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Real Medicine Foundation and the Florence Western Medical Clinic in South Los Angeles will be hosted its 4th Annual Children’s Holiday Party on December 17, 2011. Each year, RMF provides toys, sports equipment, books and grocery cards for holiday dinners to meet the needs of these often-overlooked families.
Over 60 bags of gifts were given away at this Saturday’s Holiday Party for kids in South Los Angeles!-To read more about our programs at the Florence Western Medical Clinic, click here.
Photos from our event below:
Tags: children los angeles, christmas, holiday party, holiday party charity, Los Angeles, los angeles charity, non profit los angeles, south los angeles
October 21st 2011, I had the privilege of going undercover as a waitress at the highly publicized and anticipated Dionicess IX, a culinary extravaganza which has been appearing on the LA scene for the past 3 years, with all proceeds benefitting charity.
Gev Kazanchyan,a member of the Real Medicine Advisory Board and creator of these events was introduced to Real Medicine 3 years ago through our Armenian Project Director, Nairy Ghazourian. This introduction would lead to a series of pairings over the next 3 years benefitting our project in Shinuhayr, Armenia. From Dionicess II (which paired Coffee & Chocolate) to Dionicess VI (which paired Beer, Sausage & Fries) all have had rave reviews and have brought much needed awareness and support to our Armenian Projects.
This year’s event teamed up Gev with Dave Waltrous (Beachwood BBQ & Brewing) , Randy Clemens and Matt Biancaniello featuring “Beer & Booze” with an assortment of vegetarian dishes to compliment each.
The event was held at the Steingarten LA, which gives you a feeling of times past. Dark woods, a beautiful patio area and an atmosphere of sophistication, were the perfect setting for what we were about to experience. Their extensive menu was hard to pass up, and I enjoyed an absolutely exquisite Wild Boar & Berry Sausage with owner Abraham Berookhim between seatings.
Matt Biancaniello (voted LA’s top bartender 2010) was hard at work preparing the garnishes for the cocktails. There was fresh verbena that had been hand picked at 2am, pumpkin infusions, and a rare Belgian elderberry liqueur thathad never seen American soil. International shipping had caused quite a predicament as the precious nectar-of-the-gods had only arrived 2 days prior to the event!
Author and Chef Randy Clemen’s tantalizing vegetarian dishes included items such as the “Taquit-Ohhh Yeah”, a fabulous “Risotto Pop” and myfavorite, “the Hop and the Hound” which had a had a kick stronger than a mule! Randy’s “Sriracha Cookbook” is
available through Amazon.com and his recipes do deliver a punch! If you like it spicy, this is definitely the crème de la crème of cookbooks!
Having not waitressed since college (we won’t say how long ago that was!), I was a bit nervous-but with the assistance of Dr. Susan Jarakian & Armenian Country Director Nairy Ghazourian we were well prepared for the days journey. The 1st seating’s attendees consisted of a host of press from a variety of culinary publications, some local and some from as far as Wisconsin. The 2nd seating was primarily comprised of Gev’s cult following, this being his 9th highly anticipated event which each year sells out within days of its announcement.
This year’s event raised over $1,400 for our project in Shinuhayr ,Armenia which supports 8,000 people from surrounding villages and is the only access to medical care in the region. Last year, we were able to provide food and clothing to sustain families through the brutal winter months as well as providing the region with an ambulance equipped with emergency supplies.
A huge Real Medicine thank you to all that helped to put on this year’s event! To read more about Dionicess IX please go to:
DionicessIX: Combining Craft Beer & Cocktails for Charity and to be added to the
main invite list for future events please send a simple email request to: dionicessgigs@gmail.com.
For information about our Armenian Project and how you can help support the families through this year’s winter please go to:
RealMedicine Armenia or directly to our donor page here.
Tags: armenia, Culinary, Dionicess, Los Angeles
“Back to School in South L.A.”
By Sarah Stern
This past weekend, Real Medicine Foundation & the Florence Western Medical Center hosted their first “Back to School” Event, providing more than 60 children and families with brand new backpacks filled with school supplies.
Recognizing the needs of this community has not been the challenge; the challenge has been how to encourage the community to show up for the services available to them. Free health and fitness programs for adults and children are offered at the center by Real Medicine, yet often we find a low attendance due to lack of access to information, transportation and health issues. While we have worked diligently to encourage the patients with incentives to attend these programs, at times it can be frustrating. Many charities in Los Angeles share this dilemma.
So the question becomes how can we bring about awareness of our programming in an area where the digital age has fallen behind? Phone numbers on sign-up sheets are often disconnected the following month. Most patients do not have home computers, making emails a futile effort. How can we meet the needs of the community and bring forth something that they will show up for, while giving them access to information about the center’s services and our programming?
The thought came to me that a “Back to School” event just might be the perfect solution. Given that our annual children’s holiday party has grown steadily these past few years, I wondered if we were to add an additional annual event, one that would prepare the children for the upcoming school year with a sturdy, brand new backpack if we would not have a good response from the community. A backpack filled with school supplies that once upon a time were provided by the school systems. A backpack that would free the parents from the financial stress associated with back to school (and as most families have several children these stressors can be extremely hardening on the family as a whole); a backpack that would produce excitement in the child about returning to school.
Dr. Kevin Thomas and I discussed the idea and we proceeded to move forward. Now the real challenges would begin! I contacted company after company to see about the possibility of donated or discounted backpacks for the event. Time and time again I received the same automated response that – “due to the overwhelming number of requests each year, unfortunately at this time they would be unable to help us”. I then turned to the internet and in search of ideas for discounted backpacks. Sure, I could go to downtown LA and get backpacks for cheap, but I was determined to give the children something they could be proud of, something that would last. Every parent knows that the backpack is just about the most important accessory in a child’s life (other than tennis shoes, which will be next year’s event goal!).
I presented my woes to Dr. Martina Fuchs, CEO and founder of Real Medicine who offered to delegate $1,000 from a recent event’s proceeds, and I asked that the remaining funds raised from my 2011 “Athletes for Real Medicine” LA Marathon 5k also be applied toward the budget. I searched high and low and finally found the source of our backpacks; Wal-Mart. They not only offered fabulous backpacks that fit the budget, but had the best pricing on the school supplies we needed to fill them!
In a collaborated effort, in the final week we were able to fill the backpacks and secure even more, as we had a waitlist of 21 children looking to attend the event on top of the 60 already confirmed.
Mary Miller returned to Northrop Grumman countless times for items such as pens, reusable water bottles and science books. Florence Western contacted their partners and the Office of Councilman Bernard Parks for support; I reached out to friends and family with pleas on Facebook & a Causes “birthday wish”. The response from all was overwhelming and as the supplies began to trickle in, I found myself quite emotional. Monday morning I had 56 backpacks and a long list of supplies needed, we had some but where short on what we needed to complete each backpack. By Monday afternoon I had personally raised enough funds to purchase cases of notebooks, glue sticks, pencil boxes, colored pencils and 4 additional backpacks. When I returned home, I found that a friend had placed 5 cases of water from Costco inside my gate, which brought me to tears.
Tuesday morning, Mara Leng, the office manager from Florence Western Medical Center, called to say that they had secured 30 additional backpacks and several boxes of supplies from their Health Net representative, which allowed me to phone the remaining families on the waitlist and confirm their children for the event. One mother expressed tears of joy that her son would be able to attend and receive a backpack, which was a stark reminder of just how great the need for this type of event was and an affirmation of why I love my job so much. Wednesday, Real Medicine Team Armenia member Nairy Ghazourian introduced us to Amy Sheyer and Diane Baxter, Health Net executives who offered to provide all of the food for the event, which was a huge weight off our shoulders! Chip Matthews from FWMC then informed me that several LAPD cadets would be available to assist with the event (also very welcomed news!!). Thursday morning Nichole Stephenson a RMF volunteer and I began filling the 80 pencil boxes (I couldn’t help but be reminded of the “I Love Lucy” episode where Lucy and Ethel were on the factory line at the chocolate factory) we figured out what we were short and it was one last trip to Wal-Mart, 60lbs of red apples from Costco c/o Health Net to supplement the granola bars they were providing, and my all time favorite, the 99cent store for 60 water bottles. My apologies to the cashiers and to anyone that found themselves in line behind me this past week! Friday morning the city of LA dropped off 10 tables and 75 chairs (this is a free service for community events, a huge thank you to the office of Bernard Parks!) We completed the backpacks, did a walk through, called volunteers and printed flyers about the Saturday children’s outreach program and sign-up sheets. I didn’t know if I would ever sleep again..
Showtime:
At 8:30am on Saturday, setup began. A host of RMF volunteers along with Dr. Kevin Thomas’s sister and niece began the process of preparing the stage – the large parking lot area in the back of the clinic. Everyone pitched in and to our delight we were completely prepared to meet the 60+ children that were due to arrive at 10am. Once the children were checked in, they began working on banners for the clinic and for the upcoming “Mobility Event” the following weekend. The children were then led in a large group exercise routine by our very own Roz Baker, I peeked around the corner and a huge smile crossed my face as I watched these children in a large circle working together.
At this point, Councilman Bernard Parks, former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and now representing the 8th District in South Los Angeles, made an appearance, much to everyone’s excitement. His tireless efforts and compassion towards the families of South Los Angeles have made him a pillar within the community. Snacks and much needed hydration were handed out to the children followed by the grand finale: Backpacks!! We lined up the little ones first, managed to avoid any mob scenes and successfully handed out all of the backpacks (along with shirts and other goodies that Mary Miller had received last minute) and the children proceeded to personalize their brand new backpack with a rainbow of fabric pens.
Parents expressed their gratitude and filled the Saturday Children’s Program sign-up sheet (much to my delight!). The children’s thanks came with hugs as we watched them head out the gate with their backpacks in tow.
We all sat back and relished in the day’s events, there had been not a single glitch and only one scraped knee (which Dr. Kevin Thomas saw to personally). Cadets and volunteers enjoyed much deserved sandwiches and discussed the marvels of the day. We had all come together for a common cause, and the day could not have been more perfect. I thank all of those who came out to support, who donated funds, supplies and most of all helped create our First Annual Back to School Event which will now be a part of our services for years to come.
To contribute to this initiative, please click Donate button or visit our website at realmedicinefoundation.org/donors.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or become a fundraiser for us at Causes.com
Tags: back to school, children, community outreach, community support los angeles, Florence Western Medical Center, LA, Los Angeles, Los Angeles non-profit, volunteering, Wal-Mart
by Sarah Stern
Annual Report for RMF Outreach program at the Florence Western Medical Clinic
Real Medicine’s partnership with Whole Foods Market, Venice, California is continuing successfully. In the last 12 months, 1,728 patients were provided with bags of nutritious groceries. Patients sign up at the Florence Western Medical Center’s front desk to be considered to receive food. We are looking into additional partnerships with organizations and grocery stores that would be able to meet the growing dietary needs within this community.
Our children’s Health & Fitness program is held the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month, from 10am-2pm. Fitness instructor Roz Baker provides nutritional education and goals along with a fitness “boot camp” that provides children with fun, yet challenging exercises and a cardiovascular workout. Our yoga instructors provide the children with stress relieving breathing techniques and poses that they can take into their daily lives. 144 children were provided Health & Fitness instruction along with yoga and nutritional classes last year. The physical condition of most of the children participating in the program starts out as poor.
Many have very little cardiovascular fitness, are weak and some are obese. Our experience shows that after a few classes the kids understand the importance of being healthy and how it is in their own power to get healthy and fit. Regular attendees now request us to create exercises for them to take home and several children have started to lose weight. The majority of the kids live in areas where parks are dangerous, and few and far between. This program gives them the knowledge and confidence to take control of their health. Our goal is that it will transfer to all aspects of their lives.
Real Medicine Foundation believes in focusing on the “whole” child. In Sri Lanka, following the Tsunami of December 2004, we found the use of art therapy extremely beneficial in helping children to deal with the tremendous trauma they had experienced, to relieve post-traumatic stress and to open the door to communication.
The children of South Los Angeles face many emotional challenges, such as gang violence in the streets where they live, homelessness, unemployment and despair of their parents or caregivers on a daily basis, and our goal is to provide them with a safe atmosphere to be able to express themselves. Thus, we provide art, reading and specialized workshops as these services are unavailable within their community. Real Medicine will continue to expand this program by providing summer programs as well, i.e. a “Back to School” drive which will provide all children with new backpacks, school supplies as well as vouchers that can be used for clothing and shoes.
132 adults attended our “Healthy Living” workshops provided by our partner Health Net. Workshops educate the patients about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and how to incorporate it in their daily lives. Dietary suggestions as well as low-impact exercises are presented, along with encouragement to quit smoking and limit alcohol use. 80% of all patients who participate are suffering ailments due to obesity, poor dietary and lifestyle choices.
Our annual holiday party was held on December 18th, 2010 where 65 children received over $2,000 worth of toys, books and sports equipment donated by Northrop Grumman Corporation. We are looking forward to this year’s holiday and expect it to provide even more items and gifts for the families.
Four times a month, Real Medicine provides physical therapy sessions with a licensed Physical Therapist, Charmayne Cahn. In the past year over 25 patients (with a 50% return rate) received physical therapy sessions. The majority of patients are seeking treatment for injuries due to strokes, arthritis, falls and automobile accidents.
Our program continues to grow each year, and with the possibility of additional funding promises to provide even more services for patients including a registered dietician, Lifestyle counseling, field trips to cultural activities centers for the children and transportation to music programs, grief counseling and other free community services provided within Los Angeles. Depending on funding, we also aim to resume our Psychological Trauma Support Program since it is desperately needed in the community we are serving.
To contribute to this initiative, please click Donate button or visit our website at realmedicinefoundation.org/donors.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or become a fundraiser for us at Causes.com
Tags: community support los angeles, florence western clinic, LA, Los Angeles, Los Angeles non-profit
by Sarah Stern
Beginning in January 2008, Real Medicine Foundation partnered with Whole Foods Market Venice, CA to provide the less fortunate of South Los Angeles with healthy food alternatives to help battle the alarmingly high incidents of heart disease, diabetes and obesity within the community. The neighborhood affected has a median household income of $41,175, with an average of 3 members per household. The community has been hit particularly hard by the economic crisis, is well above the national average for risk of crimes being committed, lower than average education levels, and household expenditures are below average.
Whole Foods shopping carts full
Our food program is managed through the Florence & Western Medical Center that along with serving as a distribution point for the donated food, also provides weekly physical therapy services, adult/child health and fitness through partial support by RMF.
Three days a week, RMF volunteer Bradley Ritchie drives to the Whole Foods Market Venice location and fills his car with food for the patients of Florence & Western. Bradley is a long time RMF volunteer and has assisted with several events including the LA Marathon RMF cheering station and the renovations at Nuestra Clinica and Florence & Western Medical Clinic. His service and commitment to Real Medicine Foundation is but just one more reason why our network of friends helping friends is paramount, with out Bradley an our other supporters our work would not be possible.
RMF Volunteer Bradley Ritchie with truckfull of food
Whole Food’s Market Venice provides several local charities donated food items 5 days a week. Whole Food’s employees Juan and Morris load up shopping carts with items close to expiration for charities to pick up and load into their vehicles. The food is then delivered to Florence & Western Medical clinic, approx 13 miles away where FWMC volunteer Jae Lee and employee Roselia Renderos sort and bag up the food to be dispensed to the approximately 16 individuals who have signed up and waited in line to receive the food.
Andrew Shears, age 52 is one of the regular recipients of Real Medicine’s food program He was employed as a limousine driver until laid off 6 months ago, and is currently relying on general assistance and a family member’s home for support during these tough economic times. His smile is shadowed by the absence of lower dental partial, which Andrew says greatly affects his ability to obtain work. He is smiling this particular morning though, as he shares his story with me and expresses his gratitude for Real Medicine’s community outreach food program.
Andrew at the Florence Western Medical Clinic
To help us in continuing to provide programming and services at Florence & Western, please click the ” donate now” button below. Your support is greatly needed, and appreciated.
For more information about our Outreach program in Los Anglese, click here.
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To contribute to this initiative, please click the Donate button below or through our website at realmedicinefoundation.org.
Tags: Florence Western Medical Center, food support la, Los Angeles, los angeles clinic for poor
By Carly Krause 
I broke a sweat today at the Florence Western Medical Center as the kids, Roz and I ended our bi-monthly children’s program physical fitness session with crunches and pushups. Roz, an amazing and energetic personal trainer and instructor, helped us all get our heart rates up with fun games and dance moves. “We need exercise everyday! Exercise helps strengthen our hearts so we can live long, healthy lives”, Roz reminded us as we get into our groove learning a salsa routine. Roz also helped develop the kids’ hand eye coordination with a rubber ball activity. We each had a ball except Roz and we had to quickly pass them around the circle without dropping them. It was a lot of fun watching the kids work together to stay alert and on task. After a cool down and some stretching, we sat down for some healthy snacks and story time. We read “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the kids’ choice!) and my personal favorite, “I will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato”. This story was in preparation for our next activity – constructing a food pyramid. I provided handouts of the new pyramid and we went through each category. I explained why we need to eat a well balanced diet and how the right foods helps us, along with exercise, to grow up and lead healthy lives. I asked everyone to share their favorite healthy foods and we practiced categorizing them. For kids with dietary restrictions, we discussed other foods beyond dairy and meat products that are good sources of calcium and protein. After our discussion, I provided blank food cut outs for us to decorate and asked the kids to help me create a giant food pyramid for the office. It looks awesome! The kids are so much fun to work with and I am always re-energized for my week after spending some time with them on Saturday. They are always so excited and ready to learn. On another positive note, we had two new visitors and they plan on returning for our October 16th session! Their grandmother even offered to help us publicize the clinic and program! I’m really looking forward to seeing even more new faces next time.
To read more about Real Medicine’s Los Angeles Outreach Programs please visit our website http://www.realmedicinefoundation.org/
To make a donation to assist with supplies and educational materials please click donate below
Tags: Carly Krause, Child Fitness, Florence Western Medical Center, Los Angeles, Roz Baker
Downey Family Health Care Center
September 1, 2010
By Dr. Natalie Nevins and Dr. Martina Fuchs
The Downey Family Health Center we support is expanding it’s program support in Los Angeles, which provides access to health services to low income populations through a new service delivery site in collaboration with Family Health Care Centers of Greater Los Angeles (FHCCGLA)
The new site is located within FHCCGLA’s defined service delivery area will serve the same target population, uninsured and vulnerable community residents. There are large numbers of residents living at or below the poverty level in census tracts surrounding the new service delivery location. FHCCGLA has/will enter into a 10-year lease for the new health center location. The addition of the DFHCC was approved by FHCCGLA’s board of directors in June 2010.
The new service delivery site will operate under the auspices of FHCCGLA in collaboration with Downey Regional Medical Center (DRMC). The DFHCC site blends two mutually beneficial objectives of providing access to health services for low-income and uninsured populations while serving as a training site for the next generation of health care practitioners, many of whom choose to continue to practice in underserved communities beyond their training.
Dr. Natalie Nevins will serve as the site director for DFHCC, while also serving as the Director of Medical Education at DRMC. Dr. Nevins has been the driving force in securing initial funding for the new health center. She has been able to rally the community to provide significant in-kind and tangible donations to the project. Dr. Nevins will additionally provide direct care as a part-time provider at the new site and implement linkages to the Family Medicine Residency Program and Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Residency programs at DRMC.
DRMC will provide clinical internships and residency training serving as the primary practice location under the direction of Dr. Nevins. In addition to providing free rent for the clinic, DRMC will provide: one attending Physician two days/week; five second-year Residents two days/week; seven three-year Residents two days/week; and three fourth-year Residents 1.5 days/week. As part of their training, these physicians will maintain a provider relationship with patients at the DFHCC over the course of their three year training program. Patients will be transitioned to a new physician during the first year of training while working in conjunction with the senior resident assigned to the patient. The clinic will introduce new workforce capacity to the current system extending access to patients for primary and urgent care, while introducing future providers to the community.
FHCCGLA will address the major health needs of the target population within the service area, which includes: prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease; immunization, prevention and treatment for illnesses before they become life-threatening, such as pneumonia and influenza; and prevention and screening for cancer.
We will additionally tailor services to meet the needs of the target population in order to motivate them to use the health center as their medical home. Because the majority of the target population is Latino/Hispanic, services will be provided in a linguistically and culturally appropriate manner. Many immigrants have little working knowledge of the complexities of the U.S. health care system.
In order to best serve the target population, we will provide health educators and providers that speak Spanish, understand Latino/Hispanic culture, and provide low literacy level literature or educational materials in Spanish for the large number of individuals in the target population that have not attained at least a ninth grade education. This ensures that the target population will understand service availability and preventive health care approaches so that they effectively utilize health services.
For more information about our Outreach program in Los Anglese, click here.
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To contribute to this initiative, please click the Donate button below or through our website at realmedicinefoundation.org.
Tags: downey family health center, family health care los angeles, fhccgla, Los Angeles, los angeles health clinic
Join us for a happy hour benefiting the
Real Medicine Foundation
WHEN: Thursday, August 19th, 6:30-10:00 pm
WHERE: GYENARI (www.gyenari.com), 9540 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA
RSVP: Evite.com
This event is FREE to attend and 20% of the funds spent this night will be donated by Gyenari to directly support RMF’s Los Angeles programs.
Are you a novice or veteran runner? Interested in running the LA Marathon next year? Or do you know someone who is? Please join us for a night of specially discounted Korean/American fusion cuisine and drinks, and learn how you can help the Real Medicine Foundation achieve another successful year as one of the LA Marathon’s official charities in 2011!
- Steve Mackel’s Sole Runners training program (www.solerunners.net) will be offered to all RMF runners at a discounted price! Thank you Steve!
- There is no minimum fundraising requirement to run on behalf of Real Medicine Foundation, but, you can get your race entry fee reimbursed by raising at least $500!
- More PRIZES will be offered to those who fundraise over $500, and a Grand Prize for the TOP FUNDRAISER!!!
- Receive a “gift” if you register/sign up at Gyenari!
This is Real Medicine’s 2nd year as an official charity of the LA Marathon and we are looking to make the 2011 race bigger and better than 2010! From help training for the race to helping you fundraise, we are here to help you reach your goals!
You can find more information by visiting our website here
Not a runner? We need volunteers to help us with soliciting donations, helping with fundraising events, managing the Cheer Station on race day, and more!
Gyenari Restaurant and Bar
To make a donation and/or start your own fundraising page, please visit our active.com page here
Please feel free to invite your friends and colleagues to join us in Culver City on August 19th!
Tags: fundraiser, LA Marathon, Los Angeles, Marathon
July 27, 2010
By Sarah Stern
This past weekend our little “warriors” took their workout up a notch with instructor Roz Baker. Every month Roz comes in and gives the kids at the Florence & Western Medical Clinic a full hour of heart pumping exercise while incorporating healthy living tips. The kids were literally “bouncing off the walls” with the introduction of exercise balls to help develop their large motor skills, hand-eye coordination along with the ability to work with one another.
We cooled down after Roz’s session with an arts & crafts lesson where the children explored a variety of mixed media materials and created paper plate fans for themselves. The temperature in Los Angeles was in the hundreds, so our project seemed quite appropriate! Volunteers Carly Krause and Aleksander Stanisic provided guidance through the project (which got a little messy) and our finished projects had the kids feeling pretty “cool” about themselves-
We are looking forward to our yoga session on August 7th, so please stay posted for more on the magic of working with the children of South Los Angeles, and what Real Medicine is doing to make a difference!
Tags: children, exercise, Florence Western Medical Center, Los Angeles, volunteering
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