By ‘The Future’ I mean May 2, 2010 — no sci-fi here. Pull out your calendars and pencil in the fun. You can register your team today.
And by ‘Bowl for Women’s Health’ I mean ‘Strike Down Barriers to Abortions’! This year’s Bowl-A-Thon is fun for the whole family.
Money raised through starting up a team, pestering your friends to join you, and then buying lots of nachos from our dear hosts at Town Hall Lanes, all go to support the kick-ass Women’s Health and Education Fund. More on WHEF after the jump.
What is a Bowl-a-Thon?
Two hours of cosmic bowling, delicious goodies, music, contests, and a chance to win fantastic raffle items all while raising money for a great cause! For each $10 you raise, you will receive a raffle ticket to put towards the prize of your choice. So, the more money you raise, the better your chances are at winning fabulous prizes and raffle items.
Teams are comprised of 4-6 people, but individuals are certainly encouraged to participate — just sign up to be a part of Spares and Strikes.
If you have any questions, please email us at Bowl4WHEF@gmail.com
Sunday, May 2, 3pm to 5pm, Town Hall Lanes, 1463 Atwood Avenue, Johnston, RI
The Women’s Health and Education Fund: What We Do
We support Rhode Island women who choose abortion or contraceptive care but cannot afford the cost.
We provide educational programs & financial assistance for the reproductive health care needs of low income women. We do this by working directly with local clinics. Women in need of funding should have their clinic contact WHEF on their behalf.
We help about 200 women per year obtain abortion care. Women can usually afford about half the cost of a procedure, the clinics reduce their fees, and we make up the difference (averaging about $125 per woman). Besides women who cannot afford an abortion, we also provide undocumented women and women who are in abusive relationships with assistance in terminating unwanted pregnancies.
The good news is that RIteCare, Rhode Island Medical Assistance Program, provides excellent contraceptive care. The program covers all FDA-approved forms of contraception. However, thousands of women are not eligible for RIteCare. Women who do not have children and who work low-wage jobs that do not provide health insurance cannot get contraceptive care through RIteCare. Title X provides some funding for uninsured women, but many are turned away. In our effort to prevent unwanted pregnancies, the Women’s Health and Education Fund started the Contraception Access Program. We provide flat grants to family planning clinics to help them meet the needs of women seeking contraceptive care but have no insurance and aren’t eligible for Title X funds. We help nearly 500 women per year access both regular contraceptive care and emergency contraception (the morning after pill).
We also join in action with other pro-choice individuals and organizations to promote policy changes so that women may have access to reproductive health care. We were active in the passage of the Prescription Equity Act that requires all Rhode Island health insurers to include contraception as part of their coverage. We support comprehensive sex education and work in coalition to support pro-choice initiatives both locally and nationally.