News from the GesundheitInstitut

www.GesundheitInst.org/

News from GesundheitInst.org

14. März 1999

Hi guys,

To those of you who are interested, my parent's 50th anniversary party in Mexico was the most fun we have EVER had... and my family is pretty experienced at having fun!

New drawings of the hospital

Once back, I hit the deck with 7 new drawings from the architects. While I was at it, I reorganized the list order of the drawings. It is my intention to group drawings in a reasonable sequence to give you more understanding of the grounds. There is also a photo of the dacha which started last summer with the help of Yestermorrow Design/Build School. Please let me know if this is beginning to shape up in your minds!

Want to participate in building the hospital?

Yestermorrow Design/Build School, in Warren, Vermont is running the building of the Dacha on the land, and will surely be involved in all phases of construction. If you want to learn how to design and/or build without getting an architecture degree, and if you want to get in on helping with the hospital you can learn building skills by getting in touch with them. I am on the board of this school, and the reason is that Yestermorrow programs foster such amazing empowerment among the students who go for a week, weekend or the full blown 6 week design & build your own home course. It's fun and requires no experience beyond an adventurous spirit!

The forums continue to evolve into a wonderful on-line community!

After two weeks of not checking in, I could hardly wait to see what was new.

True to your personality types, a large and growing group of strangers becoming friends, offering help and advice. You have made this one of my very favorite places on the web. I also got a number of very nice emails directly, thanking me for building this place on the web. Don't forget, this is all of you just being yourselves, it really has very little to do with me. (Thanks to those of you who took the time to write anyway!) Come visit this group if you haven't yet. Start and moderate your own thread if you have a good idea. I promise that you will have interesting and inspiring dialogue with other visitors if you do! And then, if each of us brings in just one good friend to the forums, imagine the community we can build!

The Gumball Award

In my family, a "gumball" is a wonderful piece of good luck that falls into your lap unexpectedly. For that reason, I would like to present Marcia (you know who you are!) with the first Gumball Award. Out of the blue, she sent me an idea which I took to the architects because I could not stop laughing about it! They loved it too, and will probably incorporate it into the plan when illustrator John Connell returns from his trip. Marcia's idea? A bubble solution pool, with a garden of bubble wands around it so that anyone who passes by can burst forth in bubbles of all sizes and shapes! Perfect! Can't you see it? What a joyous thing, and so simple. Congratulations Marcia!

Send postcards to your friends, and pick up yours.

I received notice that in the last month 512 postcards had been sent and picked up at the site! That means that you are reaching out to friends and families while you are visiting. Patch handwrites 40-70 letters each day (which I consider miraculous) but the point is to tell those you love that you are thinking about them. And it is fun!

NEW! Patch's Take 10 and call me in the morning

This is the information in the little trifold that Patch is handing out these days. 10 books to read, mags to look at, ideas to consider... interesting and fun. Also, a few photos are tacked up to these pages. Hope you like.

What's next?

Richard was at the helm while I was playing, and he has refined the email anywhere page which will let you enter your email address, your password and userId and get your email from any on-line browser. You can read, reply, send and delete from this web page too. I need to work on the graphics, so probably by the end of the week, if you check the site, you will find it. Carry a printout when you travel!

Feedback from you!

It is our intention that GesundheitInst.org evolve into a like minded community of people who understand and support the radical notion that there is joy in serving your community, friends and complete strangers. Please let us know what features you would like to see here in order to maintain a clear vision that humor and frolic is good for our souls. We will be glad to respond! Thanks for your time and participation!

Love & Laughter,

Brooke Cunningham & Richard Campbell



Hello from Gesundheit

3. Februar 1999

Hello!

Thank you for you interest in the Gesundheit! Institute. Over the next year, we'll do our best to keep you, our electronic audience, up to date on our progress.

The release of the "Patch Adams" movie is a major turning point for the Gesundheit Institute - an exposure explosion. We are just learning how to respond to this heightened interest, while maintaining the friendly, personal approach upon which Gesundheit is based.

At this moment, Gesundheit is a very small group of people working with the spirit that was portrayed in the movie. We plan to build a hospital based on fun, friendship and the joy of service; where all of the healing arts are integrated and where everyone is both "patient" and "doctor". Though it is our plan to build this hospital, we have not yet begun construction on the hospital facility. We will not see patients or offer health care on the land in West Virginia until we have finished Phase I of our building process, an out-patient clinic. We project that it will take us about two years to raise the 2.2 million dollars needed to fulfill Phase I is a manner that is both responsible and sustainable.

Here are some ways you can help and stay involved.

Gesundheit is about developing friendships based on joyful service. A great way to "get involved" with Gesundheit is to do this in your own work and community. Gesundheit is many things, though our core intention is to make the world a better place through fun, friendship and the joy of service. We do not have quick-fix answers to our world's problems. We want to stimulate people to find their own creative solutions. The good news: the possibilities are endless. The challenge: it is up to you to discover how you can have fun making a positive difference for the people around you. Patch's new book, "House Calls" is a giggly prescription towards blending simple kindness into everyday life.

We are hearing from many, many people who have become inspired by Gesundheit, who want to get involved and who even want to come and work at the hospital when it is built. We ask you to understand that bringing new people on board means building new relationships - this takes time and care. We are a small group of people trying to get a lot done in a short time. Even though new people may have a lot to contribute in the long term, we are not able to respond personally to each person who wants to participate.

Our immediate need at the moment is money. We need help with raising money, both in the form of a capital campaign and with organizing and hosting money-making events. Any financial contribution you make directly helps us. Please spread the word to anyone interested.

To donate on-line visit our Web site at www.patchadams.org and link to "Show Your Support!" or go back to http://www.patchadams.org and follow the path to "contributions". You can also call our toll free number 1-887-SillyDr (1-887-745-5937). You will get a chance to donate and you will receive a brochure telling you more about the Gesundheit Institute.

Because of the movie release and our need to develop our organization to a scale that can process our new found public interest and develop our clinic designs, we are not taking any visitors or volunteers in West Virginia right now. We are people-lovers, but are concerned that we would be unable to properly host volunteers this year. This is our home so we do discourage people from "just stopping by to see what's up." We hope you will understand that we want to host you in the best way. To help us manage your interest in volunteering, please visit our Web site at www.patchadams.org, link to "How Can I Help?" or to http://www.patchadams.org and complete the form there. We will call you as we have need of your offered skills. When we resume our active volunteer program, we will only be able to take a fraction of the people wanting to come.

Please get in touch with us during the Spring of 2000 to arrange a volunteering opportunity...

Please read our book "GESUNDHEIT" by Patch Adams with chapters written by other members on "Organizing Dreamers" and "Living on the Land". This book provides the philosophy and chronology of the project through 1997.

Thanks for your interest. Keep having fun.

Yours truly, Jon Luchs, Gesundheit Staff



9. Feb. 1999

Hi guys,

The response to the newsletter from Gesundheit was really wonderful, very affirming. Thank you. You will hear again from them soon.

In the mean time, Richard and I thought we should let you in on what is new at GesundheitInst.org. Since I personally get bored by eMail tomes, this will be short and sweet with links to more information. Thanks again for stopping in!

What are the new architects drawings at Gesundheit?
There are a dozen or so now, I am sure that some will be new to you. My favorite is the giant "Whoopee Cushion" out by the Swan Lake.

The forums are becoming a wonderful on-line community!
This is my favorite part of the site, strangers becoming friends by being creative, kind, generous, loving! I look forward to seeing who has been around and how the expression of Patch's style has affected people. I really enjoy the dialogue between people. What nice people we all are! We are taking this vision home with us to our own communities, new ideas are emerging, care is being sought and found. Imagine how dynamic we could be if each one of us brought just one good friend into the forums. Lets try it!

Send postcards to friends (and pick up yours) to spread the joy!
You can send messages with photos, Java videos, and music all on your way into the site. Get in touch with someone who you have been meaning to contact, each time you visit. It is fun, easy and free. Invite them to share Patch's insights, join the forums, see the wonderful drawings, share Valentines day... just be in touch with those you love. It is good for all parties concerned. http://www.patchadams.org

Send contributions or sign up to the help database
Our sister ship PatchAdams.org has linked to our site so that you can do both of these things as requested. You will find links to these pages on the front page of our site at http://www.patchadams.org

 

We have added profiles of this sites contributors

You have asked about us, so we stepped up to the plate. See what other things we are all working on, as the rest of this web site evolves.

Patch's books
We linked to Amazon.com so that you could find "Gesundheit" and "House Calls" easily. When I ordered recently I had the book in hand in two days and at 15% off. What a deal!

What is next?
In our efforts to help you connect to all of the other amazing people who Patch has drawn to the front, we are testing a web page that will bring you your eMail from any browser and let you reply, forward and send. It is not quite ready for prime time, but soon. We will keep you posted.

What is next? II
Patch is handing out small trifolds called "Take 10 and call me in the morning". He sent me one to post for you on-line. There are 10 books to read (with links to them), questions to ask, 10 things to do, sites to visit (linked of course)... it is fun, and I am adding more photographs among the pages. Probably in about a week.

Feedback from you!I
t is our intention to make GesundheitInst.org the kind of place that you want it to be in order to stay connected with this vision. We need your support to do that, in the form of guidance. Please let us know what you think would be an asset to this community on-line and we will add features as time allows.

Thanks for your time, and support. Please feel free to contact either Richard or me. Our eMail addresses are on most pages of GesundheitInst.org and we would love to hear how we are doing!

Brooke Cunningham ~ Hands On Web Strategies LLC

Richard Campbell ~ Cybertopia