***NEW 15K STRETCH GOAL*** Help Us Restore Our Rainy-Day Fund and Expand Services

Project Description (**NEW 15K STRETCH GOAL**): 

(⭐ This week's service spotlight: Women's Clinic! Finish reading until the end to learn more :^) )

Since 1989, the Suitcase Clinic has provided free, frontline healthcare and social services to underserved communities in Berkeley, and particularly people experiencing homelessness. We are a student-led humanitarian organization staffed by 100+ trained student volunteers, and work in collaboration with licensed medical and legal professionals. All donations are tax deductible (IRS EIN: 94-6090626 and Revenue Canada: 154146). 

Our services include professional medical care, haircutting, food security, and foot washing, which are often otherwise inaccessible to those we serve.

We are seeking $15,000 (stretch goal) to restore our depleted post-COVID rainy-day fund and expand services — ensuring we can consistently provide high-quality care to the 40–60 clients we see weekly at our three drop-in clinics, and the 75+ people we routinely reach through community outreach walks. We are crowdfunding because institutional funding restrictions (e.g., school grants) prevent us from purchasing essential clinic materials like nutritious meals and hygiene kits. All supplies are distributed directly to community members on a weekly basis.

"Through Suitcase, I genuinely feel like I am making a difference, and it brings me a lot of happiness" - Student Volunteer, Youth and LBGTQ+ Clinic

We have ample committed volunteers, reliable clinic spaces, and a longstanding, trusted name among the populations we serve. Our barrier to providing care is consistently financial. Last semester, we were forced to provide incomplete services and turn away clients — not because of any lack of committed volunteers, but because of financial limitations. For example, we ran out of lotion, towels, and socks at our footwashing station. We are going on community outreach walks with broken, three-wheeled wagons. Clients have requested support such as tarps for rainy weather, warm clothing, and Clipper cards to commute to clinics, but we have been unable to provide these because of financial constraints.

We are counting on support through this project to ensure we can continue providing essential resources this semester and in future ones, and to also expand our services to better meet community need. We would distribute all funds we raise to our three clinics and outreach team proportionately, based on the number of community members served:

The above rough distribution will hold up until $15K. After that, all additional funds will go toward strengthening our rainy-day fund and sustaining expanded services in future semesters. 

What your Donations Can Help Provide:

• $700 – Food provisions for all our community outreach walks for an entire semester
• $500 — Food provisions for all three clinics for an entire semester
• $200 — Haircutting and Foot-Washing supplies for all three clinics
• $50 — Sleeping Bag or Rain Jacket for a client
• $20 — Warm blanket for a client

"Suitcase is a congregation of the kindest souls who amidst their busy schedules and schoolwork come out each week to give their time to a wonderful community...you can visibly see the impact of the work being done." - Kathy, Student Caseworker @ General Clinic

By donating, you join us in our mission of advocacy and direct service with dignity—helping us meet expressed needs of our community with greater availability and consistency. We are deeply grateful for any contribution you might be able to provide, as your support directly determines the services we offer. Can we count on your help?

✉️ Contact info ✉️:

Email: suitcaseclinic1989@gmail.com (⭐ For inquiries about non-monetary donations (e.g., food, clothing), please email suitcaseclinic1989@gmail.com and CC aralyn_connolly@berkeley.edu, bao_9804@berkeley.edu, & mdevries.jd2029@berkeley.edu) 

Webpage: https://www.suitcaseclinic.org/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suitcaseclinic/ 

Instagram handles: @thesuitcaseclinic @yqt_suitcase

⚡ BONUS: Weekly Service Spotlight – Women's Clinic! ⚡

(Check back in on our crowdfunding or social media pages weekly for new spotlights & ways to see your donation leaving an impact! Updated on Sundays.)

❣️ What is Women's Clinic? ❣️

        Women's Clinic is a weekly clinic open to all woman-identifying community members and childen. As is with all our clinics, at Women's Clinic clients can receive a variety of free health and social services (e.g., haircutting, hot meals, footwashing), all while spending time with fellow women. However, Women's Clinic also hosts additional services, including nail painting and babysitting during clinic hours. It's frequently called the coziest of our three clinics, and every client is known by name.  

To preserve client confidentiality, we won't be sharing pictures of our Women's Clinic during this Service Spotlight. However, meet some of our fantastic Women's Clinic volunteers! : )

✅ Women's Clinic's Goals ✅

       Should we raise enough crowdfunding money, here's some ways Women's Clinic hopes to expand services!

• Women's beauty and skincare supplies - $150 (+ bonus quote from a volunteer): "Suitcase doesn’t aim to just provide the bare minimum. It always goes above and beyond in not just treating patients’ health, but affirming their dignity. Beauty products like nail polish and skincare are key examples of how we don’t just care about clients’ survival, but their belonging, joy, and humanity. Everyone deserves a little something extra:) because it’s really not extra at all, it’s one of the most important parts of clinic!" - Women's Clinic Student Volunteer (Anonymous)
• Haircutting station upgrades (cont'd) - $300: purchasing supplies including towels, shampoo and conditioner, a wash basin, razors, clippers & clipper blades, and equipment for 4C hair. We are also in contact with professional barbers, who'd we hire if funds allow (women's hair is especially hard to cut!)
• Misc. services - $500: Women's Clinic hopes to expand a variety of services and resources, including hiring someone for tax filing support for clients, purchasing Clipper Cards to help clients access clinics, establishing a small birthday fund to celebrate the birthdays of children who come to clinic, etc.
• ... and more!
  

⭐ Stories from our Women's Clinic volunteers! ⭐

• "Suitcase’s mission of serving our community members in its multifaceted work really aligned with me. I saw how the unhoused community of Berkeley echoed what I saw growing up in Stockton. I wanted to be more actionable and intentional in supporting these folks and felt that Suitcase was a great space for me to learn more about advocacy, policy and supporting the unhoused community in the bay. I love the space that Women’s clinic has. I’ve been able to have conversations and share a hot chocolate with so many resilient women that have shared me a lot of knowledge." - Jamie, Community Outreach and Advocacy (Women's Clinic) 
• "Suitcase Clinic is the one community on campus where I KNOW I am making a difference. Whether it be handing out hot meals, emergency blankets, hygiene supplies, or just spending quality time and seeing people for who they are rather than defining them by a circumstance, the clinic supports the Berkeley community with little actions that make a big difference. No dollar is wasted here, and each donation will make a positive impact on our operations and support for the Berkeley community." - Satvika, Impact Measurement and Advocacy Coordinator (Women's Clinic)