Grassroots

2008 Advocacy Summit was a great succcess!

A delgation of Missourians joined more than 400 others from across the country to converge on Washington D.C. for the Annual Arthritis Advocacy Summit. Our delegation included the Turner family from Lee's Summit, Frances Black from Kansas City North, Kami Obmann from Springfield, and Bob from St. Louis.. This group of volunteer advocates joined three chapter staff members from the Heartland Region and called on the offices of each of the Missouri Congressional Representatives and Senators to ask for help with passage of the Arthritis Prevention Control and Cure Act, which is before both the House and the Senate. These bills have just under half of the Senators and Representatives currently signed on as co-sponsors and we need the support of others to move this legislation forward. The delegation was also asking for support of increases in the budgets for the National Institutes of Health, specifically for their arthritis research, and for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arthritis programs. While there, the group was able to secure the co-sponsorship of Senator Claire McCaskill and to thank other Senators and Representatives for their co-sponsorship.