New Friends Reached Out to IHS in July

New Participant in Meal-Making for UVA Hospital The Enrichment Alliance of Virginia, a non-profit serving Charlottesville,  Albemarle, and adjacent counties held a meeting of its "Hub" on Saturday, June 30, to do their first service project ever. The Hub is a monthly program serving children resettled in Charlottesville from the world's troubled spots.  Five mentors and six students shopped for meal packet supplies at a local grocery store, then used their meeting space to assemble meal packets for IHS to donate to the University of Virginia Medical Center. The young people worked quickly and wrote lovely notes for the packet recipients. In all, with supplement items from IHS Meal Packet Coordinator, Margaret Gorman, the Hub created full-day meal packets for 24 people. Congratulations, and thanks very much! Thank you to Program Director Mary Anna Dunn, Ed.D, for thinking of the IHS and showing the Hub participants one way we can help other people. The Board and volunteers of the Enrichment Alliance of Virginia work together to expand enrichment opportunities for all children, regardless of income, geography or cognitive/physical disabilities. To learn more, see Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Enrichment-Alliance-of-Virginia/295269790273                                                                          Margaret Gorman,  IHS Meal Packet Coordinator A Note from Jessica Kirby ... a friend of IHS in Scottsville, VA I was so touched by the work that you do with IHS that I was thrilled to be able to help in some sort of way. IHS was the first thing to pop in my mind when we were choosing where we would donate our Vacation Bible School (VBS) funds.  Antioch Baptist Church,located at 4422 Antioch Road in Scottsville,  holds a VBS yearly in July and picks a family or charity to help support.   The boys and girls divided each night to see who could raise the most for IHS. We were able to raise $ 273.00 and a box of food for the IHS Food Program. Thank you so much for showing us that just a single person can help make such a big difference in our community. MARK YOUR CALENDAR  for an Important Fund-raising Event September 5, 2013! More announcements to come, but IHS has been invited as the charity to benefit from the wine-tasting event to be hosted at the fountain area in Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville  from 6-9  PM on Thursday, September 5th. The fountain is located next to Five Guys and Panera's restaurants in the shopping center.  Live music will add to this lovely outdoor gathering for a few hours of relaxing after a busy work day. There is marvelous parking  space so near.  Tickets sold for the wine-tasting purchased at the site.  Mark your  calendar ...PLEASE!

Charity's First Exposure in UVA Health System Blog

IHS is so very pleased to have been included in the June 25, 2013 blog posting. The introduction of the charity as another dedicated all-volunteer source, from which the Office of Social Work can depend, is the first exposure to other hospital staff, even though we have been a member of the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) for the last two years. A copy of the complete blog posting follows. Or, you may click on the link below to go directly to the UVA Health System Blog site directly for viewing. http://uvahealth.com/blog/index.php/2013/06/25/food-and-housing-for-patients-in-need/ Our thanks to David Hendrick, Editor, UVA Health System Office of Marketing and Communication for his generous remarks.                                                                T. Wade Clegg III Food and Housing for Patients in Need        On June 25, 2013 | At 10:29 am It takes thousands of employees in all manner of positions to keep the UVA Health System humming. Without a small army of dedicated volunteers, however, the hospital would look like a much different place.               A Century of Care The UVA Hospital Auxiliary, a 105-year-old, volunteer organization, exists solely to offer aid and comfort to patients in need. Among its volunteer service and various activities, the group raises money for various health and education programs and contributes funds to social workers and many other hospital areas to directly benefit patients and families. Sally LeBeau, manager of volunteer services at UVA, says there are about 850 active volunteers in the Health System. All of them are members of the auxiliary.                Hospitality House One popular volunteer outlet is the Hospitality House, a 62-bed facility near the UVA Hospital that offers a place to stay for patients and adult family members for $10 a night. The auxiliary supports the Hospitality House - which has an annual operating cost of about $600,000 - with a yearly contribution of about $66,000. "We have UVA volunteers that provide support there, that come and work a shift each week at the HH, doing administrative work, greeting visitors, cooking meals," LeBeau said. One volunteer has been greeting guests for 15 years, LeBeau said. A monthly donation from the Emergency Food Bank also helps keep the cupboard stocked. Other Groups Lend a Hand There is also a network of volunteers outside of the Health System assisting in the care of patients and their families. Sam McLawhorn,Thomas Wade Clegg and Elisheva Clegg, for instance, formed the Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum (IHS) in 2008. Since then, the Cleggs have become experts in the various unforeseen situations people find themselves in when they travel to receive medical care. The non-religious, nonprofit, all-volunteer charity started with the simple idea of helping with the basics: food and lodging. To that end, they provide assistance to patients and their families with: Places to stay while they seek treatment, including hotel rooms and the $10 fee for the Hospitality House Hundreds of full-day meal packets a month at both the UVA Hospital and Hospitality House Co-pays for prescriptions and transport funds Items for children such as car seats and breast pump rental for new parents Says Wade Clegg, "Once you experience the overwhelming number of desperate situations, which social workers handle almost daily, and you know you can make a difference ... then a considerable amount of suffering can be lifted. That's something that's easy to put our arms around." A New Mission: Helping Patients Heal The idea for the charity came one evening when Elisheva, while serving as a volunteer chaplain at the hospital, met a young mother whose husband was receiving treatment at the hospital looking for the garage where she planned to spend the night in her car. Elisheva instead arranged for a hotel room where the mother and her children could stay. The incident with the young mother in the car turned out to be a moment of epiphany for Elisheva. "We said, 'What are we going to do for the rest of our lives?'" Elishiva remembers. "We need to form a charity." A Coordinated Effort to Care Packets of food are available for patients in need. The Cleggs say their criteria for who is deserving of assistance is simple. If a UVA social worker signs off on a need for assistance, it's good enough for them. And the social workers at the hospital do not hesitate to call upon the IHS for a variety of needs. "About three years ago I saw a need for food for my pediatric families," UVA social worker Teresa Bevins says. "I contacted the Cleggs and asked if they would be interested in developing an ongoing meal support program for caregivers. They were more than willing to start this process." The food program quickly grew, and now all of the social workers at the hospital know that they can take meal bags from a stocked cabinet at any time. Bevins says she and her coworkers pass out about 100 full-day meal packets every 10 days. "These people are angels," Bevins says of the IHS. The Cleggs, meanwhile, are quick to complement their chief liaisons to the Health System. "The social work staff may be the most underappreciated groups at the hospital," says Wade Clegg. "These are people who care, but there is a limit to where they can take it. Hopefully, we are extending their limits in a small but significant way." Sustaining a Worthy Cause IHS relies on money and food donations from individuals and groups and has received grants from Dave Matthews Band's Bama Works Fund, the J & E Berkley Foundation of Charlottesville and the Junior League of Charlottesville. There is no paid staff, and the comings and goings of funds are accounted for down to the dollar in tax forms posted on the IHS website. Although the steady increase in requests keeps the organization busy-need has increased about 100% each year of the charity's existence-the Cleggs hope to put the IHS on a sustainable, permanent path. For instance, they envision a home base on a working farm, with lodging available for patients in need and a communal dining hall. Interested in giving to the IHS? Learn more about the work of the IHS.

Another May 2013 Surprise!

J&E Berkley Foundation's Second Assist in Two Years

The Foundation, located in Crozet,  considered the IHS grant request at their meeting held on April 30, 2013. Mr. Chris Pasmore, Executive Director, wrote,

"It is my pleasure to inform you that a grant of $3,000 was awarded to Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, Inc. and to be used as outlined in your proposal dated March 29, 2013. Enclosed is an official check in the amount of $3,000." 

Grant is Dedicated to Medications, Co-Pays, Travel and Lodging

 

The J&E Berkley Foundation was made aware of this charity's growing need, specifically over the last year, regarding expanded medication, co-pay and travel  assistance for the indigent population who come from great distances.  From January 2012 - March 2013 (15 months) IHS provided over $5,000 just for this category of assistance. This was an increase from $1,007 in all of 2011 requested to assist the UVA Hospital's Office of Social Work for underfunded patients.

During this same period of time (January 2012 - March 2013) IHS paid for 129 commercial hotel rooms for 232 patients and/or family members who could not be accommodated in the UVA Hospitality House, and several overflow families for a fully-booked Ronald McDonald House. The $3,000 grant will be used for these two areas of temporary assistance during the remainder of 2013.

Truly a Delightful  Boost to 2013 Needs

On behalf of the IHS Volunteers of this totally independent public charity dedicated to the UVA Medical Center's  indigent and temporarily underfunded patients and families, and the professional staff of Social Workers in the UVA Medical Center ... THANKS goes to the J&E Berkley Foundation for this needed support.

    

On a final Note for May - a dear friend of this Charity will be missed

We forgot to mention that Noel Dianas-Hughes has left the position of Manager of Social Work at UVA Medical Center, although it is our understanding that she plans on remaining in the local area at this time.  Jill Laird-Sanders, Director of Care Management, UVA Health System has assumed that role at this time.

A Little Background is Worth Remembering

In 2008  we (Revs. Elisheva and T. Wade Clegg ) approached Noel and then Chief Chaplain Richard Haines (now retired) with a plan to establish a public charity to seek to meet the immediate "unmet" needs of indigent patients.  The decision to allow us to be accessed as needed by the Social Staff on a 24/7 basis was an unusual request, but recognized by Noel and Chaplain Haines as another opportunity to serve this dedicated population, all too often with no other charity or agency available or willing to respond so quickly.  Noel listened intently and monitored and offered advice,  as IHS slowly involved itself with fund-raising, and active ideas to strengthen objectives. A wonderful trust evolved, and whatever this charity has been able to accomplish and continues to accomplish is due to Noel Dianas-Hughes decision to allow another helping hand to assist  in her staff's goals of securing the well-being of the least able among us.

As We said back in 2008 to Noel and Richard ...  

"We will do what we can do for as long as we can do it!"

Never forget when someone allows a door to open to let all comers know that others care for their well-being.  Our thanks to Noel for her generosity. 

Sincerely ... T. Wade and Elisheva Clegg, Sam McLawhorn, and  IHS Volunteers

The Enduring Lesson of Caring for the Children who Assemble Meal Packets

Notes from Margaret Gorman The children and youth of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church, Unitarian Universalist in Charlottesville (TJMC UU), and the children of Children's Garden Preschool in Earlysville, Virginia have now assembled meal packets for three years. The director of Children's Garden, Maria Brown, and I (director of the meal packet project at the church) recently had an email discussion of the impact this project has on our children. We agree that while the goal is nutritional support for the caregivers and patients or outpatients at the University of Virginia Medical Center, the effect on our children and youth is profound. What follows comes from our exchange. I wrote to Maria: "For me it is very rewarding to watch the children and youth assemble meal packets again and again. They come into the Sunday school room, look at the stacks of food and supplies, and are eager to get to work.  They say things like, 'This is fun,' and can teach new participants how to make the meals and why we do this. I like the way they 'own' this service project and how they understand they truly help people with it. My hope is this repeated act of service helps lay a foundation for a life of caring and giving." I then asked: "Now that your children have made meal packets for three years, do you see any carry-over for them? Do the older children (four year-olds) remember making meals before?... The meals are beautiful and I just LOVE the way you used envelopes for the cards! If I were a child, this would mean that my message is really important. " Maria replied: "The children who have done this project in the past DO remember doing it from previous years, and I have two girls who even helped explain what the project is to the children who are new this year! They do take ownership, and know which item of food was  sent in by their parents, and in some cases, helped pick out the item they were bringing in! I don't know if you have the ability to do the same with your younger children, having their families sign up to bring in specific foods, in whatever quantity will work for your situation, but I found that it really did make an impression on my children." Maria continued: "The way I did it, with my preschoolers, was to lay out all the food, grouped by meals (dinner items), and then snacks, and each child assembled one packet, choosing food from each "group", such as either oatmeal or cereal plus either an apple or berry bar for the breakfast, etc. That way, they had some choice; they had ownership of a bag.  I also had each child help 'sign' all cards, so the cards received by  recipients  this year have all the children's names on it. I want recipients  to know that all of us care about them and we are thinking about them. This year the children signed by putting their thumbprint on the card in the color ink of their choosing... then  I made their print into a flower.  At the top of the card it said, 'Made with Love by The Children's Garden'.  I hope this helps!  We will do this project again next year, and hopefully for many years to come." Final Comments: Thanks to Maria Brown and Children's Garden for the 16 meal packets for 2013, and thanks to the continuing support of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian Universalist for the religious education meal packet project.  In this month of  May the sixth graders put together 156 meals. I am looking forward to using some of Maria's tips when our youngest children make meals this summer. If you, our reader, want to know more about assembling meal packets, look at this link to the IHS Food Program.  Please contact me with your questions and ideas. Just send a note to the IHS e-mail, and it will be transferred to my attention very shortly. Margaret Gorman IHS Food Packet Coordinator

May Start Gets a Boost with Junior League of Charlottesville (JLC) Grant

Infant Car Seat Program a Little Closer to this Year's Goal IHS was selected as a recipient of a Spring 2013 Community Grant from the Junior League of Charlottesville (JLC) in the amount of $750.00 to support our Baby Fund which is dedicated to indigent UVA Medical Center pediatric patients needs.  Specifically, these funds will be used to purchase infant car seats. Hillary Dack, the 2012-2013 JLC Vice Chair, said in her letter to IHS, "We received a large number of excellent grant applications for this funding cycle, but your outstanding dedications to strengthening our community through the organization's efforts was evident through your application. We are proud to support your vital work in our community." The JLC Community Celebration to highlight the Junior League's partner agencies this year was hosted on May 1, 2013 at the Boys & Girls Club of Central Virginia in Charlottesville. IHS Board member, Sam McLawhorn,  attended and personally received the grant  from Margaret Bolton Baudinet, JLC's Community Vice President. Comments from Sam The IHS Baby Program's primary objective is to provide the infant car seats through UVA Office of Social Work for indigent families who simply cannot afford to purchase this "must have" safety device when an infant is released from the Hospital. The car seats must be new, and three different sizes are requested based on the size of the child upon release. IHS has been actively providing the infant car seats for two years. The first year projection was for thirty (30) seats for all UVA pediatric clinics; however, the end result was forty-four(44) seats. Our expectation over the next year is for no less than fifty (50) seats. This JLC grant will be so helpful in reaching that goal.  Thank you ... Junior League of Charlottesville! A Note from UVA Social Worker Vikki Bravo who is retiring May 10th Hi to the Board of the Volunteer Army of I H S, I love you guys! I have been at U VA 15 years  and a social worker 36 years. It  has been a privilege to do this work. I see the best of the human spirit. People in very difficult circumstances find that they have strength they didn't know they had. And I H S has given them the extra help to receive medical care with dignity. It has been a joy working with you all, and I look forward to continuing in the Volunteer Army.  Love,  Vikki

A Big Boost for the Full-Day Meal Packet Program

Notes from Margaret ... IHS Coordinator Children writing personal notes for meal packets Friends of the charity will be pleased to know that our appeal over the last month brought forth an excellent response from several groups for a terrific March delivery. The following groups are annual contributors. Their dependability assures that we reach our annual goal. Readers of our e-mails and blog postings realize that IHS provides about 250 full-day meals monthly to the UVA Medical Center Social Work Office for underfunded caregivers of patients. The meals are made for IHS and then IHS volunteers deliver every two weeks so that all social workers have access. Social Workers know of outpatients or caregivers in need of something to eat, and they respond quickly. Please take notice of the wonderful kids and parents who make this program a success. If you need to know more about this program for your kid's group, just click on the following link for the Food Program and Guide. Thanks to the following groups for your recent generosity     The children of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church, Unitarian-Universalist (TJMC), Charlottesville Religious Education program took time during two Sundays in March to assemble 386 meal packets. Children from the first through sixth grade loaded plastic meal bags, designed greeting cards, boxed the packets and checked for quality control of their work.     Church family assembling meals They had a lot of help from parents and other adults in the church. However, so many of the children have made meal packets in the past that they can now work with limited supervision. They are now the ones who teach the children and adults who are unfamiliar with the IHS meal packet project about who it serves and how to assemble the meal packets. This church community is gratified to see the intellectual and emotional connection that the children, youth and adults feel toward the meal packet recipients. It is a practical expression of their desire to express their faith by helping those who need assistance. The funds for purchasing meal packet supplies came from generous donations by members and friends of TJMC in August 2012, during the church's monthly "Social Action Collection." The TJMC Food Pantry Program also helped the shoppers obtain many items used in the meal packets. Cub Scout Pack 79 of Crozet, Virginia met just before the snow storm on Sunday March 24 to assemble 40 full-day meal packets. Cub Scout Master Dave Vance tells us that the scouts worked so quickly that no one had time to take a photograph of them at work. He said, "I was really impressed with the vigor the Cubs attacked the packets." Pack 79 is chartered to the Crozet United Methodist Church. The leaders who helped out included Lisa and Jeff Saucerman, Chris Scott, Jaime Brady and Ryan Miracle. About 20 scouts from Tigers (first grade) to Webelos I (fourth grade) assembled the contribution. Cub Scout Pack 183 and Scout Troop 3 of Louisa, Virginia met on March 26 for an assembly session. They made 84 full-day meals. Kathleen Church, the coordinator for the scout program which dedicates two events annually in March and October to support this IHS program, arrived at the IHS Lake Monticello Office in Palmyra, Virginia with a car load the very next day. Molly Michie Pre-School, 717 Rugby Road in Charlottesville, Virginia is not forgotten. Lori Linville's class of 5-year olds was visited on February 6 by T. Wade and Elisheva Clegg. The Cleggs were invited by parent Rachel Thielman to speak to a very enthusiastic group who produced 12 full-day meal packets and wrote lovely notes for placement inside each plastic Ziplock bag. The class's packets were added to the March totals. FINAL COMMENTS March was a very productive month! The total packets delivered: 522. Thanks to all the participants for devoting your time and funds for the underfunded outpatients and their caregivers who will have a full-day meal while in the UVA Medical Center. Sincerely ... Margaret Gorman,  IHS Meal Packet Coordinator

ON Call ... 24/7

What does 24/7 Really Mean? Quite literally it means that this charity can be reached by all UVA Social Workers by simply picking up the phone.  Not just during normal day time hours, but before and after midnight, seven  (7) days a week. It means that the few social workers who have night duty, but especially in the Emergency Department (ED), have the security of knowing that we expect to be called for temporary assistance as needed.  Case in Point ... regarding shelter When a patient was released following eye surgery, the waiting period happened to push past midnight. The patient, along with a spouse, could not drive with this impaired eye condition. The spouse (over 80) was not eligible to drive their car the two hours back home. The social worker checked with UVA Hospitality House, even though it was very late,  but every room was filled. Our phone rang at about 12:30 AM. The social worker said, "I have this situation, and their age coupled with the fact that they simply can't afford a hotel room, is leaving me without options." Of course,  there was ONE option, and she had me on the line.  A hotel room was secured in about ten minutes and the couple was placed in a taxi. Their car remained in the garage. Access is the Key and Immediacy Critical On every social worker computer is a form entitled, "Lodging Authorization."  When a social worker makes contact, he or she will have the form already displayed in front of them.  The IHS contact will also have a form. The social worker will relate a situation in progress, and with permission of the patient or family member,  receive permission to have IHS seek to secure a hotel room, or perhaps pay for lodging in Hospitality House. The patient or caregiver will not know exactly who is assisting them. The social worker will have already screened and approved that the person(s) is indeed eligible to receive assistance. IHS will then initiate calls to several hotels which have worked with us for the last four years. We are familiar to all desk clerks in several very generous lodging establishments. The desk clerk will simply ask for name, address, length of stay, and provide a reservation number. Then - the IHS contact will fax a completed reservation form to the hotel guaranteeing payment, and call the social worker to indicate that the room is ready.  Mission accomplished until next call. Yes ... it's a Good Working System ... However, it is only without any cost to those being assisted. This charity's 24/7 volunteers are not paid. In fact, we are also one of the largest annual donors to assist with expenses. The real challenge is to make sure that every month without fail that all hotel bills are tabulated and paid in a timely manner. The ability to be a Constant Servant for the Least Able Our record of excellence for paying our bills at selected hotels depends on individual donations, Commonwealth of Virginia (CVC) annual payroll deductions from state workers, and a continuing need for grants to sustain a never-ending need.  It is now time to expand and ask clubs, businesses, schools, churches and more individuals to consider us in their outreach programs.  REMEMBER -  IHS is providing UVA Social Workers the most immediate response for assistance when no other source is available.   NO OTHER AGENCY, DEPARTMENT, CHARITY, CHURCH, GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL WITH MEANS HAD EVER  OFFERED TO MAKE THIS A REALITY.  NOW that the charity has proven itself for four(4) years  as that 24/7 contact, perhaps each of the entities mentioned would like to review their giving habits, perhaps even become an annual sponsor,  and allow us to sustain.  We could use the funds ... one hotel room and a full-day meal packet at a time. Sincerely ... Thomas Wade Clegg III