Why the Alliance?

• A wife whose husband is a recovering stroke patient finds a source of help that she might not have otherwise known about except for her copy of the Community Resources for Older Adults directory, published by the Alliance each year.
• A nursing student from American River College, UC Davis, CSUS, or Sacramento City College is grateful for the financial assistance provided by the Alliance Scholarship Program.
• An 8-year-old, after working through an "I Can Choose" workbook, learns of ways to resolve disagreements besides yelling and shoving.
• An organization that received an Alliance Grant is able to continue a program that might otherwise have been dropped.

Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." The Alliance works very hard to make a difference in the lives of others. This past year, our successes include:

The Adopt-A-Room Project at the Sacramento Crisis Nursery North. The Alliance not only funded the furniture and supplies needed for one of the toddler bedrooms at the Crisis Nursery, but several of our members also volunteered many hours of work to transform that bedroom into a fully furnished, attractive and comfortable place for any child to sleep.
• The Alliance granted $19,000 to nine local agencies.
• Two schools received toys and games donated by the Alliance for the Turn off the Violence – TV Free Week.
• The Alliance contributed items for 1,000 education kits, toys, and warm clothing for an orphanage and girls school in Afghanistan.
• A Community Health Day Conference on stroke and heart disease was held in May, featuring many dynamic and expert speakers on heart-healthy lifestyles, and exhibitors who provided free health information. Also available were health screening for stroke assessment, heel-bone density scans, body fat analysis, and optional glucose/cholesterol tests.
• Over 40,000 of our Community Resources for Older Adults booklets were distributed.
• Two social events for physicians and their families helped promote camaraderie and increase awareness of the Medical Society and the Alliance.

Our Website is in place as is our Long Range Planning Committee, and our members are hard at work on projects and events for next year. We will continue to offer scholarships and grants, provide the Resources booklet, and take on projects to benefit the community.

Coming events include our General Meeting on September 25 at the home of Marla Bommer. Refreshments will be served and Rod Farley from Beyond Napa Wine Market will host a wine tasting.

We are organizing a trip to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on October 28th where we will be joined by art historian Jill Pease.

Our Annual Holiday Luncheon will be held on December 5 at the Chateau (behind William Glenn).

The title of this article asks, Why the Alliance? The answer is simple.

Alliance members join forces to make a difference by stimulating public awareness, raising a unified voice for health care legislation in our state, providing scholarships, and supporting health-related and other community projects.

We are a unified group of physicians’ spouses with similar concerns and goals. The key to our success is that united effort as well as the resulting friendships and camaraderie formed through our projects and our social activities. Who wouldn’t want to participate in this worthwhile endeavor?

Please help us get the word out. Share this article with others. We welcome all levels of participation, whether by volunteering your time or making a financial contribution, or both. For more information, contact Marla Bommer at (916) 482-8144 or Linda Meyers at (916) 488-0353, or send us an e-mail.

mbommer@hotmail.com      linda.meyers@comcast.net