friends_of_friends_medical_support_fund

Friends of Friends Medical Support Fund

Apr 282010

April 28, 2010 Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

Friends of Friends Medical Support Fund is charitable organization committed to helping the residents of South Whidbey with uncovered medical expenses.

As many of you know, we live in a special community. One that truly cares about helping those in need. It’s all about people helping people!

In 2009 Friends of Friends helped 235 South Whidbey residents with a total of $81,446 in medical bills. Since 1997 Friends of Friends has been a conduit for donations from the community, paying over $600,000 in medical and dental expenses. In the beginning, their founder, Lynn Willeford, took calls from her home. They now employ a part-time paid service coordinator to authorize services. In their years of existence; Friends of Friends have been a temporary safety net, helping hundreds of individuals.

Friends of Friends is part of the HELP Network that is focused on improving the quality of life for those who live in our community.

Friends of Friends has to set dollar limits on how much they can help any one individual over the course of a year in order to meet the needs of as many people as possible. They cannot reimburse individuals for bills already paid nor make any direct payments to individuals. They pay only providers of medical services such as health professionals, hospitals, labs, or pharmacies, and to the ferry system for medically necessary travel.

Friends of Friends helps with dental needs only in situations with medical implications, and covers only those complementary or alternative medical therapies with a proven record of efficacy when used for a specific medical condition.

You should know that Friends of Friends volunteers are not caseworkers, they can not give medical advice, nor can they make medical referrals.

They can help you with prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, visits to health professionals, medical equipment or supplies, hospital and lab fees or transportation to treatment on the mainland.

Examples of ways Friends of Friends have helped:

* Prescription medication for a senior citizen diagnosed with diabetes
* Co-pay on doctor visits for a child with multiple disabilities
* Mammogram and ultrasound tests for a single working mom unable to afford health insurance
* Ferry tickets and gas vouchers for someone needing on-going treatment several days a week at a mainland hospital
* Acupuncture treatment for a woman with chronic pain
* Rental of a knee scooter

The success of any charitable organization is predicated on the thoughtful donations made by it’s supporters. It is about having compassion for others. Those who take action by showing this compassion set in place an inspiration for others to follow; from a few come many!

Donations and Support can also be event driven. Friends of Friends has an annual event that we all know as the Mr. South Whidbey Island Pageant. Here a handful of South Whidbey’s finest compete for the title during an evening filled with humor and shenanigans.

The contestants and crowd alike gather each year to support this local event, which provides crucial resources for the Friends of Friends Medical Support Fund.

Looks like great fun and for a great cause! Once again the event will be held at Freeland Hall on October 2nd; so mark your calendars!

Next Event

You won’t want to miss the Annual Mother’s Day Plant Sale. This is a special event with individuals donating plants right from their own gardens. You can expect to find many unique and unusual items for sale! What a great way to freshen your gardens and support Friends of Friends at the same time.

Maxwelton Valley Gardens is also donating some shade loving plants; many thanks to them.

Annual Mother’s Day Plant Sale
South Whidbey Tilth, Bayview
The Saturday before Mother’s Day
May 8, 10-2 pm.

If you would like to make a donation here is a link .

Friends of Friends supports those in need on South Whidbey with the following Zip Codes: 98236, 98260, 98249, and 98253.

If you live in the Coupeville area, a similar grassroots organization was formed in 2006 to serve people in your area. Please contact Small Miracles , PO Box 912, Coupeville, WA 98239. (360) 672-5651.

If you need help with medical expenses in the South Whidbey area:

You can call their message line at (360) 221-4535

Send an e-mail to info@fofmedicalsupportfund.org

Write them at:

Friends of Friends Medical Support Fund
PO Box 812
Langley, WA 98260

However you contact Friends of Friends, please provide your name and address, and a phone number where they can reach you. You should hear from them within 24 hours.

People Helping People doesn’t get any better!

Good Cheer!

The HELP Network – South Whidbey Island

Feb 102010

February 10, 2010 Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

We have a HELP Network on South Whidbey Island that is truly amazing. Perhaps it’s time that we do our part in getting the word out! I plan on writing a post about each of these organizations over the next few months. People helping people and in so many ways.

Gary Zukov wrote in his book, The Seat of the Soul, that “millions of individuals are awakening sometimes to their surprise to a hunger for harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life. Their challenge is to create those things in a world of discord, competition, hoarding, and exploitation, a world in which life is a cheap commodity.”

I’m currently reading a book called “Blessed Unrest” which is a story about how the largest movement in the World came into being and why no one saw it coming. The author is Paul Hawken and the book was released in 2007.

In Hawken’s book he identifies one to two million organizations working toward ecological sustainability and social justice. This social movement is decentralized and has no specific leaders; hence no media following. “This is the largest social movement in all of human history. No one knows it’s scope, and how it functions is more mysterious than what meets the eye.”

“What does meet the eye is compelling: coherent, organic, self-organized congregations involving tens of millions of people dedicated to change. What I see are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in an attempt to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty in this world.”

“Collectively, it expresses the need of the majority of people on earth to sustain the environment, wage peace, democratize decision making and policy, reinvent public governance piece by piece from the bottom up, and improve the lives of women, children and the poor. Throughout history, armies, corporations, religious rulers, and political zealots have overpowered the majority world, which in our upside down world we consider to be minorities.”