The SC State Legislature has set aside May 22 as Free Clinic Awareness Day in order to recognize Free Clinics across the state and the impact they have in their communities.   The community is invited to come to one of the Free Clinic’s Open House events. The Anderson open house will be held 5-7 PM at 414 North Fant Street.  The Honea Path open house will be held from 4-6 PM at the Honea Path Clinic, 34 Main Street in Honea Path.

Also, the community is encouraged to visit The Meeting Place Restaurant, 124 West Whitner Street, Anderson, that day.  The Meeting Place has partnered with the Free Clinic and will be donating $1.00 for each plate they serve on the 22^nd to the Free Clinic.

For more information about Free Clinic Awareness Day and the Anderson Free Clinic, contact Barb Baptista, Executive Director of the Anderson Free Clinic at 864-261-4542, ext. 222.

Photo by Sefton Ipock, Independent Mail

2012 Walk with the Docs in Anderson and Honea Path raised over $90,000 and had more single donors and Walk day participants than ever before! Walk with the Docs is more than a fundraising event — it is a celebration of how far we’ve come together to offer a medical home for residents of Anderson County who have no health insurance or financial means to pay for health care! It is ironic that a clinic created as a temporary solution to provide health care to the underserved, has become a critical piece of health care to the low income, uninsured residents of Anderson County.

Even as we applaud the 400 participants at the Walks in Anderson and Honea Path, we are sobered by the considerable needs of individuals and families as they struggle to access and obtain healthcare. The Anderson Free Clinic did not reach our goal of raising $100,000 budgeted, and we will continue look for the finance resources needed to provide necessary medical and dental office visits, medication assistance, as well as alternatives to pain management and patient education for increased self-management of chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

We feel blessed to be in a position to have served almost 1600 patients of Anderson County in 2011 alone; we also know our work would not be possible without the support of donors like you. Because of your help, we look forward to a year where hope and healthcare will continue to be provided to the poorest population in Anderson County.

For more photos, click here.

We would love to hear from you! Click here to give us some feedback we can use make next year’s Walk with the Docs better than ever!

Mark your Calendars for the 2012 Walk with the Docs!

The Anderson Free Clinic 2012 Walk with the Docs is just around the corner!  The Walk has been the Clinic’s signature event for 25 years. Last year’s Walk was the largest in the history of the Clinic, and this year we would like to make this important fundraiser bigger and better than ever!

On Saturday, March 17th, the healthcare community and new and  long-time supporters of the Free Clinic will come together to walk in support the Free Clinic’s mission to provide  healthcare for the uninsured poor in Anderson County.

Highlights of the 2012 Walk:

• New location for the Anderson Walk at AnMed North Campus at 2000 E. Greenville St., starting at 10:00am. Meet  at the front entrance to the Cancer Center.
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• Honea Path Walk at Honea Path Middle School Football Field starting at 11:00am.
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• The Presenting Sponsor of the 2012 Walk is AnMed Health.
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• The Team Competition is sponsored this year by Dr. and Mrs. Ron Sconyers. Teams will compete in the categories such as the largest number of participants and best presentation. MORE
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• Prizes for team members with best individual St. Patrick’s Day costumes by “People’s Vote.”
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• NEW fun sprint race “Race with the Nurses,” sponsored by Austin & Pray Family Dentistry, for participants ages 12 and up.
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• All participants must register either before or on the day of the event.
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• Please help us thank our other MAJOR sponsors:
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  Stewardship Sponsors:
  Don Pilzer, PC Attorney at Law
  Independent Mail
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  Partnership Sponsors:
  Tom & Sherrill Hall
  PIP Printing and Marketing Services
  TALK Radio 103.1
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• There is STILL TIME to support the Walk with a Sponsorship – four more categories of Sponsorship with a deadline of Mar 9th! Download the form and either mail or  drop it by the Clinic soon to reserve your sponsorship including banners and signs displayed at the Walk locations. (See form for details.)

The Honea Path Free Clinic is proud to announce that the renovations are completed! We would like to invite you to our Open House on Sunday, December 18, 2011 from 12n to 2pm. Please come and share in the excitement of having a permanent place for the clinic. Many thanks to Mayor Lollis Meyers, the City Council and Partners for a Healthier Honea Path for making this happen.

Honea Path Free Clinic location: 34 N Main St, Honea Path, SC 29654

Celebrity Benefit Shoot on October 15 at the Belton Gun Club

Come join us for a fun time of “breaking clays” and camaraderie! All of the proceeds are to be donated to the Anderson Free Clinic to assist them in doing their good works for the citizens of our county—perhaps even your neighbors.

“Flights” will begin every half hour beginning at 8:00am and concluding at 6:00pm. The celebrities will begin their “Flights” at 11:00am.

To register:

Download a registration form HERE and mail it with payment to:
Celebrity Benefit Shoot /Anderson Free Clinic
414 N Fant Street, Anderson SC 29621

There are a limited number of positions available, so register early!

COURSE: Five Stand Clays (modified)

WHEN: Saturday, October 15, 2011

TIME: 8:00am to 6:00pm

WHERE: Belton Gun Club, Belton SC

PRE-REGISTRATION (donation): $25

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Five Stand is very similar to Sporting Clays in that a wide variety  of targets are thrown. There are five “stands” or stations to shoot from. There are usually somewhere between 6 and 8 traps that throw targets.

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For more information:

BENEFIT SHOOT:
Gene Freund: AFC.Benefit@gmail.com  PH 706-525-9641

BELTON GUN CLUB:
Frank Friddle: frank.friddlejr@friddles.com  PH 800-528-9339

ANDERSON FREE CLINIC:
Barb Baptista: barb.baptista@anmedhealth.org  PH 864-226-1294 x222

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Sponsored by: B & B Pawn

Locations in Anderson * Belton * Seneca

Support from:   Dick’s Sporting Goods

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Celebrities registered ( as of 08-14-11)

April Cameron (Electric City News)

Victoria Dunkle (WLOS)

Frank Fraboni (WLOS)

Carol Goldsmith (WYFF)

Robin Kanady (WSPA)

Kimberly Kelly (WSPA: Scene on 7)

Megan Schiering (WLOS)

Sheriff John Skipper (Anderson Cnty)

LAS VEGAS GALA

The Anderson Free Clinic is holding its inaugural LAS VEGAS GALA on August 12th. This FUN… raising affair is a is a “dress to impress” event that includes a night of Las Vegas style entertainment, hors d’oeuvres, cocktails , music by the B Natural Jazz Quartet, and featuring a surprise Special Guest and an exciting “Free Clinic Doctor Auction.”

The event will be held at the Anderson Arts Center, with a cocktail hour beginning at 7 PM and entertainment starting at 8 PM. Tickets to the event will include $20,000 of  play money to be used in the Las Vegas style gaming room. A limited number of tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Free Clinic on 414 N Fant Street, by mail, or online here.

Examples of items offered in the Doctor Auction include:

• Wine Tasting for six and a light supper at the home of Dr. Bob Austin (on a Friday night to be arranged at the convenience of both parties).
• A Brazilian BBQ for four that includes three types of meat seasoned in the Brazilian style, rice cooked to perfection, pao de queijo (cheese balls), and Brazil’s most popular drink, caipirinha, made with lime, sugar, and cachaça (sugar cane rum), all prepared in the traditional Brazilian manner and served up by served up by Dr. David Potts, one of Anderson’s most fascinating MD’s. The winner will also receive a DVD of popular Brazilian songs.
• Two teeth bleaching systems from Dr. Ron Sconyers of Anderson Family Dental Care.
• A Leon Loard Portrait gift certificate valued at $1000
• A Charleston fishing or sightseeing trip from Capt Stephen Fields of Fields Fishing

The Gala will feature TWO silent auctions: a Vegas Auction with bids using the “money” won at the gaming tables. The second auction will be a Gala auction using cash to bid on a variety of items including those in our signature Doctor Auction! The Gala Auction Catalog is available for viewing here. More items as well as the Vegas Auction Catalog will be posted soon!

While enjoying the Gala, event sponsors and attendees will at the same time be helping the Anderson Free Clinic in its mission, to provide hundreds of uninsured Anderson County residents living below the Federal Poverty Level, with free and quality medical services and dental care, as well as assistance with their prescription medications. Patients also build hope and a more positive outlook on their health and well-being.

Tickets can be purchased online below,  in person at the Free Clinic or by mail.  If purchased online or by mail, tickets can be held for you at the door.

The 2011 Walk with the Docs achieved the success we hoped and needed! Over $92,000 was raised, making 2011 the best Walk in 22 years. Community support helped us surpass the previous record of $85,972 raised in 2006 and exceed our goal for this year.  Walk attendance was also a record. Nearly 390 people attended the Anderson Walk while over 140 people walked in Honea Path.  More to come . . . .

The Free Clinic’s dental program provided more than 700 visits last year.  If you would like to donate supplies, or encourage your dentist to donate, the Free Clinic could use the following:

Large bracket tray paper covers

Surgical burs–557 long

Gut suture

Coe Soft

Gloves (all sizes, non-latex)

Composite shades (C shades)

Flowable composite A2

Blade–15

Masks (with ear loops)

Redi-Chem developer (A & B)

Head rest covers

Cotton rolls

Patient napkins

Lignospan

Septacaine

For information on donating, please contact Barb Baptista at 864-226-1294, ext. 222.

As a free clinic, raising money to pay for equipment and services is always a difficult issue.  Individuals with skills and marketing, fundraising, and accounting are as vital to our clinic as those with medical/dental background.

Please tell us about any marketing and fundraising skills that you have.  Also, please share any ideas you have about how the Anderson Free Clinic can raise additional money (specific businesses, grants, marketing ideas, cost reduction ideas, etc.)

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Sherry Lawson, at 864-226-1294, ext. 225, or sherry.lawson@anmedhealth.org.

The Anderson Free Clinic is creating a Tagline and needs your thoughts.
With support of the tagline we want to communicate and stress  the mission and core values of Anderson Free Clinic:

 We provide health care to the underserved (uninsured) poor
 Volunteers are the ones that can make it happen.
 Staying involved with AFC  is very gratifying

Note:
2010 – The Anderson Free Clinic serves the uninsured poor. With the health care reform that could slowly (over the next 3-8 years) change , but we will always serve the underserved!

We could very well eventually be serving the insured underserved poor, who cannot access care. That is why I am concerned in emphasizing the uninsured versus the underserved poor

Here are a few ideas that came through my mind for taglines. Please share your thoughts – like, ideas for tweaks, dislikes or a brand new tagline:

1) We take care of our own

2) Where Volunteerism and health care connect

3) Where Volunteerism and health care connect because it is the right thing to do

4) People Who Care… bringing good health to life of the underserved in Anderson Co.

5) Working together works to bring good health to life of the underserved in Anderson Co.

6) For the well-being of our own

7) Because it is the right thing to do

We bring good health to life … of the underserved

9) We bring good health to life of the uninsured poor

10) We are here for the well-being of our own

11) We are here for the well-being of the underserved

12) Where volunteers matter the most in health care for the underserved

13) Empowered to care for the uninsured poor

14) We turn on Volunteers and bring good health to life of the underserved poor

15) We bring good health to life of the underserved poor … and it feels like a hug

16) Healing through volunteers… it feels like a group hug

17) The stubborn pursuit of good health to life of the uninsured poor

18) Helping create a healthier Anderson County at each and every volunteer shift

19) Where personal values and volunteerism bring good health to life of the underserved

20) Where personal values and volunteerism bring good health to the underserved

21) … your suggestion