Welcome from the Virginia Chapter
Thank you for visiting us here at the Virginia Chapter. We continue to experience unprecedented success and growth because of the many wonderful volunteers who have found their way to the mission of the Arthritis Foundation - providing leadership in the prevention, control and cure of arthritis and related diseases. Many of our wonderful volunteers have arthritis or are close to someone who does and they "get it". They know that arthritis is much more than a minor inconvenience and they do what they can to help alleviate the pain of millions of Americans by serving on Arthritis Walk committees, Jingle Bell Run committees, Gala committees, becoming an exercise instructor or a registered advocate. If you are already one of these volunteers, thank you. If you would like to join us and find fun and meaningful volunteer opportuntities, we would love to get to know you in 2008.
Because of the hard work of so many people, we are pleased to be able to share with you some very exciting accomplishments. Thousands of donors and volunteers have made so many new and wonderful things happen. We hope you enjoy this update and stay tuned for more information.
Earlier this year, we held hold our fourth annual weekend conference for children with arthritis and their families. Many children will meet another child their age with arthritis for the first time. Parents will have the opportunity to hear from medical experts and meet other parents, who are dealing with the same issues.
We are also delighted to tell you that there are currently two Arthritis Foundation funded researchers in Virginia: Dr. Loren Erickson at the University of Virginia and Dr. Chris Reilly at the Edward Via School of Osteopathic Medicine at Virginia Tech. To secure funding through the Arthritis Foundation's research program, these researchers scored very high in our competitive peer review process.
Our advocacy efforts also expanded as we can now boast of having more than one thousand advocates recruited. We worked diligently to secure co-sponsors in Congress for the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act. When it passes, this bill will make huge strides in our knowledge of and ability to treat juvenile arthritis, fund additional arthritis research at NIH, and ensure the arthritis program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This program is important to us as funds flow from the CDC back to Virginia to combat arthritis as a public health issue. Currently the only members of Congress from Virginia who have not agreed to co-sponsor this important legislation are Senators Warner and Webb and Representative Goodlatte. We could use your help. If you have not yet registered as an arthritis advocate, please do so by navigating through the Advocacy tab on the home page.
Last but not least, we now offer arthritis exercise and aquatic programs in more communities around Virginia than ever before. One participant stated: "I had given up driving because I could no longer fasten my seat belt. After just two weeks of attending the Arthritis Foundation exercise class I had regained enough movement to reach back across my body and over my shoulder. I'm driving again!"
Thank you so much for your support.
With appreciation,
