Will you help provide health care for the uninsured in Buncombe County?
Next weekend I will be taking part in HeartStrings, an annual fund raiser for Project Access that will help to provide medical care for low-income, uninsured folks in Buncombe County. Asheville CrossFit is one of the sponsors of this event.
As part of my participation, I am seeking to raise at least $200 in contributions to support Project Access patients. I a
m asking you to contribute in one of two ways by Friday, February 5:
- A financial donation using the secure online form by clicking here.
- A contribution of a non-monetary nature (e.g., positive thoughts, prayers, passing this letter on to others who might wish to support me with a personal note from you, etc.)
It is unfortunate that many of our fellow citizens still lack essential health care, but until we create a system in which health care is a right rather than a privilege, Project Access will continue to fill a great need in our community.
Thanks a lot for your consideration of my request!
Bruce
HeartStrings Details
Project Access is a program of Buncombe County Medical Society that provides free health care to low-income uninsured residents of Buncombe County. In 2008, physician volunteers contributed more than $14 million of free medical care and over 3,500 people were able to receive the medical care they needed—even life saving specialty care like heart surgery—for free.
The goal of Project Access is to provide a coordinated system for helping uninsured people get the care they need in the most efficient and cost effective way possible. Physicians who volunteer their time, as well as hospitals and other providers who donate resources, provide the care to Project Access patients.
100% of the money we raise during Heartstrings will be used to pay for programmatic essentials such as eligibility screening, medications, durable medical equipment (like wheelchairs and crutches), case management, language interpretation, and other services that ensure that the patient receives comprehensive, high quality care. Donations are tax-deductible.
If you want to learn more, please visit https://www.bcmsonline.org/pa/pp/.
Saturday, January 30th, 2010My morning wakeup call
Just as I sit down at my computer this morning
To tackle my ever-expanding list of things to do
My cat Attabi silently slips into my office with an entirely different agenda
As he hops on my desk and lies in front of my keyboard
Attabi balks as I try to shoo him away
And his persistent presence gives me pause
To remember that I’m not just here
To churn out disposable income
To amass more superfluous stuff
To boost my sagging sense of self-importance
For in the end, on this January morning what could be more important
Than gently applying the brakes to my overactive mind
And forgoing, for the moment at least, the demands with which I’m (self) encumbered
Taking the time to cuddle and caress this gentle-spirited boy
And delight in the unyielding bond between us
Shonnie & Bruce’s New Year’s letter
Dear friends and relatives,
Well, January 1, 2010 was the anniversary of our 13 years of life together—13 remarkable years filled with blessings we couldn’t have imagined on the first day of 1997. Putting down roots in the eclectic mountain city of Asheville, North Carolina; learning to live simpler, more fulfilling lives; attaining a greater awareness of our connection with you and the other beings on our planet; gaining a deeper understanding of the gifts we’ve been given and how we might share them; and supporting one another to live more authentically, lovingly, playfully and consciously.
As with the other 12 years, 2009 brought us great joy along with some pain.
Celebrating a new president
The year began with a trip to Washington, D.C. in January to participate in the Presidential Inauguration. As a campaign staff member, Bruce received invitations to the inauguration ceremony and two inaugural 
balls. These exciting activities were not without their challenges, but overall we figure we went four for six:
- We had an excellent place to stay in the very convenient Capitol Hill area thanks to our friend Greg Barton.
- We enjoyed a scrumptious dinner and warm hospitality at the home of one of Bruce’s Ohio campaign co-workers, Emma Levine.
- We joined 10,000 other participants in the inspiring Day of Service putting together care packages for our troops overseas.
- Due to a logistic snafu, we missed the swearing in of Barack Obama but got to listen to it on a cell phone.
- We arrived at the ball we were scheduled to attend that evening only to find it overly crowded, so we opted for a quiet dinner at a nearby restaurant.
- We had a great time celebrating with campaign co-workers at the Staff Ball where the President and First Lady came to sincerely thank us for our campaign work.
Connecting with our relatives
Throughout the year we visited and were visited by lots of our relatives. In March we travelled to Florida to spend some time with Shonnie’s dad and step-mom, Bob and Deb Lavender, and Bruce’s brother and sister-in-law, Art and Eve Mulkey. In June we journeyed to Bruce’s hometown of Tullahoma, Tennessee for a party to celebrate the marriage of Larissa, daughter of Bruce’s sister Nancy and her husband Mike Chaney, to Marco Homrighausen. We welcomed Marco to the family and made sure Bruce’s mom Sue had a good time and got to and from the party without a hitch. In late August Shonnie’s stepdad Charles German and his wife Linda visited us in Asheville. And during early September we flew to Colorado for another stay with Shonnie’s dad and step-mom at their lovely new home in Broomfield. Then we visited Bruce’s daughter Lilla Newton, her husband Brandon along with the grandkids Molly and Jack in Colorado Springs.
Gardening galore!
During the spring Shonnie started a community garden in our townhome complex. She enrolled five other families into the process which started with turning a 25’ x 25’ area of grass into 6 individual garden beds and installing three 90-gallon rain barrels. Partial results of the Lavender-Mulkey garden plot included over 100 pounds of cucumbers (most turned into bread and butter pickles), zucchini that became a summer’s worth of zucchini quiches and bread and tomatoes galore. The best part of the garden was how it brought a small group of neighbors into greater community … something we look forward to continuing in 2010.
Sounding the climate crisis alarm
In May Bruce participated in The Climate Project North American Summit in Nashville. The Climate Project is an international non-profit founded by former Vice President Al Gore with a mission to increase public awareness of the climate crisis at a grassroots level worldwide.
A time of sorrow
One note of sadness . . . Our dear 21-year-old kitty Chocolate passed from her earthly form in August, a transition that often seemed more challenging for us than for her. Through an animal communicator Chocolate tells us she’s doing fine and that she thoroughly enjoyed her time with us. She also wants us to go on our trail runs more regularly and for Bruce to finish the book he’s been working on.
Cecil is elected
During the summer and fall we both supported local progressive Cecil Bothwell in his candidacy for the Asheville City Council. Shonnie emceed a lively campaign event at the YMI Cultural Center, and Bruce served as Cecil’s communications guy throughout the campaign. On November 3 Cecil was elected along with several other progressive candidates.
Shonnie completes work on her M.A.
After working arduously for 2.5 years, in mid-December Shonnie completed her coursework for her master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. Shonnie earned a 4.0 for her degree and will accept her diploma in May at Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington.
A Caribbean celebration!
To celebrate Shonnie’s achievement and, belatedly, Bruce’s successful work for Obama in Ohio, we vacationed in Saba, a five-square-mile island in the Netherland Antilles in the Caribbean with a total population of 1500. To get there we flew directly from Charlotte to St. Martin after 
spending the night at the home of Bruce’s nephew Dylan, his wife Kristin and their kids, Riley and Kate. From St. Martin we took the ferry to Saba.
At an elevation of 1500 feet, our simple but comfy cottage at El Momo provided an extraordinary view of the sun sinking into the sea at the end of each day. With high temperatures in the low 80s, we hiked, visited shops in the village, relaxed, read, dined at local eateries, cooked meals of local organic veggies and snorkeled, plus Shonnie went scuba diving several times, sighting numerous turtles, barracuda, and a manta ray, as well as innumerable other amazing sea creatures. In addition, we connected with a number of our fellow guests, the innkeepers and others on the island. It was a glorious trip, and Shonnie got to practice her French during our one day in St. Martin on the way home while Bruce learned to say “Bonjour.”
Entering the new year
Going into the new year, Shonnie continues her work as a life skills coach for Project Access, an innovative and much-emulated program of the Buncombe County Medical Society that provides healthcare for those who can’t afford it. Bruce continues his work as a writer and coach to those who want to write a book. Both of us are serving as facilitators for Building Bridges, a program designed to forge deeper connections between the black and white residents of Asheville. In addition, Bruce takes on the presidency of WNC for Change, an organization that supports progressive causes. In her spare time, Shonnie is thinking of applying to universities at which she may pursue her PhD.
Our intention during 2010 is to be open to what Life presents us—the things we like as well as the things we don’t like—and to all the surprises that are likely to come our way.
We wish each and every one of you a very happy New Year and that 2010 brings you all your heart truly desires!
With gratitude for your presence in our lives,
Shonnie and Bruce
Monday, January 4th, 2010
