Medical Debt Abolishment as an Economic and Social Intervention
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 13, 2023
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Medical Debt Abolishment as an Economic and Social Intervention
Speaker: Allison Sesso
Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is also encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Message from our President
Dear Club Members,
Happy ReCSV Anniversary!
Today marks a momentous day for our club as we celebrate eight years of service in RI District 5170. It is a day to celebrate all of the achievements, growth, and accomplishments that have taken place since our chartering on January 30th, 2015.
Over the years, we have come together to serve local and global communities and bring meaningful change. We have grown both as a club and as individuals, forming friendships and making memories that will last a lifetime.
I am so proud of everything we have achieved and look forward to our future plans. Again, congratulations to all of you, and thank you for making the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley the success it is today!
Looking ahead, there is another date to celebrate - February 23rd is Rotary's 115th Birthday! On this special occasion, we celebrate World Understanding and Peace Day, making it an ideal time to focus on our commitment to peace building. It is also important to recognize the connection between health, well-being, and peace and find ways to make a greater impact in these areas.
As always, I am deeply grateful for your steadfast commitment to our mission and values. Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of those who need it most.
Yours in Service,
Angelica Marotta, PhD
President 2022-2023 Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
Rotary International District 5170
WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
At the Market
I could not find a frozen chicken big enough for my family dinner. I asked the young man behind the butcher counter if these chickens got any larger?
He replied, "I'm afraid not, they are all dead."
INSPIRATION
Every week we share a short video highlighting innovation, education, entrepreneurship, or whatever we think might inspire you to see the world in new ways.
One of the beautiful things about National Geographic is their ability to tell a story in many different ways. In this piece about Antarctica, you'll hear the personal reflections of Cristina Mittermeier, and perhaps think of places that are important to you.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
How are Wax Figures Made?
Have you ever been to a Wax Museum? They're quite interesting. Sometimes they look right and sometimes not. Here's a peek at how they do it.
SERVICE REPORT
Tell us about service you’ve done recently in your community.
Click here to fill out The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey
HAPPY DOLLARS: Do Good by Sharing Something Good
Each week we ask our members to share stories with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal of this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each fellow members and guests, while giving back to a good cause.
Happy dollars is an opportunity to share something positive that has happened in your life whether it is personal or business. Think of it as your opportunity to brag a little, but also put a little bit into a karma jar. The money donated through happy dollars is put to charitable use, and the message that you leave for happy dollars will be posted in our online meeting the following week for the entire week for folks to see! (Pending that it’s appropriate!)
Here are the happy dollars contributions from last week!
This section is usually updated in the early hours of Saturday, so contributions made over the weekend may not be listed here.
Rory Olsen made a $20 donation.
My wife has been with the grandkids this week. So I have had a chance to hang out with my cats. The weather has fluctuated from the high thirties to the low seventies, which is typical for the Texas Gulf Coast in February.
PROGRAM: Medical Debt Abolishment as an Economic and Social Intervention
SPEAKER: Allison Sesso
Every week we bring to you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how those contribute to service to others.
The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley seeks to explore perspectives on service from across the world. The views of the speakers in our programs are their own, and unless stated otherwise, are not necessarily reflective of the views of our eClub nor Rotary International.
If you have an idea for a cool speaker, please feel free to reach out to them directly or submit THIS FORM so our Program Committee can contact them!
Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Over 40% of Americans are currently dealing with the challenges of medical debt. RIP Medical Debt was founded in 2014 by two former debt collections executives who realized they were uniquely qualified to help those in need.
Our one-of-a-kind model turns $1 dollar into, on average, $100 of medical debt relief. Since RIP Medical Debt's inception, we have abolished over $7 billion in medical debt for over 4 million people. In this presentation, you will learn more about RIP Medical Debt's innovative approach and the impact it's having on this intractable problem.
Our speaker, Allison Sesso, became the President/CEO of RIP Medical Debt in January of 2020. RIP Medical Debt was established for the sole purpose of reducing the medical debt burdens of low-income individuals with limited capacity to pay their medical bills by leveraging donations from people across the country. We have abolished $7,387,275,754 to date for over 4,255,986 people. Prior to joining RIP Medical Debt, Allison served as the Executive Director of the Human Services Council of New York (HSC), an association of 170 nonprofits delivering 90% of human services in New York City. Allison's work on behalf of the human services sector led both the city and state of New York to recognize her as a top nonprofit leader in 2018 and 2019, one of the 25 most influential leaders in Manhattan in 2017, and one of New York City's 100 "Most Responsible" in 2016.
Members and guests, please welcome Allison Sesso!
To learn more, go to:
Testimonies from beneficiaries: https://youtu.be/_7Hijtpag8o
How it works: https://youtu.be/OSk8xDd2GbU
UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
THE ATTENDANCE SURVEY
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done.
We have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.
Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeups.
Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.
For all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!
Important: Once you submit the Attendance Survey below, please make sure you see the confirmation message. If you get an error message instead, please try the 'submit' button again, and if that doesn't work, please refresh the page and fill out the form again. Thanks!
