Giving Tuesday: Four Ways You Can Help Migrants and Refugees with Health Network

Health Network, Migrant Clinicians Network’s unique bridge case management system, saves lives, hundreds of lives, every year. People like Maria*, who needed surgery on her leg after being released from detention, and Phuong, a patient with tuberculosis who traveled back home to Vietnam in the midst of treatment, and Felicia, who stopped her treatment when she arrived in Central America, prompting a multi-agency international effort, led by Health Network, to help her get back to the doctor. In many cases, without Health Network, patients’ conditions would have worsened; for others, they would have died.

That’s because there is no other system like it. Health Network is the only case management system that provides assistance for people with any health condition moving to any location on the planet. What’s more, our culturally competent management system has been proven cost effective.

But we need your help.

On average, Health Network enrolls 30 to 35 new patients each month. In the last month, Health Network has seen a dramatic increase in enrollments: 120 people were brought into Health Network and provided case management for their ongoing health conditions. Another 80 people are in the queue.

Giving Tuesday -- the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, November 27th -- is a mere two weeks away, and despite MCN’s small staff, with not even one staff member dedicated solely to fundraising or development, we are hoping to raise enough money to care for hundreds more patients on the move who are being enrolled every day. We are a small nonprofit with a hugely effective and much-needed program. We’re looking to raise $10,000 in the weeks after Thanksgiving -- and we need you to make it work.

Here are four ways to prepare for Giving Tuesday, so that, together, we can give Health Network the funding needed to care for thousands of migrants with ongoing health needs:

1. The UnSelfie

Take an Unselfie, tell the story of health justice, and tag MCN! Take a pic telling your social media friends, family, and colleagues why you support Migrant Clinicians Network, and why health justice is important to you. Check out MCN’s Giving Tuesday page for examples from our staff members along with a template for your own Unselfie. Be sure to tag Migrant Clinicians Network on your preferred social media network (like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram) and include #Unselfie when you post your photo. By posting your selfie, you’re letting people know you support MCN and you can encourage people to learn more and to donate. Getting our name out to the world is important. We’re well known among migrant clinicians and health justice advocates but few in the general public know of the important work we do. Help us change that!

2. Matching Funds

Double your donation with employer-matched funds! Visit https://doublethedonation.com/tips/giving-tuesday/ to see if your employer matches your donation to MCN and fill out the form. Encourage your colleagues to join you!

3. Stay Informed

Spread the word! Be sure to subscribe to our blog, “like” MCN on social media, and share our updates on Giving Tuesday.

4. DONATE!

On Giving Tuesday, please donate. Encourage your friends to donate by setting up a Facebook Fundraiser. Forward our Giving Tuesday video and story -- available on November 27th on the blog and on social media -- to friends, family, and colleagues.

Together, we can choose hope over despair. We can assure migration isn’t a barrier to care. We can loudly proclaim that health care is a human right. Thank you for your support!

*All names have been changed to protect the identity of the patient.

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