126 Monterey County GIVES! 2023 mcgives.com Health, Wellness & Food DONate online mcgives.com extends their support to those facing other life-limiting diagnoses too. The nonprofit also recently established the hospice house Jerry’s Place in Seaside to provide a peaceful place for patients’ final days, as some who rely on the Jerry Rubin Foundation live in vehicles or are unhoused. The Big Idea is to continue offering care and support to the vulnerable people who need it. “I can honestly say I don’t know what we would have done without Jerry’s Place. The foundation staff provided support and care for my mom, which allowed her to die with dignity.” -Shannon Valladerez MEarth Year Founded: 2008 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 8 paid, 357 volunteers Budget: $774,000 624-1032 mearthcarmel.org Big Idea: The goal of MEarth is to connect “me” to “Earth” through a collection of health and wellness Big Idea programs in a beautiful garden/kitchen setting that serves as a classroom. Participants learn how to become environmental stewards of our lands, learning to appreciate and protect the rich biodiversity that surrounds us. Overall well-being and healthy habits are examined through initiatives teaching nutrition, food preparation and other healthy choices. MEarth fosters collaborations that increase equitable access to organic produce and inspire deeper community bonds. “Thank you for the amazing lesson you gave us; learning about the different types of tomatoes, aka tomatls, you had. You gave us (students) such a wonderful and thorough lesson that has left me and others to learn/know more about Mesopotamia and tomatls. With your tips, I hope to take care of my Cherokee purple tomato— named Sakura, because I believe it originated in Japan. Thank you again, and I can’t wait for more experiences with you soon.” -Carmel Middle School seventh-grader Monterey Bay Master Gardeners Year Founded: 1995 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 0 paid, 153 volunteers Budget: $26,500 763-8007 mbmg.ucanr.edu Big Idea: The Monterey Bay Master Gardeners’ Big Idea involves dispelling the myth that you have to have a bunch of land in order to grow produce. The Portable Edible Garden / Jardines Comestibles Portátiles project holds a bilingual, family-friendly gardening class at Cesar Chavez Library in Salinas, and offers participants the components needed for a successful portable garden, including a watering can, two portable grow bags and several edible plants of their choosing. Four classes are scheduled for 2023, with hopes to expand in 2024. “As a master gardener, I was delighted to volunteer this past spring with our Portable Edible Project. I like how our project helps families teach their children about where food comes from in a very accessible manner. The families loved working together to select the flowers and vegetables they would plant in their own grow bag. It was a sincere pleasure to share my love of gardening with others, and seeing the smiles on the participants’ faces as they worked to create their portable garden was so rewarding.” -Barbara Davidge I believe they’re not only nurses, but they’re angels sent from heaven.” Araceli Villegas, Salinas Valley Health Foundation RotaCare Monterey Clinic Year Founded: 1995 Paid Staff and Volunteers: 1 paid, 45 volunteers Budget: $121,250 333-6495 rotacarebayarea.org Big Idea: RotaCare, located inside the Seaside Family Health Center, provides free health care to uninsured/underserved residents of Monterey County. A diverse team of skilled volunteer medical providers come together to help patients. That group includes doctors, dietitians, interpreters and physical therapists. Patients with urgent and chronic conditions like diabetes and high cholesterol receive free medical visits, diagnostic testing, and supplies—a Big Idea at no cost. Weekly telehealth visits expand access to every corner of Monterey County, reaching patients who cannot easily travel to the Seaside clinic. “My husband and I have been patients of RotaCare since 2015. My husband has high blood pressure and I am a diabetic. We are very thankful for RotaCare because the doctors have always been very attentive to our care and make sure we have everything we need. My husband’s blood pressure has improved from the medication and checking it regularly; he was given a blood pressure monitor. My diabetes is in better shape with medications and monitoring of my blood sugars. Because of RotaCare, we are able to have regular follow-ups and get our labs every three months. RotaCare has the best medical team. Everyone is patient, nice and caring. Anytime we have a question they are just a phone call away.” -Patient spotlight
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