Carewell Community

Dear Friends of Carewell,

Where did January go? I’m not sure it was even here! Well, I guess it was, because we had all these cool events (as always, visit www.carewellcommunity.org to view this blog together with accompanying photos):

Leading off – we had yet another wonderful time last January 14 celebrating the birthdays of our two indomitable Maris(s)as: Oreta and Nerida! Judging from the photo, I really do believe that great food and great friends add up to the highest quality of life!

January Birthday Celebrants

And speaking of great friends, three other January events have helped enlarge our growing circle: On the 28th, I gave a talk on Carewell for the Rotarians of Forbes Park. At that meeting, we committed to work together to provide our services to the community members served by their Rotary club. Welcome to the Carewell family!

Forbes Park Rotary

On 22 January, as part of a Breast Cancer Forum hosted by the East Ave Medical Center, Carewell made a presentation on Battling the Big C Through Support, Education, and Hope! Together with a distinguished panel of physicians, we made it clear to our audience that when facing cancer – you need not feel helpless, you need not feel hopeless, you need not feel alone!

East Avenue Seminar

Donors Night

Finally! - after everything you’ve done for us – it was, at last, our chance to do something for you! On January 26 we celebrated Carewell Donors’ Night. Warmed by the hospitality of Board Chair, Dely Fernandez, and cooled by a breezy, starlit evening – we shared our hopes, offered our dreams, and toasted to an even brighter future for our Carewell! Cancer is a community experience, and so it takes a village to marshal the resources, the commitment, and the strength to survive – and even thrive! - amidst the challenges posed by living with the disease. And so, for all you’ve done, and for all you will continue to do: I thank you from the very bottom of my heart, on behalf of all the members of our community.

Donors Night

Moving right along, then, coming soon in February:

On the 6th of this month, we will again mark our Tesoro’s Supports Carewell partnership. This time around, we will celebrate our collaboration at the Mabini branch of Tesoro’s. We hope that you will help make this endeavor a success by shopping at Tesoro’s … a lot! As a reminder: a portion of the proceeds of all the sales of Tesoro’s from 5 December 2009 until 5 December 2010 will be donated to us so that we can continue to offer our resources, services, and programs free of charge to all those affected by cancer. So what are you waiting for? Now you have a great excuse to shop!

Right around the corner – literally - on February 8, Carewell will give a talk on “Caring well for our loved ones with cancer and their families” at the Union Church of Manila. The session will go from 730pm until 930pm. Talks, testimonials, and healing prayers will be offered, and gratitude, joy, and blessings will be shared by all in attendance. If you would like to participate, please call Elena at UCM at 812-6062 so she can make arrangements for you.

To complement the healing of our hearts, we also offer a chance to heal our bodies (and, given all the chicharon we eat, we do need to heal our bodies!). Thus, on February 14, we will launch the Cory for Carewell cycling project. That Sunday, from 630-930am, we will be riding around Dasmarinas Village and Forbes Park to celebrate our partnership with a remarkable group of organizations: the I Am Ninoy, I Am Cory cyclists, Rudy Project (thanks to you for our TECHNICALLY COOL jerseys), Nokia, New Balance, Audio WAV, and other sponsors. Extra special thanks go to Jim and Jamike Lopa, Anton Lacson, Dondi Santos, and many other friends and supporters who helped make this all possible. Special thanks to Marge of Rudy Project, Marite of the Manila Polo Club, and the Barangay Forbes Park and Dasmarinas Village Associations for their invaluable cooperation. If you want to join our club – and wear one of our beautiful jerseys – please give us a holler so we can tell you how to join our merry band of cyclists. The group will be participating in bike rides throughout the year in order to raise awareness and funds for Carewell.

Cyclists

Let’s see now: so we’ve covered healing the heart, healing the body, hmmm… what’s left? I guess that would be - healing the mind! On that note, Carewell is proud to announce its newest program: Life Coaching with Sarah Novak. On February 23, Tuesday, from 12p-130p, Sarah, a U.S. – certified Life Coach, will lead a workshop at Carewell on how Life Coaching can help us manage the challenges and stresses brought about by changes and crises, while also enabling us to identify and capitalize on the opportunities and blessings that also often lie within. The workshop aims to de-mystify life coaching and show you how this great practice can benefit the different aspects of your life. After the workshop, Sarah will hold a regular schedule of group and one-on-one coaching sessions at Carewell. Checkout our website and your email inboxes for more details in the days to come, and please give us a call if you’d like to join the public seminar on the 23rd.

Last, but certainly not the least, we would like to announce our latest partnership: Boyd’s Supports Carewell!

What’s it about? Well, I can’t spill the (coffee) beans just now – sorry, sorry, couldn’t resist!

So, for the time being, please join me in thanking Robert Francisco and Dr. Christine Therese Santos, for so generously and graciously initiating this exciting new engagement! Stay tuned for more details! And please support Carewell by – what else? – drinking Boyd’s coffee!

Whew! And to think there are only 28 days in February! Well, most of the time, anyway. Until next month, then, remember to Care well, every step of your way.

Best,

Bobbit/Robert