"I never thought it would happen to me. I've always taken good care of my health, exercised, eaten right, and made sure to have a life outside of work. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was in shock. Adding to the stress of surgery, followed by rounds of chemo and radiation, I discovered that I was not a member of the catastrophic leave bank. I thought I had enrolled, but found that wasn't the case. I am appealing to all of you to make sure you take a moment to fill out this form and enroll yourself in this valuable benefit. If you find yourself in my situation, you can take comfort in knowing that if you've donated you won't have to worry about your income or health care for up to one year after your leave begins. Having less stress at a time of great personal difficulty would have left me with more energy to focus on healing."
Anne Hamilton, Melrose Leadership Academy
Your best guarantee of coverage during a serious illness is to be a part of the Catastrophic Leave Bank. Remember, if you donate one time to the catastrophic leave bank, this benefit will cover you for up to twelve calendar months.
Anne has run out of sick days, and her 100 days of extended leave will end in November. OEA will be sending out a special appeal on Anne's behalf in an upcoming email blast, asking for donations of sick days from individual members so she can continue her treatment and recuperation. OEA is there to support our members during their time of need. And we thank OUSD for its support of our efforts on behalf of their employees.
The deadline is October 31. Ask your colleagues, "Have you contributed yet?"
Click here for enrollment form.
In Unity,
Trish Gorham, President
Oakland Education Association
