Make a Difference Day at Henley School will feed hungry over many weeks!

Personal Notes from Margaret Gorman, IHS Meal Packet Coordinator   Life Skills class arrives at Big Lots for shopping spree J.T. Henley Middle School in Crozet, Virginia participated in "Make a Difference Day" by making meal packets for IHS. There's not enough room to tell you about all the ways the students participated, but for part of the story you can read a nice article by Bryan McKenzie from the Saturday, Oct. 21 Charlottesville Daily Progress newspaper (link to this article is below). I'd like to add that two girls raised $125 in a bake sale that we used to purchase food.  Harris Teeter Grocery Store in Crozet donated $50 and let us borrow two grocery carts that we are using for collecting donations and for moving food to various classrooms where the students assemble the meals. Students gave up free time to go to Ms. Effland's classroom to make greeting cards. About 20 students helped Margaret Gorman conduct a semi-scientific study to compare the efficiency and accuracy of two methods of assembling meal packets: piecemeal construction vs. the assembly line. The results suggest that Henry Ford had a good idea when he invented the automobile assembly line. Eighth grade students will receive community service credit for their help. Everyone who participated had a good time and knew they were providing valuable assistance to people who are going through a tough time. Two happy shoppers with longest grocery receipt in Big Lots day! I can't tell you enough about how much I appreciate the time and effort the Life Skills class put in to shopping, assembling meals and creating cards. The grocery receipt they produced on their shopping trip to Big Lots was about seven feet long.  One photo shows happy Life Skills class students displaying their large purchase. We want to express great appreciation to the J.T. Henley community for their success in this huge effort. Amy Effland, Amy Hovis and Teresa Goodin organized the effort. Susan Guerrant, Chuck Miller and Kevin Murphy provided great financial support, advise on logistics and publicity. The custodial staff collected nice boxes for packing the meals. The front office fielded questions and collected the donations for us. Maureen Russell gave her art classes the time and resources to produce beautiful greeting cards. Students filled three shopping carts with heaps of IHS food packet products. Enjoy reading the article, and contact us if you'd like to know more about how to participate. The 322 full day meal packets assembled by Henley Middle School is a new one-time assembly project record for an IHS contribution. Thank you Henley! Here is the direct link to the Daily Progress article: http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/2011/oct/21/mckenzie-henley-goes-big-make-difference-day-ar-1400876/

A Story Worth Repeating

The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) 2011 for state workers, asked IHS to submit a very short story which depicts situations we encounter. This one story came quickly to mind. There are many more to tell, but this repeating situation is emotional for all of us, and stands forth as to why IHS's existence has such merit. During the month of October, you can visit the CVC website at http://www.cvc.vipnet.org and visit "Making a Difference." As short stories appear, potential state worker donors can click on "Read more" and they will read the story below. For friends of IHS, we wanted to share this one example of this charity's impact. Blessings ... T. Wade The woman on the midnight bus There is a young woman who arrives every month or two on the late Greyhound bus in Charlottesville. She walks with her child to a hotel near the UVA Medical Center. She saves every penny, not using a taxi even at this late hour. She is coming for cancer treatment the following day. Since she has no one at home in northern Virginia to keep her child and UVA Hospitality House restricts guests with children under age 18, her social worker meets her need for lodging and food through a close working relationship with a very responsive charity.    Without pre-planning to secure her stay, this indigent patient could not make these trips to secure her hold onto life and a long life with her child. Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, Inc. (IHS) works closely with UVA social workers to meet temporary "unmet" needs for indigent patients and family members. While others are sleeping, IHS is also available 24/7 to UVA social workers with immediate needs which are not being met from any other source. We are a CVC charity. To support the work of Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, Inc., designate your gift to CVC 3648.

SPECIAL NOTICE for UVA Medical and University staff, and all other state employees. The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) 2011 begins October 1st.  Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, Inc. (IHS) is a CVC charity.  To support our work for lodging, meals, co-pay etc., designate your gift to CVC 3648.

October Events to Date Have Provided Wonderful Exposure!

Notes from Margaret Gorman, IHS Meal Packet Coordinator IHS Yard Sale a success Oct. 8, 2011 in Ivy area of Charlottesville, VA Kimbrough Circle Yard Sale for IHS I won't complain about spending a beautiful October day outside.  Alyson Ball, a good friend of IHS, and I filled the driveway with donations from friends and neighbors, the Cleggs and from our own homes. Alyson suggested we ask for donations instead of haggling over prices, so that we could focus on communicating with our shoppers about IHS. We were rewarded-- $550 and many new contacts. I am hopeful that we will hear from some of them about performing service projects that will help the caregivers and outpatients at the UVA Medical Center. Thanks to Alyson and John Ball, Mike Gorman and Patrick Gorman (who got out of bed unbearably early to move tables). Thanks to the Tillys, Bo Berndt, the Allisons and Missy Lynn for their donations of yard sale items and to the Kimbrough Circle neighbors who gave generous donations for the items they hauled away. Thanks also to Sandy and Alice Williams who set up a companion yard sale that enticed many people to our yard sale. Alice was also one of our best customers; I believe most of the profits from her sale ended up in our donation box when she hauled off bags of books and an outfit to wear to an upcoming Japanese Anime convention. Follow up to Kroger days Oct. 1-2, 2011 IHS distributed information and collected donations of food and money from shoppers at the Kroger Grocery Store at Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville on Saturday and Sunday.   Barracks Road Kroger Charlottesville with UVA Venture Group Helping the Cause Venture Scouts from Crew 1819, Boy Scouts of America, of the University of Virginia returned Saturday morning from a frigid camping trip to give their support. The female members of the crew displayed their skill from Girl Scout cookie selling days. Crew leader, John, made sure everyone was well fed. It was a beautiful autumn day and the University was hosting a home football game, so that atmosphere was brisk and festive. On Sunday, the high school youth group of longtime IHS supporter, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church, Unitarian Universalist, came to help. The weather had changed, so these young people had to bundle up against cold and wind, but they were fortified with bagels and good company. They clipped coupons from the Sunday ad insert for the local newspaper and then warmed up by shopping for microwave soups, stews, and other meal packet items. We met a lot of very nice, concerned shoppers and came away with a trunk full of food and enough cash to pay for several hotel rooms. Thank you to everyone who helped, and a big Thank You to Katie Runkle and to Kroger for inviting us to set up our display and collection site. Notes from T. Wade and Elisheva Clegg Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) Charity Fair, Richmond, Oct. 4, 2011 Charlottesville area was not scheduled this 2011 kickoff season with a charity fair for state workers to consider which charities are still active and who is new as approved charities for state worker donations. The kickoff date was October 1, 2011. 2011 CVC Donation Campaign The closest venue for meeting state workers was hosted in Richmond, and IHS set up a display in the James Monroe Building on 14th Street, just a few blocks from the Capitol. IHS functions solely to meet the unmet needs of outpatients and caregivers who must travel from all over Virginia to take advantage of one of two state hospitals with state-supported discount opportunities. UVA Medical Center is one of those hospitals; therefore, IHS is serving Virginians state wide by paying for lodging, food, co-pay, prescriptions and travel (as requested). The chance to meet state workers who are not related to UVA Health Services was a pleasure and hopefully will draw contributions for our role in serving the indigent population from every district of the state. Thanks to CVC Director Anne Dinterman, and Program Assistant Melissa New, for their helpful direction and assistance for this new addition (IHS) to the CVC list of charities. The theme this year is "Give from the Heart in 2011."  The CVC website for locating Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, Inc. Code 3648 is www.cvc.vipnet.org.

Quick Review of Opportunities to Support IHS THIS WEEK and NEXT!

Personal notes from Margaret Gorman in Charlottesville

Note # 1 : Come meet us this weekend outside the Kroger Market at Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville on Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2 from about 10 am to 3 pm.

Our thanks go to Katie Runkle of Kroger for giving us this opportunity to distribute information about IHS and to ask for donations of food and funds.

On Saturday we hope to be joined by members of the new Boy Scouts of America Venture Crew 1819 of the University of Virginia. Seven members of the newly-formed Venturing Crew #1819 assembled 28 meal packets as a service project at their September 20 meeting at the University of Virginia. The Venture Crew is a group of University students who want to do service work as part of the Boy

UVA Venturing Crew #1819

Scouts of America's program for young men and women.

  (http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Venturing.aspx)

On Sunday the grades 11 and 12 youth group of Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church- Unitarian Universalist will join us for this outreach and fund-raising project. Most of the group will be wearing  the IHS logo for ease of identification, as they hand out the IHS shopping list.

We hope Kroger shoppers will use our IHS grocery list to buy food for meal packets that we can assemble onsite. We'd like to meet you too. Please come by to make your contribution and sign a greeting card for the person who will receive your meal packet.

Note # 2 :  Save the Date of Saturday, October 8, 8 am - 2 pm. HUGE Yard Sale!

If you are a yard sale fan, plan on coming out to Ivy, VA for a HUGE neighborhood yard sale. IHS is going to participate, along with at least 15 families. Our sale includes a motorcycle helmet, clothes, new books and gifts, toys, housewares, and so on. Our neighbors are selling furniture, antiques, dvd's, musical instruments and more.

Directions from Charlottesville: 250 West to Ivy. Right  onto Owensville Road. Go 0.7 mile, then right onto Kimbrough Circle. Look for signs and balloons!

Final Reminder: 

The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) Charity Fair for state employees on October 4th in Richmond.  T. Wade and Elisheva Clegg will be manning the IHS table at the James Monroe Building, 101 N. 14th Street, first floor, from 10 am - 1 pm. IHS is now represented on the state website directly at www.vcv.vipnet.org . The IHS code is 3648. There are no Charlottesville area CVC Fairs scheduled to date, so stop by and visit us in Richmond next Tuesday.

There Is Vitality About September ....

A Really Big Opportunity for IHS begins this month   

The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) 2011 kicks off later this month, officially on October 1st.  Their website is as follows: www.cvc.vipnet.org. Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, Inc. (IHS) is listed for the first time. Our CVC code is 3648.

For those who are not familiar with this marvelous opportunity in Virginia, the Campaign is the workplace giving program for state employees. State employees number into the thousands, and that includes those professionals who work for the University of Virginia.

Each state employee can start payroll deduction giving at any time during the year, but the big thrust for becoming acquainted with eligible charities begins at the end of this month. State employees have the option to give to a single charity or as many as four charities.

Although there are no local charity fairs for introducing new charities scheduled for Charlottesville, IHS founding members, Elisheva and T. Wade Clegg III, will attend the CVC Fair on October 4th at the James Monroe Building in Richmond from 10 AM - 1 PM.
 
If you or a friend or colleague is a Virginia state employee, tell a friend that this public charity, solely dedicated to serving the indigent population for temporary assistance with lodging, food and co-pays who come to the University of Virginia Medical Center, needs support to sustain our program as the "go to" charity when no other resources are available. Look for the IHS table and banner in the Monroe Building on October 4th, and allow us to acquaint you with this vital program to meet "unmet needs"  for patients and families who travel from all areas of Virginia to be served by the UVA Medical Center.  This charity is the only 24/7 resource available to UVA Social Staff. And we are all volunteers.
 
The theme for this year's Campaign is "Give from the Heart."  This slogan goes well with our saying which is often placed into full day meal packets, along with personal notes from those who assemble food packets:  "You don't have to know someone to be a friend."  Giving from the Heart is the only contagion we wish to see unleashed by those who can share with those who are in need.

Notes from Margaret Gorman, Meal Packet Coordinator

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian-Universalist in Charlottesville held an intergenerational gathering this past Saturday, September 10th. They assembled 100 full day meal packets as their outreach project for the day's theme of "Cultivating Connections."

About twenty-five people from 5 years old to Seniors participated. They all expressed great satisfaction with this worthwhile and fun project. The children particularly expressed desires to eat some of the delicious foods, but they understood the greater need of the packets' recipients for the nutrition.

The cases of meals and individual meal packets decorated the front of the sanctuary for Sunday worship on September 11th. These meals will be delivered to the UVA Medical Center this week with best wishes and hope for friendship and comfort.  The church now has a display table and information sheet-shopping list for members and friends to use so that they can fill a large wooden box in the entry hall with donations that will go for creating more meal packets.

Other Helping Hands in the Charlottesville area this month ...

Also adding to the next delivery, a big thank you to The Red Roof Inn Sales Department, just across from the UVA Medical Center.  The hotel has a IHS meal packet display in the lobby and an invitation to guests to either donate food articles while in town for their personal staff assembly program, or donate funds directly to IHS. Last week I picked up 11 meal packets from Red Roof Inn. That's 11 full day meal packets of total nourishment! Thanks to Wilson and Lisa for your heartfelt involvement.

On September 12th Susan Erno called to ask where she could drop off a box of meal packets.  That was eight more complete full day packets. Susan learned of the program from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church - Unitarian Universalist. Thanks Susan!

High school student Angela L. used her money earned from baby-sitting to buy granola bars and juice that were used in meal packets recently.  Thanks Angela!

And finally,  thanks to this charity's most consistent monthly donors from day one, three years on-going. Cassandra and Norman Pope McElvy drove up from Asheville, NC last week for a few days with friends. They spent one afternoon at Sam's Club shopping for items for use in assembling meals. Their afternoon of very deliberate shopping for the charity resulted in items for almost 40 complete meals.  Thanks so much for your supportive visit. PLEASE COME AGAIN!

In Closing ...

To all of you who are helping us help others, thanks for giving from your hearts. If you or a friend needs our guidance sheet for making zip lock full day meals, and ideas to incorporate for having a really fun time, just send an e-mail to info@interfaithhumanitariansanctum.org.

Love ...  US

You Don't Have To Know Someone to be a Friend

Pretend for just a moment I called you personally and said, "There is a family down the street who simply can't balance their rent and buy groceries this week. I need your assistance."  You know me well enough from my past notes that if I stated this fact that you could trust that I needed your involvement ... and soon. I would not be asking for a specific amount, but perhaps enough for funding a day or two of meals.

My objective for the underfunded and indigent families who come to UVA Medical Center in need of food and lodging is ever increasing, but the absolute minimum need for full day nourishment is now 200 packets monthly.  These are the families just down the street caught in life's crisis as a loved one is being treated for so many desperate situations.

I constantly reflect on how I would feel if my child was laying there in critical condition without knowing what is to come, and all the time I was there without adequate money and hungry, ashamed of having to ask for help. Someone did call me last year; someone who sees this situation daily. Her name is Teresa Bevins, the UVA Pediatric Social Worker.

Please visit that appeal and scroll back to the "older entries" on our blog to April 26, 2010,  and read those situations which are on-going at the Medical Center. I still visit Teresa's comments and it never fails to cause an emotional stirring. And Elisheva and I never go shopping for groceries without picking up items for our own meal packets for the twice monthly delivery.

I must continue to reach out for your consideration monthly for as little as $5 to make a full day meal, or by organizing a family activity, kid's day in the neighborhood, a garage sale, or a church gathering solely dedicated to assembling food items for making  completed packets.

We are always ready to offer advice regarding what is needed and when to pick up or drop off. Margaret Gorman, Meal Packet Manager, has the pamphlet for guidance. IHS email is info@interfaithhumanitariansanctum.org and our mailing address is:

Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, Inc.  

P. O. Box 163  

Palmyra, VA 22963

In case you hadn't guessed, we always put a note into each meal packet ... something personal to let the recipient know that "You don't have to know someone to be a friend."

Thanks for all that you can do to keep this opportunity vital.
Love... T. Wade Clegg III

SPECIAL NOTICE for UVA Medical and University staff, and all other state employees. The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) 2011 begins October 1st.  Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum, Inc. (IHS) is a CVC charity.  To support our work for lodging, meals, co-pay etc., designate your gift to CVC 3648.info@interfaithhumanitariansanctum.org

Valued Radio Time

On Monday morning July 25th, Margaret Gorman's mother called her at 6:40 AM to let her know that she (Margaret) had just missed the airing of an excellent feature on local radio about Interfaith Humanitarian Sanctum's Meal Packet Program.

Then later that morning we all received calls from several UVA Medical Center social workers and staff who also heard the 3.5 minute feature while driving to work.  Only the early risers hear the really good stuff!

Those friends who receive our twice monthly e-mails, which are converted to the IHS blog site for retention for return and review or "listen," will remember several weeks ago when there was a meal packet work party in Ivy area of Charlottesville. That event which had about 19 volunteers assembling full day meal packets was graciously attended by Sandy Hausman, Charlottesville Station Manager  of WVFT /Radio IQ. Sandy took a large part of June 11th, a Saturday,  and spent time speaking and recording participants at the IHS work party. Then she put together this really informative feature for airing on morning drive on the morning of July 25th.

Regretfully, I am never alert for driving most mornings, and therefore not likely to hear much morning radio;  however, thanks to the miracle of "podcasts," this interview is retained for further sharing. We have retained it for you to hear below, but it is also saved on www.wvft.org. Click on News and Public Affairs, then scroll down to the story and click and LISTEN.

Please take three and a half minutes of your day or night and listen to the wonderful opportunity which Sandy Hausman has put together for sharing IHS efforts to feed patients and caregivers who come to the UVA Medical Center from great distances and too often are without funds for food.

Now turn up the sound on your computer and enjoy:

WVFT Radio Broadcast on IHS

Late Notice from Teresa Bevins, Pediatric Clinic UVA Medical Center

Teresa called at 3 PM August 1st...Social Work office cupboard has only 5 meals remaining. Last delivery was July 22 with 100 full day meal packets, so there is indeed a consistent need for supply. We will deliver today.

 A Final Reminder

School is out and scouts, Sunday schools, kids groups are not available until September to be able to collect food items and have assembly sessions. This is considered a "down time" for participants, but not for those hungry people we serve at UVA Medical. Therefore, if at all possible, if you and your group of kids or adults are not able to personally make some meal packets with direction from Margaret Gorman, then please know that every $5 represents a full day of nourishment for those mothers sitting with their infants waiting for critical operations, and so many families who enter ER each week not expecting the tragedy unfolding.

Please know that WE (that's you and me and Elisheva and Margaret and Patrick and Dawn and Sam and Tina and Sandy and Teresa and so many others) are all involved in something really good.  Thanks for your attention, and enjoy the radio program.

Blessings .... T. Wade Clegg III