Empathic Action for Healthcare

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I believe it is important to keep empathy alive and well in any governmental discussion at this time.  I recently had an opportunity to hear Obama on a teleconference call with folks in Organizing for America and my perception of him was that he actually connects and considers when speaking with people.

I wanted to extend an invitation for you to participate in the Day of Service with an emphasis on Healthcare in the US.

Who/Where:  
Everyone who has empathy skills in any country.  Organizing for America is set up to list events anywhere in the world.

When:
June 27th

Why:
The Bridging the Empathy Gap team will be launching a major event called International Day for Empathic Action (details to follow within the week) and we want to keep empathy alive and well as part of any discussion in government reform.    I hosted an event for Obama’s kickoff campaign day on Healthcare on June 6th and because I called it Empathic Action for Healthcare I got a phone call from someone in the DC office of OFA asking about it.  We want even more attention to the topic of empathy and healthcare is a wonderful place to start.  I imagine the more events connected to empathy, the more impact we can have to bring awareness.  I see this as a rich opportunity for an NVC based process to be seen and/or heard not only by key folks who work with Obama, but by people who might not otherwise be aware of NVC.

What I will be offering:
Jesse and I will be offering an event in North Carolina called Hearing Our Hearts: Empathic Action for Healthcare. We will be holding a Despair Circle for people to share their healthcare stories.  People will have the opportunity to transform the pain, connect and clarify needs, and become clear on requests for the changes they want to see.  OFA has asked us to film it.  

What you can offer:
I trust your creativity.  I’d love to see Empathy Response Teams enter hospitals, have booths at Farmer’s Markets, offer support to doctors, nurses, and caregivers...all sorts of things could happen combining healthcare and empathy.  

What you can do:
In and Out of the United States: (OFA is set up for anyone internationally to host an event.)
Create a service event to combine empathy and healthcare.
Post it on Organizing for America http;//www.barackobama.com/index.php.  If you can have Empathy somehow be in the title of your event for more visibility that would be great.
Have the event.
Report on your event afterwards at http;//www.barackobama.com/index.php.

I hope you may be inspired to participate.  I am available via my personal email if you have questions and want support brainstorming an event. tembacatherine [at] gmail [dot] com

Peace All Ways,
Catherine Cadden
I wrote this letter from myself and on behalf of The Bridging the Empathy Gap team