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Contents:
1. Discover Project Compassion's New Website!
2. Register Now for Growing Up with Illness: Partnering with the Pediatric Patient on May 7, 2010
3. Get Ready for Patient Advocacy Week and Healthcare Decisions Day
4. Learn about the Contra Dance Support Team
5. Beat Friday's Early Registration Deadline for the Support Team Development Conference – March 18-19, 2010
6. Find Out about Volunteering with a Support Team
7. Complete Support Team Member Orientation in Only Three Hours
8. Find Out about the Increase in Referrals of African Americans Seeking Support through Circles of Care
9. Register for a Free Circles of Care Spring Leadership Training - April 17,2010
10. Consider Joining a Circles of Care Team
11. Buy a Raffle Ticket to Win Melissa York’s Stunning Sculpture “Autumn’s Fire”
Articles:
1. Discover Project Compassion's New Website!
 Project Compassion has launched a new website to make it much easier for you to access our initiatives, resources and support. As you explore the website, you will find:
- separate links on the homepage to orient you to the site, written specifically for people living with illness, caregivers, community members, leaders and health care providers
- significantly expanded initiative information to keep you current on our NC initiatives and our national initiatives – no matter where you live we have something to offer you
- a refreshed story section to introduce you to people impacted by Project Compassion
- a new “Get Involved” section to let you know about volunteer and partnership opportunities
- an enhanced donation section so you can support the work of Project Compassion quickly and easily
- an interactive calendar to update you about upcoming programs and register you conveniently online
- a new bookstore to make it easy for you to access our Project Compassion publications
- over 100 pages of information and organizations and websites for people living with illness, caregiving, end of life and grief in our Project Compassion Resource Guide 2010 located in the resource section and lots more!
We invite you to explore our new Project Compassion website. We welcome your comments and feedback. Email james@project-compassion.org.
In the coming weeks and months we will continue adding new features, information and events to the site, so keep coming back!
Thank You to our Web Designers
A huge thank you to Lisa Wagner of ArtTechWeb for working with us to create our new site. Lisa’s creative skills, her persistent attention to detail and her unflagging good humor have been a gift in this process. If you’re looking for a web designer, be sure to check out Lisa Wagner at ArtTechWeb.
A tremendous thank you to Brian Eichler who maintained our site from 2002 until we launched this new one. Now that we can update our site in-house, we’ll give Brian a much-deserved break! Thanks for keeping us online for 8 years Brian!
2. Register Now for Growing Up with Illness: Partnering with the Pediatric Patient on May 7, 2010
Project Compassion’s Spring Symposium 2010
Growing Up with Illness: Partnering with the Pediatric Patient
Friday, May 7, 2010, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Carol Woods Retirement Community Auditorium
When children and teens are diagnosed with a serious illness, they look to family members, professionals and community members for care, guidance and support. As concerned adults, we want to offer the most helpful support possible, giving them what they need while honoring who they are. How can we partner effectively with children and teens to help them with the physical, emotional, spiritual and social challenges illness brings?
This symposium will explore:
- key lessons learned in providing care for children and teens
- ways to talk with children and teens about prognosis and treatment options
- advocacy and empowerment strategies in pediatric care
- the dynamics of “compliance” and self-motivation
- ways to help children and teens find purpose and worth during illness
- supportive care for others and self in pediatric care
Audience: This symposium is designed for parents, family members, professionals and concerned community members. Participants will share insights and strategies for partnering with children and teens from different perspectives and disciplines.
To see the Symposium agenda, information about keynote speaker Ray Barfield, MD and registration information, click here.
3. Get Ready for Patient Advocacy Week and Healthcare Decisions Day with a Gift
In preparation for Patient Advocacy Week (April 12-16) and Healthcare Decisions Day (April 16), we are offering the perfect tool for both occasions: "Finding Your Voice: A Patient Advocacy Workbook" for $9.95, $5.00 off the regular price, through April 16, 2010.
What is "Finding Your Voice: A Patient Advocacy Workbook"? This workbook contains 101 pages of tools, tips and exercises to help you! Here are a few examples:
- Your healthcare is only as good as the person standing in front of you. You have to learn to be a humble, polite, persistent squeaky wheel!
- One communication strategy for those who find themselves in a disorienting healthcare scenario is to remember to CUS at the healthcare professionals! Tell them you are Confused, Uncomfortable and Scared.
- The MOST form is a new advance care planning document in North Carolina. Everything you need to know about the Medical Order for Scope of Treatment is in this workbook!
- There is no "one size fits all" to an advance care planning conversation.
This workbook will help you think through end of life conversations with those you love to make it the best experience possible!
What else you might like to know about "Finding Your Voice: A Patient Advocacy Workbook"? The workbook contains:
- Big print Advocacy exercises
- Actual advance care planning documents
- Eye catching pictures
Who is "Finding Your Voice: A Patient Advocacy Workbook" written for? This workbook would be helpful for patients, families and healthcare providers. There is something in the pages for people new to the healthcare maze and people who have "been around the healthcare block!"
Take advantage of this special offer before Patient Advocacy Week and Healthcare Decisions Day arrive! There’s no time like the present! Click here to order.
4. Learn about the Contra Dance Support Teams
 The Triangle area has a thriving contra dance scene. There are about five dances a month. There’s a caller who calls out the figures for each dance. There’s live music – it’s mostly Celtic, but around here there’s also old time music, and some bands have more of a jazz or swing orientation.
And then there are the dancers – the 200 or so people, with big smiles on their faces as they allemande, swing, or do a Hey-for-four. It’s easy, it’s fun, and over time it’s become a community.
About two years ago, in the spring of 2008, under the leadership of Marilyn Hartman, a group of dancers first came together as a Support Team to help a dancer who was having knee surgery. For six weeks a team of over 20 people helped out in a variety of ways - staying with her in the hospital, driving her to doctor and physical therapy appointments, bringing meals, visiting, and taking her out to have some fun. When the team was no longer needed, they celebrated her recovery with a potluck supper, and after eating sat around the table like family, just talking. Now the Friend is dancing again!
Read more...
5. Beat Friday's Early Registration Deadline for the Support Team Development Conference – March 18-19, 2010
The Support Team Development Conference is a two day interactive workshop designed to equip volunteer and organizational staff with a complete set of skills to organize, orient and support volunteer caregiving Support Teams. Project Compassion offers this conference in partnership with the national Support Team Network. Participants across the country have used this model successfully to multiply caregiving support.
Click here to learn more about the conference, or here to register for it.
6. Find Out about Volunteering with a Support Team
At Project Compassion we receive many referrals to form Support Teams for people in the community living with illness and caregiving. A few teams would benefit from additional members. As always with the team approach, team members only do what they enjoy doing when they are able to do it to help as part of a coordinated team effort.
Click here to view our featured teams for the month.
7. Complete Support Team Member Orientation in Only Three Hours
If you would like to volunteer to be part of a Support Team, the first step is to attend a Support Team member orientation. In the Support Team orientation you gain an understanding of the team approach and how working as a team can increase what individuals are capable of doing. During the 3 hour orientation we will cover the Support Team model, walk through ways to provide practical, social, quality of life, and emotional and/or spiritual support, how to set up healthy boundaries and limits, and how to support one another as a team over time.
Member orientations are held monthly, with the next orientation on Monday, March 22, 2010 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, location to be announced. If you would like to attend this orientation click here to register through our calendar. To be notified of future orientations please email Steven Warnock, Support Team Initiative Director, at steven@project-compassion.org or call (919) 402-1844.
8. Find Out about the Increase in Referrals of African Americans Seeking Support through Circles of Care
“Going through chemo and radiation can be difficult. My Circle of Care helps me by taking me to the doctor, helping me stay on my toes about my medicine. Anything that I really need, they're right there for me. It makes things a whole lot easier. Now I have more time for relaxing and getting my rest that I need.” Click here to read more...
9. Register for a Free Circles of Care Spring Leadership Training - April 17, 2010
Circles of Care will offer a leadership training on April 17th from 9:00 am - 4:30 pm at Rex Cancer Center in Raleigh, NC. During the training, participants will learn more about the support team model, pain management, attending to the needs of children and team building exercises. The training is free and includes the training, materials, breakfast and lunch.
Click here to register for April 17 through the online calendar.
10. Consider Joining a Circles of Care Team
There are always opportunities to join a Circles of Care team. Click here to learn more
11. Buy a Raffle Ticket to Win Melissa York’s Stunning Sculpture “Autumn’s Fire”
 Artist Melissa York has donated the stunning earthenware sculpture “Autumn’s Fire” for a raffle to benefit Project Compassion. The sculpture's dimensions are 33" x 10" x 10".
Melissa York’s sculptures celebrate the feminine spirit and our connection to Earth, to home. Her figures appear to emerge from the ground, transforming from plant into human being. She sees them as still forming - growing in strength and wisdom.
Each sculpture is hand built with earthenware clay, mainly using thick coils and slabs. After firing, the heavily textured surfaces are enhanced with layers of acrylic glaze. Many of the large-scale sculptures are designed to be displayed outdoors
To learn how to buy a raffle ticket, click here.
If you would prefer to make a donation rather than purchasing a raffle ticket, click below.
Published by:
Project Compassion
180 Providence Road, Suite 1-C
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
www.project-compassion.org
Edited by: James L. Brooks, Executive Director
If you would like to change your contact information or remove your name, please click below.
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