Be on BALITANG AMERICA

Here's an announcement/invitation from my reporting mothership, The Filipino Channel's Balitang America.

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Until May 10, ang ating Isyu Ngayon ay ang ELEKSYON!

Bilang Overseas Filipinos, lahat po tayo ay may saloobin tungkol sa mga kandidato, sa halalan at sa bayan.

Ano ang inyong opinyon?

Tell us!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

1. Record your comments on video, then upload to www.youtube.com. Keep it short (10 - 15 seconds is best!)

2. E-mail the youtube link to balitangamerica@abs-cbni.com

3. Tell us your name, city, and state where you're from.

4. Watch yourself on Balitang America (TFC 5:05 PM PT/8:05 PM ET) or check www.balitangamerica.tv *

*Submissions may be edited for length.

Free Medical, Dental & Vision Care Event in Los Angeles

If you don't have medical, dental or vision insurance, plan to go the Remote Area Medical (RAM) free clinic this coming April 27. It runs till May 3.

RAM's all-volunteer medical professionals will provide free medical, dental and vision care to thousands individuals in the Los Angeles area.

The free clinic will be held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, 3939 North Figueroa Street, near USC.

Right now, they are expecting to treat about 1,200 people a day, but they could see more patients depending on the final number of volunteers and participating organizations. Fil-Am medical professionals/groups, sign up to volunteer at http://www.ramfreeclinic.org/

They need California licensed/certified specialists: ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, dentists, registered dental hygienists, certified dental hygienists, and triage RNs/LPNs.

Free care will be provided to anyone who needs it, without cost of any kind to the patient, the taxpayer or the government. No income test, no insurance requirement, and no restriction of any kind.

Medical and non-medical personnel will all be volunteers; supplies and equipment will be donated or provided by RAM. There will be at least 100 dental stations, 45 medical exam rooms, 25 eye exam stations.

The event is planned and operated by Remote Area Medical, a Volunteer 501(c)(3) charity providing free care to uninsured, underinsured, and indigent Individuals throughout the United States .

I read about someone who has insurance but went to a RAM event last time they were here because his dental insurance is the largely worthless kind: the HMO one. He has been postponing getting dental treatment because of the prohibitive cost so he was very grateful to finally get much-needed dental attention.

For more info, visit: http://www.ramusa.org/

Update

I will try to update this blog more often. I know I've said that before but this time I think I have a better plan.


I'm working to get several interesting interviews - stories of Fil-Ams doing well and doing things that matter, as well as those whose lives can serve as inspirations and even lessons for the rest of us.


Also coming: more consumer-related posts and news you can use.


Most of these posts will be FilipinOnline exclusive. It's the only way I can do some of these stories - some of them I won't be able to do for TV or print due to various reasons. There are a few that I've pitched and hopefully will be approved for TV but now I won't stop pursuing a story if the show can't approve it. I understand that TV reaches the widest number of people and I would love for some of the stories to end up there but due to the show's budget constraints or editorial decisions (such as when a subject has already been featured in a short report by a colleague), that is just not possible at this time. This way, I can do more comprehensive stories and try to provide more information and hopefully inspire or caution kababayans as needed.


It won't be easy. Blogging doesn't pay - not for me, anyway. I don't have a sponsor; I've never really looked for one. Maybe soon, but for now, I'm okay with doing this because I feel it's important not because it will give me something back. This is on my bucket list: to be able to make a difference to someone's life even in the smallest way through the opportunities I've been given. I won't wait till it's too late to do this.