Let's give Valerie a hand
If you don't know Valerie DeFrance you're missing an important piece of EMS history. Before there was a JEMS Online or an EMS1 or an EMT City or EMT Life, there was the EMS House of DeFrance, one of the most comprehensive EMS resources on the web. And the person who ran it, my friend Valerie DeFrance, did it for years via a 56k modem from Hope, AK.
Valerie was an Internet pioneer, building or helping others build and host dozens of EMS educational websites over the years and she still maintains the House of DeFrance, the premier EMS news and education site. Valerie is one of our most important EMS dinosaurs. Over the years she has offered her expertise and knowledge to anyone needing a hand, and doing so more often than not without charge. Valerie has always been a giver... never a taker.
Valerie was an Internet pioneer, building or helping others build and host dozens of EMS educational websites over the years and she still maintains the House of DeFrance, the premier EMS news and education site. Valerie is one of our most important EMS dinosaurs. Over the years she has offered her expertise and knowledge to anyone needing a hand, and doing so more often than not without charge. Valerie has always been a giver... never a taker.
Only a few years ago Valerie lost her husband to cancer. The medical bils were massive and Valerie had to sell many of her assets to pay them. Now Valerie is diagnosed with breast cancer and has no more assets to sell to cover her own bills. She needs our help.
Medically speaking, to this point at least, Valerie has been doing fairly well and has a better than average chance of winning the battle, but the bills are stacking up. Valerie is now at a point now where she needs radiation treatments, and another problem has arisen... an immediate problem.
To get to the oncology clinic in Anchorage where she goes for her treatments, Valerie must drive 75 miles one way. Fuel in Alaska is $4.00 or so a gallon, so these trips are breaking the bank. The ongoing treatments have left Valerie unable to work and therefore without income. In the long run there will be those substantial medical bills to pay, but right now we just need to get her to the clinic and back. We need to kick in and help her get past this hurdle.
Valerie has been there for us all these years. Now it is time we return the favor. We already know how far Valerie will go to help the EMS profession, lets see what we can do for her when she needs us.
The Chip-in widget you see below will remain on this page until we reach the very modest goal of $10,000. This amount is a far cry from what will be needed in the long run, but it will buy the gas and get Valerie some groceries while she makes these trips back and forth. One step at a time.
Click the ChipIn button to donate a few bucks, and then click the <copy> button to copy the html for embedding on your blog. Spread the word boys and girls! Valerie needs our help!
UPDATE:
Got a message from an old friend wanting to chip in but he didn't want to use PayPal. No problem. Just mail a check to:
Valerie DeFrance
28204 Hope Hwy
Hope, AK 9905
You can also send cards and letters to that address. Valerie will be thrilled to hear from you.
UPDATE 2:
Some who have tried to use the widget can't get it to work. This is most likely a browser setting or compatibility problem, but as a work-around you can send your donation directly to Valerie's PayPal account.
You DO NOT need a PayPal account of your own to do this. Just click on this link to PayPal and follow the directions you find on the page. Make the donation (payment) to emsn-news@att.net.
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