On a beautiful fall day on October 16th, almost 100 people gathered to celebrate Medical Missionaries 25th Anniversary at Doukenie Winery in Hillsboro, Va. It was a day to celebrate Medical Missionaries accomplishments, enjoy the beautiful fall Virginia scenery, make new friends and drink wine!
This October, we honored Indigenous Peoples and focused on the health of children on National Child Health Day. At the moment, we are gearing up for our Holiday Drive for the Rocklick Food Pantry. Thanks to your support, we also earned our 2022 Top Rated GreatNonProfit Badge!
25th Celebration of Medical Missionaries at Doukénie Winery
What a magnificent day we had to celebrate Medical Missionaries 25th Anniversary at Doukenie Winery! We are very thankful for all who turned out to meet up with old friends, make new ones, sample the delicious wines of Doukenie Winery and enjoy food and desserts!
The sale of raffles and 50/50 were fun to bid on and help support our projects. We want to thank all of the volunteers that helped setup, run and take down the event. We also want to thank Dr. Mike Morch for playing music throughout the event.
Lastly, we are ever grateful to Dr. George Bazaco for donating his winery and wines for our event. It goes without saying that Dr. Bazaco’s 96 year old mother is the star of the show, even though she won’t share the secret to her baklava!
As our 25th Anniversary Year wraps up, we want to thank all of our generous donors, supporters and volunteers for all you do for the many who are in such need around the world.
Rocklick Food Pantry Holiday Drive For Gifts and Food
Tis the Time … To Remember the Reason for the Season! Our annual drive to collect holiday gifts and food for the community in Grundy, Appalachia is on!
We are accepting donations of toys, items for babies and teens and other gifts such as new coats for the community. Items must be new or very gently used and they prefer toys that do not require batteries. The community is also requesting items for their Thanksgiving Dinners such as canned hams and vegetables, stuffing, cranberry sauce etc.
Items can be dropped off at our office. We have also created an Amazon Smile list which will make your shopping easier.
We will be making a few trips to Grundy in the next two months so please drop off your donations anytime.
St. Joseph Clinic, Haiti Update
Our team at St. Joseph Clinic, Haiti remains focused and strong in the face of great unrest in their country. So far the community around the Clinic is stable, allowing the staff to do their work everyday. A few recent items of note:
- There was a cholera epidemic in Haiti years ago, and recently there have been some reported cases. Our Clinic staff reports that they are better prepared if cholera does come to the region.
- The Clinic is collaborating with Midwives for Haiti who will be sending a supervisor and 2 students to work at the Clinic. Midwives for Haiti is an organization that trains skilled birth attendants so that pregnancy and childbirth are safe for mothers and babies.
- Dr. Frank, one of the doctors at the Clinic, has implemented several procedures that raises oversight at the Clinic, including better tracking of medicine dispensation.
- One of the biggest challenges Haitian’s are facing today is obtaining gasoline due to the inflated prices and the violence that surrounds securing this commodity. We are hearing of cases of explosions due to families improperly storing fuel in their homes.
Pink Hearts Funds Certificate of Appreciation
The Pink Heart Funds presented Medical Missionaries with this Certificate of Appreciation for donating wigs and breast prostheses to their organization. The Pink Heart Funds provides wigs and breast prostheses for those who do not have sufficient insurance coverage or are unable to afford them.
We are grateful to our donors who allowed us to donated these items in turn. Medical Missionaries is happy to collaborate with the Pink Heart Funds in Mississippi to help make an impact.
Supplies and Equipment In and Out
Grundy, Appalachia: On October 21st Dr. George Bazaco pulled our trailer filled with food and holiday gifts and met up with the Rocklick team in Roanoke. There, everything was transferred to their truck for the trip to the Rocklick Food Pantry.
Local need and distribution of items such as adult and baby diapers, wheelchairs and other pieces of equipment has been steadily increasing. Every item donated by you, our donors, has gone to very good use. As Dr. Irwin often says, “If we didn’t take it and find it a new home, it will wind up in the landfill.” Here are a few examples of the people we have recently helped:
A single mom with four children received baby diapers and hygiene products after being referred by a local social services organization.
An elementary school student has been receiving mobility support from equipment donated by us in collaboration with his social worker and therapist.
A local family needed a hospital bed for a sick family member.
One of our donors who had a hospital bed to donate decided, after speaking with the family, to purchase a new hospital bed with mattress, along with other gift items.
Food is Needed. The appeal for food is steadily increasing as food insecurity across the US worsens. We are finding that stock in local community pantries are down even though 85% of food banks report an increased need. Please be generous and give what you can to help those without.
We earned the 2022 Top-Rated Nonprofit Badge!
Medical Missionaries has received our 2022 Top-Rated Nonprofit Badge! Thanks to the many wonderful reviews posted by our supporters we have earned our badge!
GreatNonprofits is the #1 place for people to share stories of the amazing work done by nonprofits. The GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Awards program started in 2010 and it is now widely known as the most influential awards for outstanding nonprofits, large and small. Read our most recent Community Stories
There is always the opportunity to share yours!
