Community | Mysite

"When 'I' is replaced by 'we', even 'illness' becomes 'wellness'."

- Malcolm X

The health of a community impacts the health of an individual greatly, and as practitioners, we have a duty to serve our community however we're able. As our practice continues to grow, we hope the opportunities we have to serve our community also continues to grow. Here, you'll find a list of the organizations with which we volunteer. We'll also keep a running list of organizations that have come to our attention that are meeting great needs in the communities that we interact with regularly, to whom we donate time, supplies, and/or money. If you have any questions about our interactions with these organizations, or if you represent an organization that you feel would align with our ideals, please don't hesitate to contact us!

Organizations with which we volunteer:

Louisville Acupuncture Project
This organization currently provides free community acupuncture services to veterans and first responders. Free clinic hours are currently held twice a month, on the first and third Wednesday of each month, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at Highlands Community Ministries, 1228 E. Breckenridge Street in Louisville, 40204. The community style setting provides a social gathering experience, while practitioners from across the city provide symptom-specific targeted treatments. Check out our Facebook page for more information.

Organizations to which we donate (and how!):

Change Today, Change Tomorrow
This organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that does SO MANY THINGS! They help provide food and personal care items to our city's unhoused population through the Umoja Project, distribute menstrual products through their It's Friday, Period initiative, bring resources to Black trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary folks through their collaboration with Diversity At The Table on the Black Trans Relief Fund, and so much more. Check them out at change-today.org, or on Facebook. We support Change Today, Change Tomorrow by donating needed items (they have a running needs list with donation drop site information on their Instagram and Facebook stories every week) as well as making monetary donations when we can.

ACLU of Kentucky
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky works to protect Kentucky residents' rights and also works to extend those rights to those who have traditionally been excluded: women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, incarcerated individuals, individuals with disabilities, and young individuals. As of 2020, the ACLU of Kentucky has been protecting our liberties for 65 years, and has put forward so much effort to make sure that all Kentuckians have equal access to everything granted to us under the U.S. and state constitutions. Current focus issues include COVID-19 protections, abolition of the dealth penalty, immigrants' rights, justice reform, LGBTQ+ rights, and the Reproductive Freedom Project. Find them at aclu-ky.org, or on Facebook.

Asia Institute Crane House
The Asia Institute Crane House was founded in 1987 by Helen Lang, a 501(c)(3) non-profit celebrating and supporting Asian heritage through education and cultural programming and services, and through growth and development support for local Asian-owned businesses. Its Teaching in Asia program, sponsored by the Freeman Foundation, allows Kentucky teachers to travel to Asia to work with high school English teachers and students, to provide English language and American cultural education. AICH also operates a gallery that has hosted art exhibitions to showcase the work of Asian and Asian American artists.

Planned Parenthood (Louisville)
Planned Parenthood a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides high-quality, affordable health care, including pregnancy and STI testing, contraception and other family planning, cancer screening, and sexual education with or without insurance.

Kentucky Health Justice Network
KHJN is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is working to ensure that every Kentuckian has the agency, autonomy, and access to make the best possible medical decisions for themselves From direct services like their KHJN Support Fund and Trans Health Advocacy program to educational initiatives including their "What is Reproductive Justice" workshop, KHJN is such an important support and advocacy organization for all of us.

Queer Kentucky
Queer Kentucky is an LGBTQ+ run 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that works to support and enhance Queer culture through storytelling, education, and action to recognize, celebrate, and enhance the lives of LGBTQ+ folks throughout Kentucky.

Kaydee's Promise Feline Rescue
Kaydee's Promise Feline rescue is a 501(c)(3) no-kill foster-based cat rescue in Louisville and Taylorsville. They take in medical fosters, and are so dedicated to the well-being of each cat they rescue! Check them out on Facebook or at the Pet Smart on Westport Road (or volunteer with them to help these kitties find their forever home!). We support Kaydee's Promise by purchasing supplies through the Amazon Smile program whenever possible. It's a super simple donation method to set up, and is free!

Jutsu Aiki Martial Arts This organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports disadvantaged members of the community by bringing martial arts, holistic movements, and alternative health to the underprivileged. Their focus is martial arts first and foremost, but they also work to bring personal sustainability from a physical approach by teaching martial arts, nutrition, and exercise science as well as a mental and emotional approach by fostering self-expression through art, music, theater and film, and podcasting. Jutsu Aiki has recently acquired a historic building in the Portland neighborhood with a wonderful history (it used to be a gym where Muhammad Ali trained!!), and is working to renovate the building in order to open a permanent school there. Check them out at jutsuaiki.org, or on Facebook. You can also donate through their Patreon.

Long-Term Goals: It's not a sprint, it's a marathon!

Free Clinic

Since Courtney decided to go back to school to become an acupuncturist, it has always been one of her goals to be able to support opening a completely free clinic in an underserved area of Louisville. In fact, her initial plan was to operate as a non-profit center in the Portland neighborhood. While the initial plan has been scrapped in order to make ends meet in the immediate future, the free clinic is still absolutely going to happen. Eventually. The goal here is to be able to operate a secondary location under the Healthy Point Acupuncture umbrella as a free satellite clinic. No money exchange at all. Not even a donation jar for patients to drop in what they can afford at the time for their treatments. At this point, it's unclear whether this location will be structured as a community-style clinic, with a single open room and a collection of chairs for seated treatments, or if it will be more like the current office, with separate, private treatment rooms for individuals. Maybe it'll end up being a mix of the two, with semi-private treatment rooms for free appointment-based services and a community room for larger events. Who knows? The details will adjust to fit the need and the space, and the rest will happen as it happens.

Scholarship and Mentorship Program

There aren't enough practicing acupuncturists who are BIPOC. There. We said it. As a white straight-passing woman with a considerable amount of privilege who is practicing an indigenous medicine, it's important to Courtney to use that privilege for good however and whenever she can. Our education system is not set up to allow everyone equal access to be whatever they want to be, and acupuncture care in the US is generally accessed mostly by wealthy white women. And yes, wealthy white women should have access to acupuncture and other Traditional Chinese Medicine practices. But so should everyone else. The disparities within our healthcare and education systems are well-documented, despite not always being accepted as fact. People of color, specifically Black people, have suffered inadequate access to healthcare, education, housing, employment, and so many other important needs, and it's well past time that changes. Acupuncture school is incredibly expensive, and unless and until that changes, Healthy Point Acupuncture is planning to establish a scholarship fund and mentorship program for disadvantaged BIPOC Kentuckians who are interested in practicing TCM. Details are far from hashed out at this point, but updates will absolutely be posted as soon as we can figure out how to make this program happen.