THE MEND WISH LIST...2015 2012 California Nonprofit of the Year MEND - Meet Each Need With Dignity 10641 N. San Fernando Rd. Pacoima, CA 91331 MEND fills a unique need in today’s

Newsletter Committee

Volunteers Needed:Home Visiting Coordinator: 3hrs/wk Tues-FridayESL Teachers: 3hrs/wk Tues-Fir, AM & 3hrs/wk Tues-Thurs, PMData Entry: 6hrs/wk Tues-FriClothing Rescue Driver Assistant: 4hrs/every Wed, AM or 4hrs/every Fri, PMClothing Donation Receiver: Flex Hours Tues-Friday 12- 5 PM Tutors: 2hrs/wk Tues-Thursday 3-6PM Orthodontist: 3+hrs/monthOral Surgeon: 3+hrs/monthHygienists: 3+hrs/monthRegistered Dental Assistants: 3+hrs/monthOptometrist: 3hrs/month SatPhysicians & Nurse Practitioners: 3hrs/wk or once a monthRegistered Dietitians: 3+hrs/monthFood Rescue Drivers: Tues - Fri, 1 – 2 hr shiftsKitchen Assistant- Cooking, Prepping & Sanitation: 3+hrs/wk Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat. 7:30-11:30AM/12-4PM

Wish List Items:

School SuppliesPedometersDisposable & other Dental MaterialsDentist chairs and stoolsTennis shoesMen’s ClothingStrollersAdult Bicycles

Food Donations needed:

Soup, Tuna, Peanut Butter, Cereal, Granola/Protein Bars

Oral Hygiene products needed:

Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Floss, Mouth Rinse

matters

With dignity and respect, powered by volunteers, MEND’s mission is to break the bonds of poverty by providing basic human needs and a pathway to self-reliance.

mendpoverty.org

SUMMER | 2015

October (TBA)

Friends for Good Donor Recognition Breakfast

October (TBA)Food Day

October 23

Youth Services Trunk or Treat

THE MEND WISH LIST

Please help us meet critical needs with your time, contributions and services:

Upcoming Events

Miriam Pimentel – A Life Turned Around

Miriam Pimentel, 25, says when she came to MEND to seek education and training in March this year she was “stuck.” She was a single mother of a young child, had no income and could see no way out of a difficult situation. She had trained as a dental assistant but had no work experience and could not find work. Miriam couldn’t believe it when she found out MEND had a dental clinic where she could volunteer while gaining valuable on-the-job experience.

MEND, she says, turned her life around.

“I was able to work with patients one-on-one, I took x-rays, I was able to help with registration and also work with the dentists. This was invaluable work experience for me.”

Miriam says MEND also helped her with food, clothing and provided her with scrubs. It is the work experience, however, that has meant Miriam can move forward with her life. Today, only a few months after first coming to MEND, Miriam has found work in a children’s dental clinic as a Dental Assistant. She says she could not have achieved this without MEND. “MEND staff encouraged me and motivated me. I knew I had skills but I was able to put them to work and also help others while being helped myself.” Miriam says she no longer feels stuck. She is working hard, providing for her daughter and wants to become a dental hygienist. “Yesterday I came to the MEND dental clinic to help out. It has become my family. MEND has been there for me in every way and I want to continue to help whenever I can.”

Exercise is the Best Medicine

Lions Club Kidsight Screenings

MEND’s Education and Training Center Grand Re-Opening

Over 150 people were in attendance on July 29 as MEND re-opened the first floor of its Education and Training Center located on Van Nuys Boulevard after a six-year lease to another organization and an almost year-long renovation. In recent years, MEND’s programs and services have outgrown both facilities which made the reclamation of the first floor timely. Thanks to Kaiser Permanente -- who performed the demolition work and donated furnishings --

and major donors including Abby Sher and The Honorable Zev Yaroslavsky, the Education and Training Center now includes 5,500 square feet of workspace. The first floor now houses MEND’s Job Training Program, Youth Services Program and Grow Together (Home Garden) Project allowing the education and training programs to be co-located. Participants in the Job Training Program can now utilize the new Job Center which hosts computers

for job searches. The workspace will also be used for soft-skills workshops and career-specific training for clients seeking to enter or re-enter the workforce. Students in the Youth Services Program also have their own computer lab for homework assistance to best fit their needs. Lastly, the Grow Together Project now has its own storage for gardening equipment as well as space for gardening workshops.

When Maribel Vasquez noticed her four–year-old daughter, Mia, squinting as she watched television, she made an appointment at MEND’s Eye Care Clinic to have Mia’s eyes checked.

Today Mia, diagnosed with myopia – or nearsightedness, sports purple flexy eyeglasses and can see the TV from across the room. For Maribel, the $20 donation to the vision program was an investment in her daughter as she prepares for pre-school.

Seeing is Believing

Please return the completed form with your donation. Tell us how you heard about MEND

SUMMER 2015 MEND Newsletter

Won’t you please give serious thought to ways in which you and your family can share your time, talents, and resources with MEND? If you would like to become involved, please fill out this coupon and mail it to:

MEND — Meet Each Need With Dignity10641 N. San Fernando Rd.Pacoima, CA 91331

or call us at MEND: 818.896.0246

I wish to make a donation of $ (all charitable donations are tax deductible) My check is enclosed

For credit card donations, please visit MEND’s secure website, www.mendpoverty.orgNow accepting American Express, Discover, VISA, Mastercard and Paypal

I would like to volunteer my services to a MEND program or committee. What would you like to do?

I would like to help “The Christmas Program” by (please specify below):

I would like to put MEND in my will

Please note my ‘Change of address’ Please remove me from your mailing list

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Street

City State Zip Email

For several years, Flora Briceno, 70, had multiple health problems. High blood pressure, migraines, tendonitis and muscle aches prevented her from performing the simplest tasks such as lifting light objects or stretching. Her illnesses led to sleep deprivation causing fatigue during the day. Acknowledging the need for a better health, she sought advice from her friend, who in turn recommended she begin exercising. After receiving positive results from attending MEND’s exercise classes, she urged Flora to enroll in MEND’s Zumba and yoga classes. Part of the goal of the Weight Management Program (through MEND’s Medical Clinic), is to offer free exercise classes to our clients as a way to promote healthy living and

preventative medicine. In partnership with Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, a Zumba instructor provides bi-weekly classes to 43 clients per month. You can also find volunteer physician, Dr. Bouso, teaching yoga to a room full of energetic clients. “I have lost 12 pounds since I started coming to the classes four months ago” Flora said. “I am so happy with the class. I could not turn my arm, but now I can”, she exclaims. Flora also joined the weekly walking group, led by the Medical Clinic Assistant Manager, as part of her new exercise regimen. “I always tell my husband to come with me” she laments “but he says he is embarrassed. I wish he can come with me to become healthy.”

Exercise is the Best Medicine

Flora is interested in taking stress management and nutrition educations classes at the Center. She does not plan on stopping her work-outs and credits the instructors and MEND for her “new lease on life.”

Seeing is Believing

MEND LEGACY SOCIETY

After providing for you and your loved ones, would you be interested in helping MEND’s future clients break the bonds of poverty while lowering your taxes? Planned giving can help you do that and more. A planned gift can be as simple as a gift to MEND in your will of an asset that you no longer need or want. Or, if you’d like a guaranteed income stream, often with higher rates of return than bank CDs, consider a charitable gift annuity that benefits MEND. MEND’s Legacy Society recognizes donors who have provided for MEND with a planned gift of any size. You are invited to join MEND’s Legacy Society and create your own personal legacy that reflects your history, your values, and your dreams for all people to be self-reliant, caring contributors to our society.

Please contact Katie Patrykus at (805) 256-5924 or [email protected] for more information, or visit MENDpoverty.org/legacy.

MAJOR DONORS

The Ahmanson FoundationAnthem Blue CrossDisney Consumer ProductsKaiser PermanenteMission Hills Neighborhood CouncilProvidence Health & ServicesShepherd ChurchSt. Euphrasia SchoolSunair Children’s FoundationUCLA Weingart FoundationWells Fargo

Thanks to our Individual Donors as well!

Newsletter Committee

Non-ProfitOrganization U.S. Postage

Van Nuys, CAPermit No.

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PAIDReturn Service Requested

Summer | 2015

2012 California Nonprofit of the Year

MEND - Meet Each Need With Dignity10641 N. San Fernando Rd.Pacoima, CA 91331

MEND fills a unique need in today’s healthcare environment -- our agency now has the only free clinic in Los Angeles County that accepts uninsured, low-income patients. Even with the Affordable Care Act in place, there are still more than one million residents in LA that do not have health insurance.

Another unique aspect of our work is that we offer a holistic approach to our patients that

includes medical, dental, eye care, and health education. In particular, we have developed a robust diabetes program that includes a series of disease management classes taught by our volunteer health educators, a weight management program, one-on one health coaches, exercise classes, customized diabetic food boxes, cooking classes, and more.

MEND is proud to partner with many major universities, medical centers and health organizations that provide volunteer health professionals and faculty-supervised students to offer direct patient care. We also have many professionals who are in private practice or are retired and come weekly or monthly to treat patients. And new volunteers for our clinics are always welcomed!

In order to fund our clinic operations, MEND pursues foundation and business grants, as well as individual contributions. This past year, we launched our Clinic Leadership Council, comprised of individuals who agree to a $15,000 pledge, given over three years. We hope to have 10 participants on this Council.

Special thanks to our current Council members:

Susan Fredericks, DDS – Co-chair, Dr. Diane Goldenring and Peter GoldenringTeri Breschini, D. Pharm, Ami & Neal Nakagiri and Family In memory of Miyoko & Kay Nakagiri

We are so grateful to the many volunteers and donors who make the work of the MEND Clinic possible, as together we provide health and hope to our neighbors in need.

CEO Corner

Marianne Haver Hill, President and CEO

Newsletter Coordinator: Nene OgbechieWriters: Pat Aidem, Ellen Georgiou, Marianne Haver Hill, Nene OgbechieEditors: Ellen Georgiou, Jenny Gutierrez, Bob Mayers, Nene OgbechiePhotographers: David Jimenez, Nene OgbechieGraphic Design: Clifton WongMailing Assembly: MEND Volunteers

DONOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A special “Thank You” goes to all our donors, including foundations, businesses, churches, schools and other organizations that have contributed to MEND since our last issue. Please visit mendpoverty.org for a more detailed list.