largest private donations of time and funding still comes from the founding members; however, it is simply not enough to sustain a growing need. If it were not so, then I promise we would not ask for your assistance. Also remember - for transparency we hold the "Gold Seal of Approval" from the Guidestar.org national clearing house. Please do what you can. And, if you would like to donate now to our cause, please click the button below to go to our encrypted secure on-line donation form.    From all of us to all of you, T. Wade, Sam ... and remembering Elisheva IHS Founding Members

While Considering Your Giving This Holiday ...

It's important that you know that this public charity is on duty every day and night during the holidays and accessible by all University of Virginia Social Workers for immediate temporary assistance for their long distance, underfunded and unexpected patients or family members. Here are a few examples of why there MUST  be one resource as a final lifeline Case #1: Patient is in quickly diminishing status.  Patient has five children and they arrive at hospital with their aunts and are able to visit at a critical time.  Seven people with limited funds and a desperate need for a hotel room, and food for their overnight stay. The hotel is secured within ten minutes and Social Worker removes enough full-day meal packets from the Social Work cabinet for the family to take with them to the hotel. IHS was the only alternative for a family facing a dramatic situation. Case #2: Social Worker calls at end of day, and begins by saying, "I'm not sure if you can help, and I am getting ahead of the possible need for a hotel room, but I have a couple who is experiencing the shock of just losing their nine year old child, and they live a long way off.I think they need to have a room alone before returning home, although they may feel a necessity to drive home and personally bring comfort to the other family members." The hotel room was secured immediately and the front desk was told to hold the room for IHS and if the couple did not decide to stay, IHS would call and if necessary, simply pay for the room even if not occupied.  The loss of a child brings such a debilitating shock to parents there must not be a hesitation when IHS can allow for a comfort zone following a death. Case #3: Patient is being released in next hour, and the ECCCC (Emily Courick Clinical Cancer Center) Pharmacy closes soon. Patient needs a prescription and the family does not have insurance. Patient has not been working due to the condition, and the spouse is seeking to work two jobs to keep their finances afloat. Social Worker says, "I haven't had time to seek to collect or secure funds for the prescription and it is needed. Can you assist?   This is not a co-pay; it is an expensive prescription and I've never asked for this much; but, I have to try to help them." The prescription was projected as $360.00. IHS made the call and paid for the prescription in time for the patient to pick it up within the hour. These cases are examples of why Rev. Elisheva  Clegg came home in 2008 after a long night as the volunteer chaplain at UVA Medical Center and posed an important question. She saved the tears for home. She really did ask me, "What are we doing for the rest of our lives?"  I remember playfully answering that I had a feeling that she was about to tell me. That day set in motion an opportunity for this charity, and one more lifeline was begun. That was eight years ago. As most of you know, Elisheva' died on April 6 this year in UVA Hospital. She understood pain as a daily challenge, and was involved in a series of operations as 2016 began  On April 5 before I called for an ambulance for an unexpected pain in her side, she had been listing local churches to visit to become friends of the charity, and allow her to personally speak and offer examples of how their donations were so prominent. Please remember that all of us at IHS are non-paid volunteers, and we are all donating what we can to IHS personally. Also remember - for transparency we hold the "Gold Seal of Approval" from the Guidestar.org national clearing house. Please do what you can. And, if you would like to donate now to our cause or in memory of Elisheva during the holiday season, please click the button below to go to our encrypted secure on-line donation form.     Elisheva would be smiling about our continued responsiveness and so thankful for those who continue to remember and honor her personal devotion to this never-ending opportunity.  For her, myself and Sam, and the individuals who are constant supporters. ... Thank you as we press on into another year.  Love ...  T. Wade Clegg III  and Sam McLawhorn