Date: November 7th 2007

Hi Newcomers,

I wanted to let you know that I am auctioning a canoe and pair of snowshoes (both are lightly used and were donated by generous faculty) to benefit a Natural Resources graduate student emergency medical fund. There is a flier attached with photos of the equipment, and details on how to participate. The auction will be conducted entirely via email, and I will update bidders every 2ish days so that the action stays somewhat lively and dynamic. In the unlikely event that there are ties, they will be broken via random draw.

The emergency medical fund was established two years ago when I was seriously injured in a bicycle accident. I didn't have insurance and was looking at medical bills that would exceed $100,000.00. Although my bills were covered by another avenue, the accident illuminated the risk-exposure that faced uninsured students. Nationally, medical bills are the number one cause of personal bankruptcy and they are a leading cause of student drop-out. USU graduate students do not receive health insurance benefits, and most are not covered by their parents or through an individual plan. Additionally, the student health insurance plan is very expensive, has a benefit maximum, and very high co-payments for emergency care and hospitalization. Natural Resources graduate students started raising money to create a scholarship fund that would assist CNR and Ecology Center grads with substantial medical bills. The fund is currently below endowment status and so students are aggressively raising money so that the fund will reach a level where it can begin to award significant gifts.

Please help to support this effort by participating in our auction.

Thank you,

Tammy Wilson
t.w@aggiemail.usu.edu