Medicine Box

ON THIS PAGE:

About the Medicine Box
Medicine Box Contents
Packing and Sending the Kit
Sending the Financial Contribution

About the Medicine Box

The Medicine Box Program is a cooperative effort with Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc. (IMA), a nonprofit organization owned by 12 American relief and development organizations.

A Medicine Box contains 18 essential drugs and medical supplies. The box contents are sufficient to provide a community of about 1,000 people with basic medicines and supplies for three months. It provides necessary items for day-to-day treatment of common ailments that plague people of all ages, from infants to adults.

Many clinics and hospitals around the world do not have basic medicines available on a regular basis. Medicine Boxes help fill this gap. Read on to find out how you and your community can make a huge difference.

Medicine Box Contents

The medicine box consists of items purchased by a congregation or other group, a financial donation of $375, and the remaining items purchased by IMA using the donated funds.

Contents Provided by Churches and Individuals
Please ensure that all purchases meet the following standards:

• Products must be new with unbroken seals
• Products must have an expiration date of 18 months or longer
• Products must meet the exact guidelines listed below (no substitutions)
• When possible, purchase medications in bottles of 100 or more
• Generic equivalents are acceptable.

Item	Quantity	Example
Sterile gauze 4x4 pads	50 pads	Johnson & Johnson, Curity
Adhesive tape1/2" or 1" wide	6 rolls, 10 yards or more on each roll	Johnson & Johnson, Curity
Triple Antibiotic Ointment	4 1-oz tubes	Neosporin Ointments
Aspirin 325 mg tablets	1,000 tablets	Bayer Aspirin, Equate Aspirin
Ferrous sulfate 325 mg tablets	500 tablets	N/A
Children’s chewable multivitamins with iron	500 tablets	Flinstones plus Iron, Centrum Kids Complete
Adult multivitamins with iron	500 tablets	Theragran-M, Spring Valley Terapeutic
Children's acetaminophen chewable 80mg tablets	300	Children's Tylenol (often this can only be found in bottles of 30)

$375 financial donation to UMCOR Advance #982640, Medicine Box, to provide funds to purchase additional items and to ship the box to its final destination

Contents Provided by IMA

IMA may substitute some of these items depending on the needs of individual hospitals or clinics.

• Acetaminophen for Adults --pain reliever
• Antacid --for treatment of upset stomach/heartburn
• Mebendazole or Thiabendazole --for intestinal worm infection
• Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim --antibacterial for adults and children
• Tetmosol Soap --for treatment of scabies for adults and children
• Oral Rehydration Salts --to combat dehydration for adults and children
• Promethazine --for treatment of nausea
• Metronidazole --for treatment of intestinal amebiasis (amebic dysentery)
• Chlorhexidine --antiseptic for adults and children
• Tolnaftate 1% Antifungal Cream --for skin infections for adults and children
• Rolled Bandages --for first aid applications

Packing and Sending the Kit

1. Pack the contents collected by your congregation or group in a sturdy carton and secure the box with reinforced tape.
2. Clearly write your church or organization's name and address as the sender
3. Write the following for the shipping address:

   IMA/Medicine Box
   c/o Brethren Service Center Annex
   601 Main Street
   New Windsor, MD 21776

If required by the shipping agency, include the phone number: 410-635-8720

4. After you ship the kit contents, notify IMA of the shipment by sending this form via email to pattypicket@interchurch.org

Sending the Financial Contribution

1. Send $375 for each Medicine Box to UMCOR to provide funding for additional items and shipping.

2. Write the check to UMCOR with "UMCOR Advance #982640, Medicine Box" written on the memo line.

3. Print and fill out the We Have Supported the Medicine Box Program form
4. Mail the check and the form to:

   UMCOR
   475 Riverside Drive, Room 330
   New York,NY 10115