Wed. 4/15: Gown-Brigade volunteers! It’s time to IRON! Instructions included here!

Quick links:

Join the Mask-making brigade for VC health care workers (now at 4871!): here
Volunteer opportunities, including those for healthcare workers, in Ventura County: here.
Want to be part of the new Gown Brigade? Send your name, address, email and cell phone number to hcfvc@ventura.org

(Information below from Amy Towner, CEO – Health Care Foundation for Ventura County.)

Mask Brigade update.

We had 255 masks donated on Tuesday. Pictured here are some cute ones from Ventura County Probation Department’s Pamela Henderson. She said this was so much fun! Gina and I have done mass passing out of masks to essential workers throughout the county and it’s been fun to see some masks that you have made being sported all around the county. I am asking employees to thank you so I can post on social media, We can not let our guard down and we still need more masks so thank you for continuing to sew especially since we had 33 new cases as of tonight.

Gown Brigade update.

For those new to the Gown Brigade – Welcome! Today, we had our first drop off shipment at Gina’s. With 12,000 trash bags, that’s a lot of ironing. So glad we have an army of community sewing and ironing for our community safety. The message is clear, in Ventura County, we are not ok with sitting around not having basic PPE for healthcare or people. Our community has been extremely resourceful and not waiting around for others to fix the problem.

Attached are the instructions for making the hospital gown from plastic bags.

Continue reading “Wed. 4/15: Gown-Brigade volunteers! It’s time to IRON! Instructions included here!” →

Wed. 4/15: A note from the Speaker of the House.

Dear Democratic Colleague,

This Easter Weekend provided me with a time for deeper prayer and reflection. This is an unbearably sad time with all Americans sharing the same devastating experience: we are grieving for those who have died from the coronavirus, we are fearful for our health and especially the health of our loved ones and we are heartbroken for our children who are unable to be in school and with their friends.

As Americans, we are suffering from pressures of economic hardship. All of us want to resume the precious and beautiful lives that America’s unique freedoms provide. We will overcome this moment, but success requires one fundamental from which all actions will follow: we need the truth. To succeed in this crisis, we must insist on the truth, and we must act upon it! Continue reading “Wed. 4/15: A note from the Speaker of the House.” →

Tues 4/14: Taking care of our essential human resources…

Action #1 – State: Call your state legislators to approve the “California Farmworker COVID-19 Relief Package.

For those of us lucky enough to shelter at home – we can order a box of organic strawberries online from a Ventura County farm here, for example, or here. But they can’t be harvested digitally. Farmworkers have to show up in person to do their jobs, often without access to adequate healthcare, or the ability to maintain social distance, leaving them vulnerable to contracting COVID-19.

On April 9th, Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-CA30) introduced the five-bill “California Farmworker COVID-19 Relief Package” to protect the health, safety, and economic security of agricultural workers and prevent disruptions to the nation’s food supply.

Continue reading “Tues 4/14: Taking care of our essential human resources…” →

Mon 4/13: Deadline today, 5pm. Comment about PG&E to the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board.

Photo from full report here.

Action: Write a letter to tell the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board that PG&E is on the wrong path again.

Apparently today is “WRITE LETTERS DAY!” PG&E has stated that they would like to use their antiquated, expensive, wasteful and counterproductive method of stripping out all trees near their lines, versus replacing their own equipment with safer versions.

We have just been informed about an opportunity to communicate with the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board about what PG&E should be doing to prevent the next out-of-control fire.

Email your comments to wildfiresafetyadvisoryboard@cpuc.ca.gov by Monday, April 13 at 5pm.
Please put WSAB in your email subject line.

Here is a model letter…

To Wildfire Safety Advisory Board: Continue reading “Mon 4/13: Deadline today, 5pm. Comment about PG&E to the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board.” →

Mon. 4/13: Shock therapy updates: The Wisconsin election was “Voter suppression at its finest.” Time to change the rules.

Image here. Vos quote here. Suppression quote here.

Action – Please email this letter urging funding for a secure all-mail voting system to your two senators and representative.

Below is the long form all Indivisible group leaders are starting with.

You can use it in whole, just a short note with the bullet points, or however you feel you best can communicate the importance of this issue to your legislators. They are listening. Their email contact information is at the bottom.

April (__13___)_, 2020

Dear Senator [____] { or Representative [___]} Continue reading “Mon. 4/13: Shock therapy updates: The Wisconsin election was “Voter suppression at its finest.” Time to change the rules.” →

Fri. 4/10: Status of Ventura County’s front line volunteer efforts!

More news about our amazing community here in Ventura County!

Quick links:

Mask-making for VC health care workers (now at 4871!): here
Volunteer opportunities, including those for healthcare workers, in Ventura County: here.
Want to be part of the new Gown Brigade? Go here.

(Information below from Amy Towner, CEO – Health Care Foundation for Ventura County.)

Hello, Brigade!!!

Great day but really busy day. Lots of news to report! In our Zoom Incident Command Meeting, all of you were acknowledged by the hospital leaders and your part in helping to keep our healthcare workers and community safe with your actions of sewing masks and assembling gowns. These seem like small acts perhaps to you, but they are monumental as this virus builds in our community. Thank you for continuing to help and stay plugged in as battle this virtually and united together, protecting our front line people as much as possible while we scour for authentic PPE including N95 1870+, surgical and procedure masks, and isolation gowns.

Mask report:

Continue reading “Fri. 4/10: Status of Ventura County’s front line volunteer efforts!” →

Thurs 4/9: Why the GOP was willing to risk the lives of Wisconsin’s voters.

Costs here and here.

Action – Support Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020 (HR.6202)(S 3440)

Wisconsin’s GOP-dominated state legislature and court system, backed by Trump’s Supreme Court, overrode Democratic governor Tony Evans’ request for a delay and forced their citizens to stand for hours in the cold and risk contracting a ferocious disease, in order to exercise their right to vote. That many did, makes one proud. That they had to so is horrifying.

There ought to be a law to stop partisan endangerment of voters during dangerous events and here it is – HR 6202/S3440 “Support Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act.”

The bill requires each state and jurisdiction to create a transparent plan for running their federal elections if a significant number of voters or poll workers are quarantined due to COVID-19. Voters would be allowed to submit online requests for absentee ballots and vote in federal elections by mail, and extend vote-by-mail deadlines if postal service is disrupted as a result of COVID-19. Continue reading “Thurs 4/9: Why the GOP was willing to risk the lives of Wisconsin’s voters.” →

Wed. 4/8: Status of Ventura County’s front line volunteer efforts.

More news about our amazing community here in Ventura County!

Quick links:

Mask-making for VC health care workers (now at 4383!): here
Volunteer opportunities, including those for healthcare workers, in Ventura County: here.
Want to be part of the new Gown Brigade? Go here.

(Information below from Amy Towner, CEO – Health Care Foundation for Ventura County.)

Good evening Brigade!!!

Thanks to the mask sewers and we still need more!: What an amazing day! Our hospital leadership thanks all of you! Dr. Fankhauser actually said the unavailability of PPE was keeping him up at night and with the support of our Brigade and the flattening of the curve he is getting rest. He warns that we can’t let down our guard. We had 533 sewn masks today and look at the donations below!! We need to continue safe sheltering at home and the need for masks is still a must for staff.

Mask-making for VC health care workers (now at 4383!): here

Useful AND beautiful! LOOK AT THOSE PERFECT PLEATS!

Continue reading “Wed. 4/8: Status of Ventura County’s front line volunteer efforts.” →

Mon 4/6: Update: Now you need a mask too!

Don’t panic! You can do this!

On 3/20, we wrote a post on mask-making in general.
On 3/23, we wrote a post on making a specific type of mask for our hospitals’ front line workers.
And today, we’re writing about making cloth masks for yourself and your family, because the CDC now recommends wearing them in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.