I know I've been at UC Berkeley for 2 months already, but still -- I can't get over how much hepatitis B and general health activism there is here!  At Cornell, we were "that hep B group."  Cornell Team HBV was not only the only hepatitis B activist group, but the only Asian health activist group.  You can imagine the 'culture' shock I got at Berkeley when I found that not only is there UC Berkeley Team HBV, but also a DeCal course on the Jade Ribbon Campaign, the San Francisco HepB Free Collaborative, AND the Hep B Project!  (Not to mention the nearby SF Hep B Free campaign, the ALC, San Mateo Hep B Free, and San Jose Hep B Free.)

Here goes taking a shot at describing these orgs:

• UC Berkeley Team HBV:  a chapter of the Team HBV Collegiate Chapters that spreads HBV/liver cancer awareness at the college and community level (see the linked project page)
• The DeCal course:  a course taught by students for students for credit, giving a semester-long overview of hepB and the JRC and requiring final projects and volunteer hours
• San Francisco HepB Free Collaborative (SFHBC): a student-run campus org that works with UCSF med students to train translators for (and to staff) SF Hep B Free clinics
• The Hep B Project:  an undergraduate-run org that provides free education, screenings, and vaccinations to Alameda County through presentations and 2 weekly clinics (see linked project page)

Last week, I gave a presentation to the UC Berkeley Team HBV chapter on how to do outreach (no one fell asleep, so kudos to me!), and it got me to thinking about how all these orgs could work together.  As a member of the Hep B Project as well, I realized there was some competition between all 4 organizations despite us all working towards the same cause.  Inevitably, we fight (or may end up fighting) for members and their time.  So far, collaboration has been at a minimum: the DeCal course invites delegates of all the other orgs to speak at the course, encouraging its students to join Team HBV as a next step, and the Hep B Project asks for translators from SFHBC to help out at its clinics and uses the ALC brochures.

Patrick (DeCal instructor), Rebecca (Berkeley Team HBV president), and I got together to try to map out Team HBV's role amidst the rest of the organizations.  How best to assist the other organizations but retain members as well?  We've tentatively decided that the DeCal course should be more of an overview that encourages students to get further trained for outreach through Team HBV.  Team HBV, then, will serve as the campus resource to 1) recruit students to the hepB cause, 2) educate them through meetings and lectures, 3) train them to do outreach through a large campus-wide activity, then 4) encourage them to join existing projects such as SFHBC and Hep B Project and/or do something in their own cities.  Hopefully, the other organizations will send their members to our training sessions or participate in our workshops to better enable them to do and talk outreach at their projects.

Last week, Rebecca met up with Kevin (founder of the HepB Project) with the result that 2 Team HBV representatives will attend every Hep B Project meeting.  Yay!  But perhaps we need some Hep B Project members at Team HBV meetings as well?

At the inaugural Team HBV Collegiate Chapters conference (which is in just 2 weeks, goodness!!), 2 delegates from the Hep B Project will present their mission and methodology to all the chapter reps from across the nation (and China!).  Perhaps at schools where there are not already existing HBV outreach projects, chapters can replicate the Hep B Project!

Would love to hear suggestions from anyone about more ways to collaborate with these other orgs!