Ned Erickson: UPDATE Week of July 6

Weekly Update

Being Fellows while living through a Pandemic

A line of cars stretches around the block at a testing center in Winston-Salem

Assistant Director Hef Turner and Ned

Hef and Ned are working with local Doctors and with Fellows Directors from around the country to come up with a plan.

Our goal is to make this upcoming year the best year it can be under these challenging circumstances.

We have received a lot of great input and insight from friends, directors, and the medical community. In order to move forward in an intentional, strategic way, we are pleased to announce that we have recruited the help of Dr. Travis Howell, the local system leader for community medicine at Novant Health to be our go to consultant.

Travis Howell

Travis is part of the team coordinating Novant Helath's COVID response. He is also working with local universities to come up with their strategic plans to re-open. Additionally, he is a family practice and internal medicine specialist, so if we end up having a Fellow with a Positive test, he will able to help us coordinate care as well as do contact tracing.

What are the types of things that will look different you may wonder?

Well, before the program starts, we will be requiring our Fellows to come with a Negative COVID test. We will be extending our Orientation to eliminate any chance our Fellows enter the program with COVID.

From there, we will be limiting the exposure risks for our Fellows.

The good news is that there are things we can do to extremely limit our chances of contracting or passing on COVID.

Lia has been dealing with COVID patients for nearly three months, and she has not gotten the virus herself. How? It is pretty simple. She wears a mask. She keeps her distance. And she washes her hands.

We will be enforcing these practices with our Fellows when they are in the community. If we do this well, we will eliminate much of the risk that our Fellows and those who come in contact with the Fellows will experience.

Other things that we are working on:

Outdoor Meeting Spaces

Outdoor Classes

Host Family v. Community Living

Ensuring jobs can be done remotely

Safe, Non-Home Workspace

We will not be able to do the Fellows Program like we usually are able to do it. However, we are convinced we can provide our Fellows with the best possible experience that they could have under these circumstances - which is saying a lot!

RECRUITING UPDATE

We need one more!

We continue to search for our 12th Fellow. We are holding this spot open for a male. If you know of someone in their early twenties who is looking for an opportunity of a lifetime - please put them in contact with us today!

Meet a few Fellows - and help them find homes and jobs!

Tori Ellingson

Tori is a go getter, who would love to work in a relatively small business where she can pitch in everywhere. She has a particular interest in Health Care.

Caroline Filston

Caroline is others-centered and has a desire to serve in the area of social work and community development.

Meghan Beck

Meghan has a beautiful gift of empathy. She will thrive in an environment where she can work directly with people both in clinical and non-clinical arenas, particularly in ABA.

Sam Bishop

Sam is a relational machine who has an interest in ministry and working with children.

If you have any connections, leads, or ideas - send them to winstonsalemfellows@gmail.com or text or call (336) 413-4918

GIVING

Sophie-Earle is celebrating

We want to celebrate our supporters! Thank you! Each donor - big and small - helps make this program go. This year, we need your help more than ever.

Please consider donating today. Every little bit counts!

Send checks to

Winston-Salem Fellows

PO Box 20514

Winston-Salem, NC 27120

or give online

wsfellows.com/give

there is a monthly giving option on the website link.

Thank you so much for your continued support. We are committed to spending every dollar wisely.

LOOKING AHEAD

We continue the air traffic control job of finding Host Families and Jobs...

please pray! and if you have ideas, send them our way!!!

Other items:

Monday - working with folks in Waughtown to coordinate Youth Activities this summer for kids who don't have camps or programs to go to.

Tuesday - working with Horizons Residential Care Center to create meaningful spiritual and relational experiences and programming for the residents and their families as well as eventually the greater Differing Abilities Community.

Also - attending a two-day training to become a Facilitator for Generous Giving.

Wednesday - Fellows Initiative Directors Meeting and Day Two of Generous Giving Facilitator Training

Thursday - Zoom meeting with Incoming Fellows

Exciting stuff!

PHOTOS FROM THE WEEK INCLUDING THE 4TH