National Minority Organ Donor Awareness Day - August 1, 2007

The Healing Project encourages all members of our community to particpate in organ and tissue donation programs. It is a gift of life.

August 1 is National Minority Organ Donor Awareness Day, and the National Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program (National MOTTEP®) was established to encourage the minority communities to actively particpate in these programs to save lives.

Why is it so important to have more minority organ donors?

• More than 83,000 persons are currently on the national transplant waiting list.

• 16 people die each day waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.

• More than 50% of people waiting for transplants are racial/ethnic minorities including:

23,558 African Americans;
13,059 Hispanics/Latinos; and
5,158 Asians/Pacific Islanders.

• Patients in need of a transplant are more likely to find a genetically compatible match within their own racial/ethnic group.

• Minority donors account for only about 25% of the available donor pool.

MOTTEP is an education and awareness campaign that delivers a culturally sensitive message through ethnically similar messengers who are known within their communities. In addition to implementing strategies to increase the participation of minorities in organ/tissue donation, including signing organ donor cards, the program also includes a preventive focus that addresses the diseases and behaviors that lead to the need for organ transplants, such as diabetes, hypertension, alcohol/substance abuse and poor nutrition.

MOTTEP, which originated the idea for National Minority Donor Awareness Day in 1996, suggests a number of ways that minority nurses can get involved in this life-saving campaign. For example:

• Organize a health fair that includes prevention and organ donation information.

• Distribute brochures and other information about organ/
tissue donation (available from MOTTEP) to local churches, businesses and community organizations.

• Invite a speaker to give a presentation at your church, school, workplace or community group meeting.

• Hold a family forum where relatives and friends can discuss their questions and concerns about living healthier lifestyles and organ/tissue donation.

• Encourage transplant recipients or donor families that you know to tell their stories.

For more information about how you can participate in National Minority Organ Donor Awareness Day activities in your community, contact the National MOTTEP in Washington, D.C. at (800) 393-2839 or visit www.nationalmottep.org. MOTTEP also has several local branches in various parts of the country, including Chicago, Detroit, Miami, New York, Honolulu and elsewhere.

The Healing Project Wishes to Thank All the Participants in Making the Summertime Silent Auction a Success

More than 125 supporters attended our inaugural fundraising event for The Healing Project (THP). We are still tallying results, but THP has already established it was a great success.

The evening was hosted by Melissa Marr, THP's President, Debra Lachance, THP's Founder, and Debbie Johnson, General Manager of GreeneStreet Films (GSF).

An auction would not be an autcion without our donors, and THP would like to thank them all:

Wright Relaxation Studio, Casini Firenze, Antonio Prieto Salon , Discovery Wines, Farrah Yurdozu, Nelsie Spencer, Sons & Daughters, Michael George, Steffani Aarons & DHD, David Howell & DHD, The Limited, Melissa Marr, New York Philharmonic, Robert Mark , Pierre Rovira , Arlene & Avrom Doft , Gym Sports Bar , Matt Mulhern, Rebecca Miller, John Penotti, Fisher Stevens, GreeneStreet Films, IFC Film Center, Tony Conway, Kate Rudin, Andrea Lorimor, Adele Lonas, Jolie Guy, Lori Benson, Unleash Marketing, Leah Esposito, The Schatten Group, Printing House Fitness and Squash Club, Joe Maysonet, Sarah Lewis, Francesca Paik, and Sharon Ludke.

The Healing Project is especially grateful to GreeneStreet Films for providing its production facility to hold the auction. We would like to single out John Penotti and Fisher Stevens, the co-founders of GSF, not only for being kind enough to offer their company's space but also to be listed as an auction item.



100% of the funds raised at the Summertime Silent Auction will be used to develop and launch Voices Who Care.



“Voices Who Care” is a global online community designed to allow individuals coping with life-threatening or chronic debilitating illnesses to meet online, share experiences and perspectives, offer and receive advice. Emotional and social support is essential for those faced with health-related challenges and membership to this Network is free and open to anyone who wants to join: patients, caregivers, family members, medical professionals, friends. Voices Who Care provides its members with the ability to connect, make friends, share perspective, gain insight and stay in touch.“Voices Who Care” will allow individuals to communicate through email and will be capable of accommodating multiple users in multiple countries. Individuals utilizing the network will be able to conduct searches to locate, for example, other individuals combating the same or similar illnesses, receiving a particular course of treatment or receiving treatment in particular hospitals or treatment/hospice centers. Anticipated launch is September 2007.

If you are unable to join The Healing Project for our inaugural Summertime Silent Auction, THP accepts online donations through Network for Good.

If you don’t care to make an online donation, please feel free to send a donation by mail to:

The Healing Project Inc.
5 Laurel Rd.
South Salem, NY 10590

Again, thank you so much for your generous support.

Sunday July 22 is Fragile X Awareness Day

The Healing Project wants to call attention to Fragile X. July 22, 2007 NATIONAL FRAGILE X AWARENESS DAY HIGHLIGHTS PROMISING RESEARCH.



Events around the country have been organized by The National Fragile X Foundation.

The Healing Project Applauds the Senate Accord to Expand Health Coverage For Children

The Senate Finance Committee reached agreement Friday on a bipartisan plan calling for a big increase in the cigarette tax to pay for a $35 billion expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program over the next five years that subsidizes health coverage for families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford insurance on their own.

The plan will cover more than 3 million additional children. The current program covered 7.4 million people at some time in the last year. Renewal of the children’s insurance program, which is set to expire on Sept. 30, is the most important health care issue facing Congress this year.

The agreement would refocus the program on low-income children. The Senate compromise reduces payments to the states for coverage of children with family incomes exceeding three times the poverty level. (The poverty level is $20,650 for a family of four.)

To pay for the plan, the federal excise tax on cigarettes would be increased by 61 cents a pack, to $1 a pack. Taxes will also increase for other tobacco products.

On the negative side, Federal officials could not grant additional waivers to the states for coverage of adults. About 670,000 adults were covered last year as a result of such waivers, some of which were granted or renewed by the Bush administration.

The Healing Project Summertime Silent Auction - Update -July 19th at 7PM

Join The Healing Project on July 19th at 7PM in a Silent Auction to support the Voices Who Care Online Project. We have added a host of items from from a day at the spa to a private plane to Nantucket. A complete list of items will be available shortly before the auction. Don't miss the opportunity to bid on these items and meet the staff and fellow supporters of the Healing Project. It should be a wonderful evening in support of a worthy cause.

RSVP via e-mail The Healing Project Summertime Silent Auction rsvp@thehealingproject.org. If you would like a to download a full-sized version of the invitation, click here.

Please include your name, contact information and the size of your party.


If you can not join us, please be kind enough to Donate to The Healing Project through


The evening is being graciously hosted by GreeneStreet Films.