CALM, First Aid and Taking Care of Each Other

Today's blog post on CALM comes to you from  guest blogger MB. Just an FYI to all who are suspicious of donating money to the gathering online, I personally know MB and many of the CALM folks and know that they are doing an amazing job saving lives with minimal equipment. Lot's of opportunities exist to support healing our brothers and sisters. For those of you who are knew to gathering, CALM is one of the main first aid stations at the gathering. Visit them if you're not feeling well, get injured or just want to talk about healing.  To learn more about CALM, click here.

It is, indeed, that time of year to request donations! CALM raised enough funds last year to cover the Tennessee Gathering.  We had very few supplies leftover, and with the expectation of a larger Gathering in Montana, we expect our costs to be even higher. By getting donations early, we are able to be savvy Internet shoppers and get the best value for supplies. Once we are on the land, we have to purchase from pharmacies, with costs that are 3x what they are online.

Click here to see the inventory/banking list from 2012 in Excel format.  We purchased a total of $1,138.00 in supplies and used nearly all of the supplies.  Tennessee was a smaller Gathering, and we anticipate Montana to require twice as many supplies.  Our goal this year is to receive $2,000 in donations and we need your help to manifest a healthy and well cared-for Gathering.  Every $10, $20, $50 and $100 donation helps immensely.

CALM needs to have a variety of different supplies on hand because we never know from year to year what we will need.  Some years we see a lot of burns, while others involve roll-over accidents on the road Home.  We have treated heart attacks and diabetic shock, seizures and jungle rot, broken ankles and pains in the necks (ahem).  Wingnuts? Yep, we treat em.  A stick stuck in your foot because you really, really want to walk barefoot at night?  Yep, we treat that, too.

WHAT CAN BE DONE? Donate money to our PayPal or WePay account at the bottom of this message.  Give cash or a check to one of the CALM bankers. I can assure you that all of them can be trusted as they all put in way more money into supplies then they get back. Please do not bring in your old prescription medications, homemade tinctures or unlabeled herbs. We cannot distribute prescriptions, and tinctures end up unused unless they are made by a known and trusted source.

 If you have supplies that you would like to donate, please check with us first as they may not be what we really need. If you plan to bring supplies, check with us first by sending an email to CALM or MB  to make sure that this is something that we can use.

If you want to donate something material, we need batteries!  AA non-rechargeable are best.  We rely heavily on radio communications and with radios being always-on 24-hours a day for 2 weeks, we go through a lot of AA batteries.  Remember the helicopter evacuation in Pennsylvania the morning of the 4th?  That was made possible through radio communications relayed from person-to-person and then via a call to Emergency Responders.

And finally, CALM could always use Builders! We start serving the health needs of the Family as soon as we leave our homes­which means that we are often so busy, it’s hard to find time and energy to put up a tarp or to make benches.  Please stop by and plug in!

The healers are here to serve the Family. Let’s have a kind and safe Gathering!

(FOR CALM/MEDICAL SUPPLIES via PayPal)

OR to donate via WePay, click here. 

If you are a healer and want to plug in ahead of time, sign up for the CALM email list by registering here or visit Rainbow Medicine Facebook or email MB for supply/donation questions:

May 24 meeting with public health employees

Updated 5/21/13 7:30 PM Cali Time

may 24, 11am, public library, Missoula, Montana.... preliminary meeting with some Public Health folks... iffn in area please attend... at this meeting, will invite Public health to meet on-site, when it happens.... also, these Public health folks are some of those folks that Gatherers had positive interaction with in Montana 2000.

New Location:
Montana Public Health, Helena folks is Friday, May 24th, 11:00 am in the private meeting room at Liquid Planet... a coffee shop near Broadway and Higgins, Missoula, Montana... The Public Library was booked. Open, free.

Water Filters and Staying Healthy

One of the ways we keep each other healthy is by drinking filtered water. Many people will argue that when we gather in the mountains, the water is clean.  Well not to burst your bubble, but the springs may or may not be safe to drink and the lines we lay to bring spring water from the hills down into the gathering are only as safe as the last time a dog or a horse shit on the line.  All it takes is one tiny crack and the spring water is now dog poop spring water.  Or bear poop, deer poop, horse poop, bobcat poop, etc.

Don't forget, that many people who gather drink city water during the year and their bowels aren't adjusted to live water. Even folks who drink live water on a regular basis have adjusted to the critters in their local water and a new set of critters can leave even the most hardened back woods homesteader leaving a trail behind them.  Just because you are young and healthy and can handled a week of diarrhea without a thought doesn't mean that all our family can. Small children, the elderly and people with chronic health conditions can end up in the hospital when from diarrhea.

If you or anyone you know is thinking of purchasing  Katadyn filters (.2 micron) for an upcoming gathering, please get in touch with Team Hydration to get the lowest price available.  Together our money goes further than it does separately.

In addition to trying to get us the best possible price on filters, Team Hydration sets up Hydration Stations scattered about the gathering so people can fill their jugs with clean and safe drinking water.   Having safe and clean drinking water is one of the most important things we can do for a safe and positive gathering.  The alternative is a gathering full of diarrhea.

I personally know the folks behind this effort and know that the money will be spent as intended.  

So what's it going to be family.  Together our $5 or $50 dollar donations will keep a lot of people safe and healthy.  Click here to donate.

Team Hydration will also accept donations for the water crew that runs water lines throughout the gathering, please leave a comment with your donation if you want the funds to go to the water line crew vs the water filter crew.

Finally don't forget that we can't just run down to the local general store and buy filters.  By collecting funds ahead of time, all the equipment we need can be ordered ahead of time so clean and safe drinking water becomes available as soon as possible after we land at home.  Click here to donate! 

Please feel to contact Jules or Team Hydration directly if you have any questions, would like to get involved, or would like to get a filter system for your camp or kitchen.  Please copy and distribute this information to all points of light.