We're not the ones receiving federal stimulus dollars or large foundation grants to serve people in crisis in this economy. The crises we respond to best are those referred to us by social workers, chaplains or medical staff at L.A. County + USC Medical Center when they have no other place left to turn as they seek help for an individual or family. Angel Interfaith Network is here to make that worn and overextended safety net a bit more substantial for a vulnerable population, in times when the economy is working well for people as well as when it is not.
In hard times it becomes more obvious than ever that we are here principally because you and your communities care. Now, more than ever, we need to find new ways to tell our story and reach new friends and volunteers. Technology is offering new avenues for us as you will see in this newsletter. But we continue to need you to help us spread the word. We encourage you to let friends in your community know about the annual luncheon coming up on October 3rd and be alert for more information coming soon. Staff and board members are eager for invitations to make a presentation that will make our mission come alive for your faith community or civic group.
Faith and friends will get us through the tough times - friends like you!
Rev. Donald L. Smith
Executive Director
Online AIN Discoveries
 Have you discovered the new Facebook page for Angel Interfaith Network yet? Take this opportunity to find it here and become a fan. We have aspiring Eagle Scout Kevin Tan of Troop # 7 (South Pasadena), pictured here, to thank for helping us to discover the possibilities of social networking as we seek to attract young volunteers. Assigned the ambitious project of designing and launching a “youth volunteer program” for AIN, Kevin helped us discover how useful a Facebook page could be in communicating with a new audience. His timing was perfect.
At the same time the board of Angel Interfaith Network was engaged in listening, learning and sharing experiences as it considered how our organization could adapt to changing times. How do we better serve patient families, communicate our story to supporters and thrive in a rapidly changing and challenging environment? They tell us that “baby boomers” volunteer in order to change the status quo, while “Generation X” wants to develop professionally and acquire skills through volunteer work. “Millenials” and younger are another story altogether! It’s not surprising that preferred styles of communication differ as well.
We decided that Facebook was the perfect vehicle to reintroduce our supporters to GoodSearch and GoodShop. Over the past year GoodSearch and GoodShop have been a modest source of income for AIN. The Yahoo-based search engine contributes to AIN every time a user naming “Angel Interfaith Network” as its charity of choice uses it to conduct online searches or to shop online. We’re hoping that our new Facebook constituency is one ready to adapt its online activity to benefit AIN and the patients of LAC + USC Medical Center. Click here to learn more about GoodSearch and GoodShop and how easy it is to use.
Another recent experience inspired a longtime AIN supporter to envision a program he calls “Desktop Angels.” We needed to find a bunkbed in a hurry for the family of a young girl with leukemia forced to move in with family in a distant end of the county. The volunteer put out word to contacts to search online through Craigslist and other sites to find out what was available. In no time, the bunkbed was obtained and costs associated with it were covered. We know there are others out there ready and willing to conduct similar searches when a need arises. Call us at 626-799-2858 if this form of volunteer service interests you. You can earn your wings as a “Desktop Angel” right at home!
Now in its 21st year of service to patients and families of L.A. County + USC Medical Center, AIN looks to you to help us to successfully negotiate the promises and perils of the 21st century!
Summer - Not Like We Planned!
 Carrie’s sister-in-law had come by unannounced, dropped off her three children, ages 1, 2, and 4, and then checked herself into a residential rehab facility. She left no clothing, no diapers, nothing--just the kids. When Carrie took them for evaluation to the LA Child Guidance Clinic, they gave her the phone number for AIN. She called us and asked if we could help her with a change of clothing for these kids. She didn’t even know what sizes they wore because they were all dressed in mixed sizes, and the little boy didn’t have any shoes.
“Of course!,” replied AIN Care Coordinator Ann Mills. Carrie packed them and her own 12-year old daughter into her station wagon and drove them from their home in South Los Angeles to our office in South Pasadena. Ann made a big bowl of popcorn, and at about 5:00, in they trouped--four beautiful, somewhat shy children dressed in a bizarre mixture of ill-fitting clothing, and a petite woman of about 40 in t-shirt and jeans. The 12-year-old deftly administered popcorn and took her little cousins into an adjoining classroom to play.
Carrie set up a rotation--the fifth grader entertained two of them while Carrie and Ann tried clothing from our inventory on the third, and we outfitted them as best we could. Ann found some stuffed animals and books. While they were doing this, the little one’s diaper had to be changed twice, the 4-year-old wet her pants, and the little boy clung to a teddy bear.
Carrie’s antennae were up and she handled each child’s need for comfort and attention as it arose. It was obvious she had carefully observed their behavior and knew something about what each of them could handle--a sippy cup here, training pants there; a bright sun hat for the older girl, to make her feel grown up.
Ann said, “Carrie, you’re amazing. You had no warning, no time to prepare, and no supplies. And yet you seem to be taking all this in stride. How are you coping?” She said, “Well, I just believe you have to be there for family, no matter what. Their father is incarcerated, so they don’t have anywhere else to go. I know they’ll be with us for awhile, and Summer isn’t going to be like we planned. But my son and daughter will help. I’m a little worried about the boy--he was a meth baby, and doesn’t seem quite right, but the Child Guidance Clinic will work with us and I know God will get us through.”
At 7:15 she stuffed kids and clothing back into the station wagon, and Ann imagined the drive home. She had visited the neighborhood where they live, and says she is in awe of women like Carrie who keep it all together in spite of the chaos and poverty and resistance they must encounter every day. They have to be resourceful, flexible, and strong in the face of rejection.
Marshalling resources that God has provided to create a zone of Peace in her home and her patch of the city. . . She is focused. She is faithful. She is an angel flying free.
Faith-Inspired Vision for Healthcare Reform
 As debate in Congress on healthcare reform heats up, the faith community has a unified voice not present in past efforts. “Faithful Reform in Healthcare” is a Cleveland, Ohio based umbrella for articulating broadly shared values of the faith community essential to addressing the healthcare crisis. On June 29th the organization delivered 2,000 signatures to Congress affirming “As people of faith, we envision a society where each person is afforded health, wholeness and human dignity. The vision embraces a system of health care that is inclusive . . . accessible . . . affordable . . . and accountable.”
The presentation of signatures followed an “Interfaith Week of Prayer for Health Care for All” June 19th – 26th. Another highlight of the week came with a “National Call-In Day” on June 24th, flooding representatives with a message of compassion, dedication to the common good, concern for those most vulnerable and faithful stewardship of healthcare resources. Various local “echo events” are planned across the country to reinforce the message.
Among the resources the organization brings to bear in this struggle are some voices with impressive moral authority. “Of all forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane,” said Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. More recently, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism stated, “My friends the health insurance situation in this country is a disaster. If we continue to tolerate it, we will lose our humanity, and no matter our other accomplishments, we will have failed as a people and as a nation. So let us work to change it, piece by piece and child by child, until no cry for help goes unheard. Only in this way can we honor the image of God in every human being.”
You may add your name to “A Faith-Inspired Vision of Health Care” by going to the website of Faithful Reform in Health Care at www.faithfulreform.org. Find additional resources there for education in your community as well. |
