Please be advised that Good Days will be closed on Friday, March 29th, 2024 in observance of Good Friday. We will resume normal hours of operation Monday, April 1st at 8:00 AM Central Standard Time. 

 

Giving Good Days Spring Newsletter- 2020

Click Here to Download the Spring Newsletter

Meet Bill Proctor

An Artist With A Vision

Bill Proctor has experience in computer science, graphic art and sailing, but it’s his latest projects that he is most excited about. “I’m proud of the life that I’ve lived and the accomplishments I’ve made,” says Bill, who turned 75 last year. “My latest project gives me new ambition to share my work with more people.” 

Bill spent most of his life happily living in southern California. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned a PhD in computer engineering. Working with leading computer technology companies of the day, Bill helped design circuits for the very first microprocessors. Bill has sailed most of the North American west coast from Ketchikan to Panama and from Florida to Panama. He even served one year in Merchant Marines off the California coast. For the past 20 years, he has lived and worked on his houseboat in the Santa Barbara harbor. 

By the time he retired, Bill was able to focus on his hobbies of drawing and graphic design. Despite having lost his right eye as a young child, Bill remained wonderfully talented at drawing cartoon figures and graphic art. He had taught himself so well that local companies would occasionally hire him to design their logos. But a degenerative eye disease began to threaten his remaining vision last year. “All of a sudden, everything was out of focus,” said Bill. “I went in to see a doctor who gave me an injection and just as suddenly, my vision was restored. But the treatments I needed were very expensive. I could never afford it living on Social Security.”

Although Bill worked hard his entire life and had saved up for retirement, the monthly recurring costs for his injections were far too expensive to afford. When his doctors applied for assistance from Good Days on Bill’s behalf, he was relieved to find out that the non-profit would help cover the out-of-pocket cost for his treatments.  “I wish I could see better, but I am grateful to see halfway,” says Bill. “Every day I thank the lord for being able to see.”

Jill, Bill’s wife of 15 years, provides support for everyday tasks that he needs help these days. “I know it’s time to bail out of being a sailor,” says Bill. “The coastline here is so beautiful because we have mountains right up to the edge. It is a wonderful pleasure to see that coastline from all these constantly changing angles. You don’t have to go around the world to see beautiful places if you are starting in Santa Barbara.” 

Lately, Bill has been exploring a new type of art form. Combining his computer science background with his art skills, Bill visualizes electromagnetic fields, laser beams and quarks in unique illustrations. Local museums have even expressed interest in showing his latest art. “My ambition is to share these works so that adults and even children can get familiar with the  scientific concepts,” says Bill. “I am not so good with a pencil anymore, but I am able to carry on. I love to look at my artwork and am comfortable using photoshop. I am at a time in my life that I want to get my artwork out to more people.”

Learn more about Bill and see some of his artwork on our Instagram page: @gooddaysorg

CHRONIC DISEASE DAY 2020

CARE. COMMIT. CONNECT.

Each year we host Chronic Disease Day on July 10th to raise awareness for all forms of  chronic and rare disease, to advocate healthy living and to address access to care challenges. Join us this year to help make a difference and lower the number of preventable cases of death from chronic illness. Email  ChronicDiseaseDay@mygooddays.org  to get involved and we will send you a free Chronic Disease Day t-shirt!

 

PARTNER PROFILE

JAKE OLSON AND THE OUT OF SIGHT FAITH FOUNDATION

Few people understand or advocate harder to hold onto hope than Jake Olson. Jake was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer that took his vision in his left eye at only eight months old. He would battle cancer in his right eye numerous times, even- tually becoming fully blind at the age of 12. 

“It’s ok to feel angry and it’s ok to feel sad, but it’s not ok to let those feelings allow you to become blind to the blessings you have in life,” says Jake. “I once viewed my battle with cancer and losing my sight as my biggest setback, but it ended up being my biggest  setup.” 

After completely losing his sight to cancer, Jake became the first blind football player to ever play in a Division I college game. Jake played as a long snapper for the University of Southern California Trojans, where he completed undergraduate studies. His groundbreaking streak in sports is not done just yet. Jake is currently progressing to become a scratch golfer – which means he can play to a course handicap of zero on any and all rated golf courses, something less than one percent of all golfers can do! 

Today, Jake runs the Out of Sight Faith Foundation that he founded, which raises money to buy equipment and technology that helps visually impaired children in school. This equipment enables children to achieve academic excellence despite their vision challenges. Thanks to his hard work, children, adults and their families who have had to deal with the loss of sight are able to live fuller lives. “Setbacks can weigh heavily in your mind,” says Jake. “Living with cancer was my setback for 12 years. But if you change the way you look at these setbacks, you can see the setups. If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

 

SURVEY FOLLOW-UP

YOUR FEEDBACK IS IMPORANT TO US

Thank you for participating in our client survey! We’re proud that more than 98% of respondents indicated that their experience with Good Days was excellent, and that they are highly likely to recommend Good Days to someone else!

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

CLORINDA WALLEY

We are off and running into the new year full steam ahead, with 2020 already shaping up to be one of the busiest in the history of our organization.

Last year we helped more than 200,000 people afford treatments that are essential to their wellbeing but out of reach due to cost. Our non-profit continues to put patients first when it comes to access to care. Our assistance programs help make sure ends meet when it comes to vital treatments. In the decade ahead, we will help hundreds of thousands of more people across the country who have no other options.

Everyone who knows Good Days under- stands that we are much more than a financial assistance organization. We are proud to provide a helping hand when it’s needed most. We take that responsibility seriously, which is why we are so proud of our team of Patient Care Navigators who already this year have been recognized for their outstanding customer service. Between our team of first-class profession- als here in Frisco, Texas and our online real-time chat and message support offered on our website, our charity is more accessible to those we serve than ever before.

Our charity is also more vocal than ever before in advocating for access to care and healthy living, two issues that matter to all of us. In the months ahead, Good Days will partner with The Mighty, the leading online healthy publishing platform in the country, to host public educational campaigns and live online events. Together we will help people identify resources to aid their specif- ic health situation and offer suggestions for better financial planning skills when it comes to affording care.

We’re proud that Good Days will again serve as chair of United for Charitable Assistance this year, a patient-led, patient-focused coalition to protect charita- ble assistance for American patients and their families who face rare, chronic, com- plex or life-threatening conditions. Working with our coalition partners, we will take our message on the importance of access to care to lawmakers across the country.

More immediately though, our number one focus remains on helping those individuals who have nowhere else to turn to access treatments they desperately need. We are grateful for every bit of your support. Thank you for being a part of our community.

Thank you for contributing to make our work possible. Your continued support enables us to help others in need.

Best Wishes,

Clorinda Walley, President

Good Days

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