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News from El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission
January 2010 |
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El Buen Samaritano Welcomes New Addition to the Family |
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Veronica Saldate, Nutritionist
Veronica is responsible for a variety of health and nutrition activities designed to improve the diet, nutrition and health of: patients of the Wallace Mallory Clinic, participants in the Exercise and Nutrition Programs, clients in the food pantry and participants of the Family Health & Fitness Program.
Born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Veronica joined the family of El Buen Samaritano as its first nutritionist in December 2009.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to use my training and experience in nutrition, especially among Latinos, as we incorporate a solid nutritional component to many programs," Veronica said.
Prior to joining El Buen Samaritano, Veronica spent five years helping pregnant women, new mothers and young children eat well, learn about nutrition and stay healthy at WIC Texas.
El Buen Samaritano welcomes the arrival of Veronica Saldate to its family as it strives to engender a new generation of healthier and more educated, working-poor families that are significantly involved in their own and the community's health and welfare. |
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Volunteer at the Food Pantry |
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As requests for food assistance increase in the food pantry, El Buen Samaritano needs your support!
Consider becoming a food pantry volunteer. The time commitment is two hours per week and the fulfillment received through this opportunity is endless. Learn more. |
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Employment Opportunity
at the Wallace Mallory Clinic |
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The Wallace Mallory Clinic is adding a behavioral health specialist to its Social Services team. Eligible candidates must be licensed certified social workers (LCSW).
For more information, click here. |
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Leave a Lasting Legacy |
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By including El Buen Samaritano in your will, you help to ensure the future of our mission to provide a hand up to Austin's underserved families.
Your gift is a lasting and vital way to help others. Your support helps us ensure an enduring legacy for generations to come.
If you have included El Buen Samaritano as a beneficiary in your will, please let us know. If not, your attorney or financial advisor will be able to assist you with various ways to add El Buen Samaritano to your will.
If you have questions about Planned Giving or Endowment Gifts, please contact Director of Development Melinda Rodriguez. |
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Get Involved
at the Wallace Mallory Clinic |
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Now more than ever, El Buen Samaritano's Wallace Mallory Clinic needs your volunteer support as it transitions from a being volunteer-physician clinic to a resident-physician and volunteer-physician clinic.
Volunteer opportunities include medical records assistants. The time commitment is three hours per week. Learn more. |
| Does your employer
match your charitable donations or volunteerism? |
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Many employers match donations to charitable organizations for their employees, retirees and family members. Employer matching gifts can double or even triple your donation to El Buen Samaritano. To initiate a matching gift, check with your employer's personnel or human resources department.
If the employer uses a Matching Gift form, please complete and send it to: El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission, Fund Development, 7000 Woodhue Drive, Austin, TX 78745.
Many employers also encourage their employees to give back to the communities in which they live. Please contact us if you believe that your employer sponsors a Volunteerism Pays Program which encourages employees to get involved in charitable organizations that matter in their communities by making donations to these organizations on their behalf for the time they spend as a volunteer. |
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Become a Volunteer Instructor |
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In anticipation of the spring semester, El Buen Samaritano's Education Department is in need of volunteers who can assist with teaching adult education and youth classes.
The time commitment is three hours per week and the fulfillment received through these opportunities is endless. Learn more. | |
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Buñuelos, Gifts and Santa: It's Christmas at El Buen Samaritano
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The Holiday season brought the spirit of joy, love and giving to hundreds of children who attend the Child Learning Center while their parents better their lives by participating in various programs offered throughout El Buen Samaritano. When the parents of the children were informed that Santa would be visiting El Buen Samaritano on December 18, no one would have imagined that the children would travel to the North Pole, visit with Elf's in Santa's Workshop, and spend the morning with Santa Claus, without leaving El Buen Samaritano's campus in South Austin.
"In addition to breakfast, the children and their siblings received Christmas gifts from Santa (photo above)," said Mona Izquierdo, director of education. "I'm not sure who was more impressed and excited to see the North Pole, Santa and gifts, the children or the adults, but it was very festive and the energy was inescapable for anyone that was present." Izquierdo credits the event's immense success to the support of board members, ESL teachers and employees from State Farm Insurance, not to mention Santa, who rode onto El Buen Samaritano's campus on a bright red Harley Davidson motorcycle as the children chanted, "we want Santa, we want Santa!"
Based on the success of this year's event, the Education staff are already contemplating how to improve next year's event. If you're interested in volunteering, supoprting the Children Learning Center or organizing a toy or book drive for the children, contact Mona Izquierdo.
Click here to view photos of the event by the Austin American-Statesman.
Click here to view KXAN's news story of the event. |
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New Year Brings Families Closer to Alleviating Financial Burden |
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As the new decade begins, the Education Department unveils a series of free workshops tailored to help adult learners reach their 2010 financial goals. The monthly sessions will begin in February and will include topics such as financial literacy, interviewing skills and emergency planning.
"We have noticed a need for these informational workshops for quite some time now," said Education Programs Coordinator Leslie Quinnell. "And our feeling was reassured during a series of community discussions conducted agency-wide last November. In these discussions, our students expressed their desire for more life-changing educational opportunities to complement their English as a Second Language education."
These workshops will be conducted in collaboration with students from the Texas State University Students in Free Enterprise Program. Through an interactive approach, adults will learn critical life skills such as the importance of good credit, loans, savings and identity protection, resume writing, interviewing techniques and job hunting.
Taking the opportunity to engage the entire family during the workshops, the Education Department will also provide the participants' children with interactive sessions where they can prepare for summer camp in nature-oriented activities. For information on how to support or get involved in these workshops, contact Mona Izquierdo, director of education. |
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Volunteer Spotlight
Dr. Gordon Daugherty |
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 Dr. Gordon Daugherty (photo right) has been part of El Buen Samaritano's family since November 2003. A Corpus Christi native, Dr. Daugherty says a "thought that sounds like a voice" brought him to volunteer at the Wallace Mallory Clinic six years ago.
"I come from a family of immigrants from various places," Dr. Daugherty said. "I've had a long-time appreciation for the Spanish language and people from Latin America, so when my wife told me of the Wallace Mallory Clinic, I thought that was the place for me to be."
Dr. Daugherty's caring and compassionate heart exemplifies the virtues of the Good Samaritan, a generous person who is ready to aid people in distress without hesitation. "The patients of the Wallace Mallory Clinic have a special place in my heart," Dr. Daugherty said. "Having been to other countries, I have felt the melancholy that is experienced during the acculturation process."
When he's not volunteering at the Wallace Mallory Clinic, Dr. Daugherty spends his time providing medical guidance to Houston medical practitioners and caring for his ill wife, who is a member of St. Luke's on the Lake Episcopal Church.
El Buen Samaritano is grateful to count on volunteers like Dr. Daugherty, whose caring spirit of giving and faithful commitment to the health of the underserved affect the lives of many. |
Community Partner Spotlight
St. David's Foundation |
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St. David's Foundation recently gifted El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission a grant award totaling $500,000 in support of the Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Community Program. The grant allows El Buen Samaritano to strengthen and enhance its integrated health care services and increase the number of patients seen by 22.5 percent from 2008. Additionally, thanks to previous support from St. David's Foundation and two other generous grantors, the Wallace Mallory Clinic's impact on its patients will increase significantly with the recent addition of a resident physician and a nutritionist, and a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) to be hired in the near future.
El Buen Samaritano is grateful to count on partners such as St. David's Foundation, whose continuing support makes it possible for the Wallace Mallory Clinic to provide basic health and health education services to this community's most needy citizens. Support from the St. David's Foundation strengthens the lives of working-poor individuals and families by removing barriers to access affordable health care at the Wallace Mallory Clinic. El Buen is grateful for the opportunity to partner with the St. David's Foundation and for its commitment to improve the health and lives of families in Central Texas. |
| Special Thanks |
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| Thank You!
We are grateful for the support from the members of El Buen's Good Samaritan Society:
Board of Directors
The Rt. Rev. Dena Harrison, Chair Person
Carl Angel, President
Rudy Soto Jr., Vice President
Chuck Kline, Treasurer
Dr. Cathy Little, Secretary
Jennifer Cawley
Armando Arismendi
The Rev. William Bennett
Vickie Blumhagen
The Rev. Miles R. Brandon
Jaime Chahin
David M. Edwards
Laurie Eiserloh
George A. Gutierrez
Dr. Mary Jo Hernandez
The Rev. Lisa Stolley Hines
Jon Smiley
The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Ex Officio
Victor Azíos, Executive Director | |
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El Buen Samaritano is a nonprofit 501(c)3 charitable organization committed to transforming lives by engaging the strengths of working-poor Hispanic families to promote their successful participation in our society.
Since 1987, El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission has become a beacon of hope in the lives of Austin's working-poor Hispanic families by providing a safety net of vital programs and services such as integrated health care, English-as-Second-Language education, job readiness skills, social services, health education, leadership training, children programs and emergency food assistance.
For more information, please visit www.elbuen.org. |
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