GoFundMe Can't Fix Healthcare
Tax deductible
GoFundMe hosts over 250,000 medical campaigns a year, yet studies show that nine out of ten of these campaigns don’t meet their stated financial goals and the majority don’t even get halfway there. For marginalized groups, especially people of color and the LGBTQ community, the fundraising statistics are even more disheartening.
As the pandemic has made all too clear, the US healthcare system is a complex, confusing, and cruel mess. Despite having the highest overall healthcare costs in the developed world, the US ranks last in many measurements of healthcare access and quality. Too many people are not getting the care they need.
The first step in changing our healthcare system is understanding our healthcare system. On behalf of theThe Center For Cartoon Studies (CCS), I am asking for your help to raise $3500 to print and distribute Health and Wealth, A Graphic Guide To The US Healthcare System as part of a public health education campaign.
The goal of the comic is to provide a baseline understanding of the healthcare system so people can feel a little less intimidated by its complexity and cruelty, and more empowered to advocate for themselves and those they care for.
WHY HEALTHCARE
Healthcare is one of the most urgent issues of our day. A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that health care costs top the list of household expenses the public worries about affording and that Americans consistently put health care costs at the top of their list when it comes to issues they want their elected leaders to address.
OUR HEALTHCARE (COMIC) PLAN
If we meet our fundraising goal, we will send all 535 members of Congress a copy of this comic book. We will also send copies to partner organizations that promote healthcare education and reform like Physicians For A National Health Program and The Graphic Medicine International Collective, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to guide and support the use of comics in health.
WHERE THE MONEY GOES
Your donation and the funds raised from this campaign will go directly towards printing and shipping. The costs for the creation of the comic itself have already been funded. If this campaign exceeds its $3500 goal, we will increase the book's print run and share the comic with organizations that look to generate discussions around healthcare and healthcare reform.
COMICS FOR ALL
A digital version of the comic book and an accompanying engagement guide will be available online for free this summer. Backers of this campaign will be the first to know when the comic and guide is ready to share.
A PICTURE BOOK PRESCRIPTION
A comic book may seem like an odd medium to engage with such a complex and serious topic as healthcare but according to education advocate and The New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly, “When it’s done well, a cartoon can actually be not a reduction, but a summation and a distillation of complex ideas.” Health and Wealth was inspired by SchoolHouse Rock videos, classic board games, and children’s book artists like Richard Scarry who have the magical ability to educate and delight readers while exploring complicated topics.
An excerpt of the comic book can be found at cartoonstudies.org/healthcare
As the pandemic has made all too clear, the US healthcare system is a complex, confusing, and cruel mess. Despite having the highest overall healthcare costs in the developed world, the US ranks last in many measurements of healthcare access and quality. Too many people are not getting the care they need.
The first step in changing our healthcare system is understanding our healthcare system. On behalf of theThe Center For Cartoon Studies (CCS), I am asking for your help to raise $3500 to print and distribute Health and Wealth, A Graphic Guide To The US Healthcare System as part of a public health education campaign.
The goal of the comic is to provide a baseline understanding of the healthcare system so people can feel a little less intimidated by its complexity and cruelty, and more empowered to advocate for themselves and those they care for.
WHY HEALTHCAREHealthcare is one of the most urgent issues of our day. A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that health care costs top the list of household expenses the public worries about affording and that Americans consistently put health care costs at the top of their list when it comes to issues they want their elected leaders to address.
OUR HEALTHCARE (COMIC) PLAN
If we meet our fundraising goal, we will send all 535 members of Congress a copy of this comic book. We will also send copies to partner organizations that promote healthcare education and reform like Physicians For A National Health Program and The Graphic Medicine International Collective, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to guide and support the use of comics in health.
WHERE THE MONEY GOESYour donation and the funds raised from this campaign will go directly towards printing and shipping. The costs for the creation of the comic itself have already been funded. If this campaign exceeds its $3500 goal, we will increase the book's print run and share the comic with organizations that look to generate discussions around healthcare and healthcare reform.
COMICS FOR ALL
A digital version of the comic book and an accompanying engagement guide will be available online for free this summer. Backers of this campaign will be the first to know when the comic and guide is ready to share.
A PICTURE BOOK PRESCRIPTION
A comic book may seem like an odd medium to engage with such a complex and serious topic as healthcare but according to education advocate and The New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly, “When it’s done well, a cartoon can actually be not a reduction, but a summation and a distillation of complex ideas.” Health and Wealth was inspired by SchoolHouse Rock videos, classic board games, and children’s book artists like Richard Scarry who have the magical ability to educate and delight readers while exploring complicated topics.
An excerpt of the comic book can be found at cartoonstudies.org/healthcare
OTHERS WAYS TO HELP SUPPORT THIS PROJECT
You can help us spread the word by sharing this campaign with your friends and family on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and your other social media platforms. Follow our twitter page @healthcarecomic and share your own stories and visions of the healthcare system using the tag #healthcarecomic. Together we can build momentum towards a more fair, effective, and affordable healthcare system.
WANT COMICS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION?
If so, let us know by filling out this google form. Copies will be distributed for free beginning in the Fall 2021 while supplies last. We will be in contact if we can accommodate your request.
Thanks for considering supporting this campaign and anything you can give is much appreciated.
WHO WE ARE
Health and Wealth is being created by a team of cartoonists and students from CCS and Harvard College with guidance from scholars, healthcare professionals, and journalists. It is almost finished, and we're excited to share it with you! But first, let us introduce ourselves:
James Sturm enjoys Melatonin and is the Director of the The Center for Cartoon Studies and a 2020-21 Radcliffe Fellow.
Dominick Contreras is accident prone and studies the History of Science at Harvard College (‘23). Dominick plans on becoming a doctor with a focus on the field of public health.
Marissa Diggs is allergic to the outdoors and enjoys ballet. She now studies History and Science at Harvard College (‘22). She loves to teach, and after graduation Marissa hopes to attend medical school to become a clinical pathologist.
Emma Forbes has torn her ACL 3x and studies Social Anthropology, at Harvard College (‘22). She loves reading and doodling and would like to work in youth healthcare one day.
Kazimir Lee was formerly addicted to opioids and is an alum of The Center for Cartoon Studies. Their work can be found on The Nib and their forthcoming graphic novel (with Whit Taylor), Harriet Tubman, Towards Freedom, will be released by Little, Brown and Company in June.
Sam Nakahira is bug phobic and attends the Center for Cartoon Studies (‘21). Sam specializes in journalism and non-fiction essays comics.
Ava Salzman has never broken a bone. Not ever. She studies Integrative Biology and Folklore & Mythology at Harvard College (‘23).
Alisha Yi has broken her bone—and has actually seen it. Yikes! Passionate about storytelling, she studies History and Science at Harvard University (‘22) and plans to attend medical school following college.
...
The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is a small Vermont college that provides the highest quality of education to students interested in creating visual stories. The school's Applied Cartooning initiative creates comics to help us better understand ourselves, our communities, and our world. Check them out:
• This is What Democracy Looks Like, A Graphic Guide To Governance
• Let's Talk About It, A Graphic Guide to Mental Health
You can help us spread the word by sharing this campaign with your friends and family on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and your other social media platforms. Follow our twitter page @healthcarecomic and share your own stories and visions of the healthcare system using the tag #healthcarecomic. Together we can build momentum towards a more fair, effective, and affordable healthcare system.
WANT COMICS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION?
If so, let us know by filling out this google form. Copies will be distributed for free beginning in the Fall 2021 while supplies last. We will be in contact if we can accommodate your request.
Thanks for considering supporting this campaign and anything you can give is much appreciated.
WHO WE ARE
Health and Wealth is being created by a team of cartoonists and students from CCS and Harvard College with guidance from scholars, healthcare professionals, and journalists. It is almost finished, and we're excited to share it with you! But first, let us introduce ourselves:
James Sturm enjoys Melatonin and is the Director of the The Center for Cartoon Studies and a 2020-21 Radcliffe Fellow.
Dominick Contreras is accident prone and studies the History of Science at Harvard College (‘23). Dominick plans on becoming a doctor with a focus on the field of public health.
Marissa Diggs is allergic to the outdoors and enjoys ballet. She now studies History and Science at Harvard College (‘22). She loves to teach, and after graduation Marissa hopes to attend medical school to become a clinical pathologist.
Emma Forbes has torn her ACL 3x and studies Social Anthropology, at Harvard College (‘22). She loves reading and doodling and would like to work in youth healthcare one day.
Kazimir Lee was formerly addicted to opioids and is an alum of The Center for Cartoon Studies. Their work can be found on The Nib and their forthcoming graphic novel (with Whit Taylor), Harriet Tubman, Towards Freedom, will be released by Little, Brown and Company in June.
Sam Nakahira is bug phobic and attends the Center for Cartoon Studies (‘21). Sam specializes in journalism and non-fiction essays comics.
Ava Salzman has never broken a bone. Not ever. She studies Integrative Biology and Folklore & Mythology at Harvard College (‘23).
Alisha Yi has broken her bone—and has actually seen it. Yikes! Passionate about storytelling, she studies History and Science at Harvard University (‘22) and plans to attend medical school following college.
...
The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is a small Vermont college that provides the highest quality of education to students interested in creating visual stories. The school's Applied Cartooning initiative creates comics to help us better understand ourselves, our communities, and our world. Check them out:
• This is What Democracy Looks Like, A Graphic Guide To Governance
• Let's Talk About It, A Graphic Guide to Mental Health
Organizer
James Sturm
Organizer
White River Junction, VT
The Center for Cartoon Studies
Beneficiary