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Providing healing and hope to underinsured and uninsured persons |
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Newsletter for |
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20th ANNIVERSARY $200,000 ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCED The Free Clinic’s Board of Directors has announced its intention to raise an additional $200,000 in 2007, which will be restricted to its Endowment Fund. This amount is in addition to the $580,000 annual operating budget, which has to be raised every year. An increase in endowment from the current $75,000 will allow the clinic to generate additional interest income for use in the operating budget as well as provide a safeguard for the long-term future of the Free Clinic itself. As an inspiration to increase one’s donation in 2007 for the 20th Anniversary, we are promoting the idea of an “extra” gift of $20, $200, $2,000, $20,000 or even $200,000 to the Endowment Fund. As a unique incentive, we will develop a special Endowment Fund Plaque to list all members of the $20, $200, $2,000, $20,000 or even $200,000 categories in the Elizabeth Forsyth Entry Hallway to the clinic. A special donor envelope is included with this newsletter. The timing of this special major effort is planned to coincide with the 20th Anniversary of the Free Clinic itself, which was founded on May 17, 1987 at Westminster Presbyterian Church. There will be a Patient Celebration on Monday, September 15 from 12 noon to 3 PM to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the first patient visit. There will be 20th Anniversary Events in Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, and Campbell Counties for patients and donors in August, September and October. The 20th Anniversary events will conclude with a Gala Dinner at the academy of Fine Arts on Friday, November 2, 2007. |
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RESERVE THIS DATE ESTATE PLANNING The Free Clinic of Central Virginia has been advised either verbally or in writing that it has now been included in six estates. Given that most non-profits do not always know when some people have included them, the Free Clinic may be designated in at least 10-12 wills. If you are interested in considering the Free Clinic as a beneficiary of your estate, please contact Robert Barlow, Executive Director. He can arrange the “right” contacts to help you with your planning. It is a wonderful legacy to leave a gift of medical, dental, and/or pharmaceutical care to needy Central Virginians!! |
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BEDFORD MEDSHELP SATELLITE OFFICE MOVES In May, the MedsHelp (Medication Access Program) satellite office in the City of Bedford moved from St. John’s Episcopal Church, where it had been located since opening in January 2006, to the NEW Bedford Christian Free Clinic (BCFC) building at 104 Center Street. This change in location was beneficial to both free clinics because it enabled MedsHelp to support the smaller prescription program at BCFC while adding needed enrollees to the grant supported MedsHelp program. The office is open part-time during the BCFC clinic hours. The Medication Access Caseworker (MAC) from MedsHelp, Jamie Moorefield, has also now started to make occasional trips to Appomattox County. The Virginia Health Care Foundation under a program entitled RX Relief Virginia funds the MAC position necessary to provide this expanded service from dollars allocated through the Commonwealth of Virginia’s budget. The continued support of these satellite operations is dependent on expanded numbers of clients and prescriptions being attained by the MedsHelp program in the months ahead. |
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PARTNERSHIPS WITH AREA COLLEGES The Free Clinic is very fortunate to have partnerships with many area colleges and schools. Over the past year, there were four work study/intern students from Liberty University who served for the entire year. These included: Eugenia “Jeannie” Alvarado, dental assisting; Ashley Miriam Barrett, nursing and office support; Latasha Nicole Porter, dental assisting and office support; and Laura Dempsey, dental assisting and pharmacy work. These wonderful students provided 12-15 hours of work per week throughout the academic year. The clinic has enjoyed or is enjoying the services of other local students from CVCC, Lynchburg College, RMWC, Sweet Briar, Miller-Motte, and National Business College. These workers save the Free Clinic a large number of general operating dollars while providing very personable services. The clinic enjoys a 40-42 week per year partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry to provide dental hygiene and dental services to its patients through the expertise of its students. This arrangement with six students coming for two-three week rotations has existed for four complete academic years; it is already scheduled for a fifth one in 2007-2008. This program enables the clinic to provide five times the dental services that it could provide with just local dentist volunteers. Finally, the clinic has had partnerships with Old Dominion, UVA, and Radford University for medical internships by nurses, nurse practitioners, and even physicians assistants. |
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LETTER TO THE DIRECTOR We printed one other letter in this newsletter in 2005. This is NOT a regular feature of this publication. However, we do believe that this one sums up a lot of feelings of area residents regarding the Greg Sheehan Arthur Dental Suite Dedication on February 23: Dear Bob, Our best wishes for continued success in your worthwhile efforts. Gratefully, |
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FREE CLINIC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT As reported briefly in the Spring 2007 newsletter, the annual Free Clinic Basketball Tournament on March 17-18 resulted in $8,236 being raised for the Free Clinic. The event was held at the generously donated Jubilee Family Development Center and Randolph College gymnasiums. The Genworth Financial team, which went undefeated, (pictured above) won first place in the Tournament. Other teams from the following companies participated in the competition: Abbott Labs; Archer Creek/Intermet; Areva; Barr Labs (Second Place); BWXT; Diebold; Lynchburg Fire & EMS Department; Progress Printing; Timken; Tri Tech Labs (Consolation Bracket Champion); Westover Dairy, and Weyerhauser. THANKS to Bob Walker and the Colonial Basketball Officials Association for donating part of their services to make the tournament successful. THANKS also to volunteer scorers and timekeepers including Yolonda Johnson, Chrishonda Davis, Dominique Penn, Georgia Delbridge, Shelley Edwards, and several “recruits” from the Jubilee Center. Sponsors for the event included: Frito Lay (GOLD PLUS sponsor); Barr Labs, Rehabilitation Associates of Central and News and Advance (GOLD sponsors); Benchmark Systems, Centra Health, and Scott Insurance (SILVER sponsors); American National Bank, Campbell Insurance, First National Bank of Altavista, Generation Solutions, N.B. Handy, Industrial Products, Schewels, and Southern Air (BRONZE sponsors); and Hurt & Proffitt, BB&T, and Flippen, Bruce & Porter (COPPER sponsors). |
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NEW STAFF MEMBERS The following persons have joined the
staff of the Free Clinic in recent months. Jamie Moorefield, Medication
Access Caseworker, started work in November 2006. She is responsible for
staffing the Bedford Satellite Office of MedsHelp and providing general
assistance in the medication area. A special RX Relief Grant from the
Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) in Richmond funds her position. |
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BOARD MEMBER HIGHLIGHT Bob Flint, President of L.G. Flint Inc, has served on
the Board of Directors since 1994. Bob has been a "regular fixture" on the
Finance/Budget Committee for many years, and he was the Board Secretary from
2002-2005. He is currently the Chair of the Building Committee, and he has
always provided professional advice on building repair and general
maintenance issues. Bob is also always willing to provide "extra help" for
fundraising ventures, furniture moving, and picking up "in kind" donations
that need a truck. The Free Clinic is extremely fortunate to have Robert |
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STAFF STUFFERS We need volunteers to provide heavy snacks or a light dinner for our evening volunteers and staff on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. If you or someone you know would be interested, please contact Jane Ayres or Robert Barlow @ 847-5866. |
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FREE CLINIC RECOGNIZES ITS VOLUNTEERS The Free Clinic of Central Virginia held its annual Volunteer Recognition Ceremony on Wednesday, April 25 at the home of Connie Shannon. As part of National Volunteer Week, the clinic paid tribute to its almost 1,000 volunteers. These include over 200 physcians, 60 dentists, 20 pharmacists, 100 other medical and dental personnel, and almost 600 lay person volunteers. The Karen Goodwin Awards for medical/dental providers were awarded to TWENTY twenty year volunteers, who started serving back in the founding year of 1987. These included PHYSICIANS -Dr. George Wortley, Dr. Patricia Pletke, Dr. Dean Gianakos, Dr. John Ed Williams, Dr. Louis Graham, Dr. Michael Okin, Dr. Thomas Eppes, Dr Alan Pododsek, Dr. David Smith, and Dr. James Vandewater; DENTISTS - Dr. Ken Chalfant, Dr. Donald Holcomb, Dr. David Kiger, and Dr. Dan Savage; and PHARMACISTS - Fred Blanchard, Nadine Gilmore, Cindy McInteer, and Hank Baxter. Two other twenty year dentists were awarded the special 2007 Dr. Joseph A. Levine Award, in honor of Dr. Levine who served the clinic as a volunteer for 18 years. They were Dr. Lewis Angelo Arthur and Dr. James Peery. The Libba Hughes Awards named in honor of Mrs. Hughes, who resides at the Williams Home and volunteered at the clinic for many years in the 80s and 90s, were awarded to the following "lay" people. Twenty year members of the Board of Directors - Kathryn Mays, Stuart Turille, and the Rev. Dr. Robert Wilson and five year volunteers - Marion Stump and Tom Sparhawk. Finally, the staffs' Lifesaver Awards were presented to those who always come to the rescue of our patients. DENTISTS - Dr. Augustus Petticolas and Dr. William Riley; PHYSICIAN - Dr. Patricia Pletke; Front Office Volunteer - Rosa Rucker; and former front office volunteer - Liz Ayers. The event was attended by over 100 present staff members, Board members and volunteers. The view was beautiful and the catering from Chef Jeanell was excellent. Everyone had a wonderful evening. |
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FREE CLINIC RECEIVES THREE LOCAL GRANTS The Free Clinic of Central Virginia has been the recent recipient of three significant local grants. In March the clinic received a $5,000 grant from the Lynchburg Rotary Club to support its new Colon Cancer program for all patients. This money was raised at Rotary's Irish Festival in downtown Lynchburg on March 17. In May, the Free Clinic aquire a similar grant from the Central Virginia Bike Festival which is led by local cancer activist Lynn Green. This funding will be used to support both the Breast Cancer and the Colon Cancer programs at the clinic. On May 21 the Bedford Community Health Foundation awarded another $5,000 grant in order to assist the clinic in providing medical, dental, and pharmaceutical services to the residents of Bedford City and County. Specifically, the clinic also provides specialty medical services, dental services, and an outreach medication assistance program, MedsHelp, to residents of Bedford City in partnership with the Bedford Christian Free Clinic. The Foundation has supported the Free Clinic of Central Virginia for many years. |
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MAJOR GRANTS AWARDED TO THE FREE CLINIC The United Way of Central Virginia has announced an allocation of $149,000 to the Free Clinic of Central Virginia for its medical, dental, and pharmaceutical programs in 2007-2008. This figure is a slight increase over previous years, and it represents just over 25% of the clinic's annual cash operating budget of almost $600,000. The clinic will provide over $6 million dollars worth of patient services in the upcoming fiscal year to needy Central Virginians. This figure is calculated using "in kind" supply gifts and the volunteer medical, dental and pharmaceutical hours from providers in the area. In addition to this major support, the Free Clinic has been awarded 2007-2008 operating grants of $15,000 from the Centra Health Foundation and $10,000 from the Greater Lynchburg Community Trust. Both of these organizations have made significant gifts to the Free Clinic in the past - most recently in 2005. |
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HILLCATS' SKYBOX NIGHT FUNDRAISER The Free Clinic will be sponsoring this fourth annual event at Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium on Wednesday evening, August 15. The Free Clinic will receive donations of corporate skyboxes to sell for the evening's game versus the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Then, it will sell tickets at $30/each or $450/skybox to other individuals and companies. These tickets will include admission to the skybox for the game as well as ballpark food and beverages throughout the evening. All income over expenses will benefit the Free Clinic. We will provide a list of supporters of this fundraiser in our Fall 2007 Newsletter. For ticket information, contact Pete Warren at (384-1833), Stuart Turille at (384-6881) or Bob Barlow or Shelley Edwards at the Free Clinic (847-5866). Take your family or employees out to the old ballgame!!!!!!!! |
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FREE CLINIC TO CELEBRATE IN THE COUNTIES As most of you know, the Free Clinic serves the residents of the Cities of Lynchburg and Bedford and the Counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedord, and Campbell. It has many financial supporters and hundreds of patients from each of the four counties. So, the Free Clinic is bringing special, separate 20th Anniversary Celebration Events to the Counties in August through October this year. It will start in Amherst on Sunday, August 25th from 3PM to 5 PM at Dudley's Restaurant in Madison Heights. There will be refreshments, socializing, and available information about the Free Clinic. These events will continue in Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell Counties in September and October. |
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WHO ARE THE VOLUNTEERS? Who are some of the valuable volunteers who do not have a medical, dental, or pharmaceutical background, but provide needed services for the Free Clinic? What do they do and what else is needed? Please see the here for a listing of healthcare volunteers (i.e. physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, dental assistants, and many more). Tom Sparhawk, Professor at Central Virginia Community College, started volunteering in 2002 as the Newsletter Editor. He did this work for 1-2 years until he taught staff members of the Free Clinic how to do it. Then, he "set up" the Free Clinic's website, www.fccv.net To this day, he continues to maintain it on a regular basis. Marion Stump, a well know local Girl Scout leader, started serving as a volunteer eligibility screener on Tuesday mornings in May 2002. She has now become a regular "fixture" about 48 out of 52 weeks every year! Here is a partial list of a few other very unique and important volunteers: ) Formerly Bobby Bishop and now Bob Dozier -
Maintenance Person; Out in Bedford City, a group of 15-20 volunteers work with the Bedford Satelite MedsHelp Office. This office is now housed within the Bedford Christian Free Clinic. These persons include: Tom & Shirley Mustard, Pat Reiley, Rosemary Pawlas, and many others. Late in every May, the United Way Day of Caring provides 30-40 more volunteers to complete needed tasks at the clinic. On May 23, twenty City of Lynchburg employees led by Anthony Andrews and Davina Hall cleaned the basement storage area, front office, and waiting room. Three volunteers from the Presbyterian Home painted a ladies bathroom and accessories and five employees of HCI-EBS gave a complete and thorough scrubbing to all our medical exam rooms. Finally, seven members of the Young Professionals Club led by Jamie Quetglez painted our MedsHelp office areas. Members of the Free Clinic's Board of Directors are also volunteers. Only 6 out 24 of them have an actual health care background. There are also business owners, lawyers, bankers, social service agency directors, and retired individuals serving as active members of this volunteer group. Hundreds of other Central Virginians volunteer their services to work at the many Free Clinic fundraising activites that are scheduled throughout the year. These include the Downtown Lynchburg Loft Tour, James River Basketball Tournament, Rotary's Irish Festival, Friday Cheers, Hillcats Skybox Night, and the Smith Mountain Lake Home Tour. |
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DID YOU KNOW EVERY $1 DONATED to the FREE CLINIC in 2005 PROVIDED $8 in medical, dental, and/or pharmaceutical services to Central Virginians! |
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PLEASE HELP The Free Clinic Needs Your Financial
Gifts. |
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