Report: Fr33 Aid at PorcFest 2011

_{Fr33 Aid Booth at PorcFest 2011}

by Teresa Warmke

PorcFest 2011 was a fun and successful event for the Fr33 Aid team. In addition to planning and supporting PorcFest, we’ve created a financially sustainable organization and network of medically skilled liberty lovers from far and wide.

Preparations

We started planning for PorcFest 2011 shortly after the conclusion of PorcFest 2010. By the time PorcFest 2011 began, we had over 20 medically skilled volunteers willing to help us out and had gathered the equipment and supplies we needed.

In order to provide the programs and services we planned, some investments were required, and the Fr33 Aid team stepped up to the plate. Several team members fronted the money required to acquire printed T-shirts and materials, pharmacy items, signage and logistical items. Several volunteers loaned equipment to Fr33 Aid or indicated a willingness to be reimbursed later for any medical supplies used. Roger’s Campground didn’t charge us for our space, which was in a prime location right next to registration.

On the first day of PorcFest, two new team members found us and volunteered to take on some shifts of being on-call and booth support. Later in the week, other medically skilled liberty lovers indicated a willingness to help us out with future events. Many team members volunteered for extra shifts of booth duty, because they enjoyed being part of what we were doing. I always came away from the Fr33 Aid booth feeling energized by the support and community, and I found myself spending a lot of time there.

Fr33 Aid in the Liberty Community

Many individuals and businesses support Fr33 Aid via promotions or other services. For example, Mike Gogulski provides basic IT support and ad-free website hosting for Fr33 Aid via his Freedom Blogs company. Garland Fixx of Eclectic Circle provides design services for Fr33 Aid T-shirts, buttons and stickers. George Mandrik from George’s Famous Baklava set out a donation jar for Fr33 Aid at his booth at PorcFest and offered to wear a dress all day Saturday at PorcFest if Fr33 Aid raised at least $350, and Xaq Fixx of Fixx Brewing pledged to join Mandrik in dress-wearing if we raised at least $500. As evidenced by the photo below, that goal was met!

_{Mandrik and Xaq show off their dresses with Co-Founders Teresa and Garland}

Fixx Brewing also collected donations for Fr33 Aid and donated $1 from each sale of its Gluten Fr33 Ale to Fr33 Aid. Ted and Nikki Wray donated 50% of the proceeds from their glow stick sales to Fr33 Aid. Darryl Perry donated a tent. Jeff Johnson donated a percentage of beef jerky sales to Fr33 Aid, and Stephanie Murphy collected donations for Fr33 Aid at her yoga classes at PorcFest. Many donations at PorcFest were in the form of silver, shire silver or copper, which is always appreciated by the Fr33 Aid team.

First Aid

The injuries we treated were mostly minor in nature. The majority were cuts and scrapes, along with a few sprained ankles. These tended to occur all at once near the end of the afternoon/ early evening when many people were participating in athletic activities or cooking. Hangovers were more frequent toward the end of the week, and we treated these with sympathy and ibuprofen. We treated several bug bites, including three tick removals. There were a few food-related allergies but no food poisoning nor any vendor safety issues reported.

Two people were referred to the clinic in Lancaster, about seven miles away from the campground. One had a nodule on her back from before PorcFest, and another was bitten by a dog after a dog was running around loose and got into a fight with a leashed dog. In total there were two dog bites, and Fr33 Aid has been working with one of the dog bite victims and PorcFest organizers to publicize guidelines about dogs at PorcFest for next year.

The most surprising incident was when a light in the pavilion fell on one of the participants on Friday evening. A Fr33 Aid volunteer was also present and sprang into action. The victim was treated for a laceration on his eyebrow but was otherwise oriented and fine to continue enjoying PorcFest. He came by the Fr33 Aid booth the next day to thank us and buy some beef jerky.

Feedback

During PorcFest we received many thanks and compliments on our services from participants, which were inspiring to the Fr33 Aid team. After PorcFest, we specifically requested any additional feedback online or privately via email. We received many positive comments, no complaints, and a few suggestions for additional items to have on hand next year. A sampling of the online comments we received are copied below:

“I think Fr33 Aid is an awesome and important addition to PorcFest, and everything looked great!”

“Thanks Fr33 Aid for fixing my boo boo!”

“I stopped by for my son after he bashed his head on a metal spike. Thank you to the volunteers who were there. It was a wonderful service to have.”

“When libertarian-naive folks ask how community-oriented services can be provided in a stateless society, Fr33 Aid should be cited as one of those examples.”

“The free cortisone cream was a life saver from all those mosquitoes! And the ibuprofen was also helpful for when I had a hangover…. But yeah over Fr33 Aid was wonderful that’s why I gave you guys a donation even though it was not required”

“Overall I gotta say Fr33 Aid rocks. I’ve worked in a kitchen long enough to know that accidents are bound to happen. Having a first aid kit is important, but having actual people there to help with injuries is even better.”

Highlights

Fr33 Aid volunteers helped dozens of people, with no life-threatening emergencies.
We connected with several medically-skilled liberty lovers who we hadn’t previously met, including two who immediately began working with us at PorcFest.
On Monday, Greg Bell stopped by our booth to thank us for what we’re doing and gave us 20 silver dimes: one for each Fr33 Aid volunteer who was helping at PorcFest.
147 PorcFest participants completed a CPR-related activity at our booth and indicated a willingness to help any victims of cardiac arrest that may occur. By mid-week, Fr33 Heart buttons could be seen on shirts, hats, jackets and purses all over the campground.
Fr33 Aid was discussed on several radio programs during PorcFest, including Ernie Hancock’s Declare Your Independence show on Tuesday, Free Talk Live later in the week and Prometheus Unchained on Saturday. A feature on Fr33 Aid also ran in the July edition of the Freedom’s Phoenix e-zine.
Liberty on Tour interviewed Fr33 Aid organizers Stephanie, Garland and Teresa; see their video here.
Dave Ridley interviewed Fr33 Aid organizer Teresa on Thursday, in which she highlighted the Fr33 Aid team as one of the reasons she’s optimistic about the world. See that video here.
Sky Conway offered free admission to Libertopia for 3-4 Fr33 Aid team members. Now we just need to raise the money required to get us there!
We raised over $700 in cash and silver, allowing us to reimburse all Fr33 Aid volunteers who had fronted money for supplies and equipment and leaving some funds for future projects.

Thank you!

Big thanks to everyone who contributed to Fr33 Aid’s success at PorcFest 2011!

_{Reposted from FR33Aid.com}