From the Executive Director

Happy August -- and a mini-monsoon season!
What a difference a month makes.

The medical clinic has been very busy the past couple of weeks with back-to-school and sports physicals, vaccinations and skin cancer screenings. Please remember to recommend our services when you meet people in the community who could use them. We have a network of volunteer professional health care and dental providers to help accomplish our mission of serving the needy with quality care at no cost. Offer our telephone number (983-8561) for an appointment or we also have a brochure (in Spanish and English) listing our services if you would like to have some to distribute. Thank you for helping get the word out about VTCC!

In grant news, we are honored and grateful to receive a $7,000 grant from The Catholic Foundation, Archdiocese of Santa Fe. This grant will go towards supporting the Dental Clinic which provides free, comprehensive dental care to any child under 18 years of age and to mothers and guardians in the Women Infant and Children (WIC) Program of the New Mexico Department of Health. 

We are also in the second half of the grant term from Con Alma Health Foundation. The funds from Con Alma Small Grant are specifically to market health services to the underserved Hispanic community. So look for VTCC ads on busses and at bus stops this fall!

Save-the-date: Sunday, October 9 is a Pancake Breakfast hosted by The Knights of Columbus, Council 1707 to benefit the clinic. We are looking for volunteers to help set-up, cook and serve, and clean-up. Various shifts available. Please email or call 983-8561 to volunteer. 

I'd like to thank Danny Meehan (formerly known as Dr. Meehan -- and now that he's retired, prefers being on a first-name basis!) and Ana Maria Beltran and her family for keeping our lawns ship-shape! We have another landscaping project which involves removing roots from the soil where we need to place a weed barrier. If you can help, please email me or call the clinic.

Warmly,
Michele

News from the Board of Directors

The Board would like to thank Meryl Chaney who completed her Board term in June. Meryl had served as Secretary as well as the chair of the Quality Assurance Committee. She also served admirably as an interim leader for VTCC during a period of transition between the past and current Executive Directors. Sr. Patmarie Bernard, former executie director, said, "I will always be grateful for Meryl and her clinical expertise and wisdom in keeping the clinic's outreach of services available during some very 'difficult times.'  She is a living VTCC Treasure!" VTCC staff and the Board of Directors are grateful for her outstanding leadership and her years of dedicated service, too. 

The Board Governance Committee will interview two new candidates for the Board of Directors later this month and the Board will consider their candidacy at their September board meeting. Both candidates have extensive healthcare backgrounds and valuable knowledge of the Santa Fe community and nearby areas.

Save the Date: October 4 is the date for a retreat planned for the VTCC Board, employees and volunteers. It will be facilitated by Martin Helldorfer, a local leader with extensive experience in Catholic Health Ministry. More information to follow regarding times and retreat location.  This early October date is providential as it is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi the patron saint for Santa Fe -- but also close to October 1 which is the Feast Day of St. Therese of Liseux, the patron saint of VTCC.

Congratulations to Michele Tuohey, Executive Director, for her continued leadership in pursuing grants to support the healing ministry of VTCC. The $7,000 grant she obtained from The Catholic Foundation (see her letter above)  will be awarded and celebrated at the Catholic Foundation luncheon in Albuquerque on August 22 and attended by Michele and Ron Aldrich, Board Chair.

Pack-2-School 2016

Celebrating Twenty Years!

Yes, this was the 20th year of the VTCC community supporting this program to help families provide a backpack, school supplies and clothes so that students come to school prepared and ready to learn. Louisa Montoya, former board member and the driving force behind developing the Pack-2-School program for VTCC twenty years ago, volunteered again this year.  "I am just proud to be part of Pack-2-School and this year's 20th anniversary," Louisa said. "From day one, every board member has embraced it whole heartily. This enthusiasm fuels the program today!"  

This year Pack-2-School served over 120 students in grades kindergarten through 8th. On August 4th students who had applied were given a backpack with some essential school supplies, plus a $25 gift card to Staples to purchase supplies requested by their teacher and a $30 gift card to WalMart to purchase school clothes or shoes. 

"It was heartwarming on pick-up day to witness the students reap the benefits of twenty years of dedication by Villa Therese Catholic Clinic and the enthusiastic and generous support of Santa Fe community," Louisa said. "One-hundred percent of the funds donated to Pack-2-School goes directly to provide these school essentials -- and that's a good thing." 
      
Pack-2-School's pick-up day at the side courtyard of the clinic was a festive event. Fabiola Guillen, Margie Hicks, Ben Krieger and Gretchen Paffendorf are hairstylists who arrived with scissors and clippers in hand to give back-to-school haircuts to the students. We are grateful to them for giving their time and styles because everyone likes to look their best on the first day of school. There was plenty of delicious fruits and snacks for all to enjoy, too. 
 

Thanks also go to the wonderful volunteers who helped us purchase supplies, pack the backpacks and distributed them: Isabelle Arman, Dolores and Ric Gonzales, Dave Johnson (assistant manager at Staples), Mario Mente (manager at Staples), Louisa Montoya, Taylor Trujillo, and Lucresia Valencia. And, thank you to VTCC staff Michele Tuohey, Margie Montoya and Cathy Catanach.

2016 Pack-2-School Donors and Grantors
VTCC and the students are so grateful!
 

Sr. Patmarie Bernard, SC
Blue Marlin
Ignacio Cardona
S.M. Cordova
Olivia M. Garcia, dba OMG Bookkeeping, LLC
Janis & John Gasparich
Karen & James George
Mary & Michael Gonzales
Ricardo & Dolores Gonzales
Chean Hao Lau
Roy E. Hock
Kevan Maritime Consulting, Inc
Filomena & Charles Kiger
Robert Linnett
Andrew Lloyd
Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation
Elliot L. Manint, Jr.
L.L.M.Montoya
Viola Navrot
Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community
Steve Turner
Walmart
Edwina & Warren Wood

Thank You, Virgie!

Virgie Lovato, dental assistant at VTCC, is leaving the clinic after almost seven years. The staff and Board of Directors are grateful for her organization of the dental clinics, professional working relationships with the volunteer providers, and all those early morning arrivals for the dental extraction clinics. Thank you, Virgie, and may St. Therese continue to watch over you and your family!

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