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CFIDS Association president and CEO
K. Kimberly McCleary
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From the Desk of K. Kimberly McCleary
August 2007
Make the Most of Summer
Summer is a time for recess, not just from school and some work, but also for Congress from their legislative schedule. Every August, lawmakers leave Washington, D.C., and return to their home states and districts. This break gives advocates the ideal opportunity to see them close to home.
This month, we offer you ideas about how to make use of the Congressional recess (August 6-September 3) to extend the work begun through this year’s Lobby Day and Virtual Lobby Day events. Read Kevin Mathis’ “Prime Time” article about how to use upcoming Town Hall Meetings and personal meetings in local offices to promote CFS as a higher research priority for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
You can also join a free webinar on August 7 to get pointers and ask questions about talking to your members of Congress. We’re excited about this web-based technology that allows us to bring programming to you—a great complement to our D.C.-based Lobby Day training sessions and our Education & Empowerment seminar series.
If your August advocacy activity is unfolding in a different venue from one involving lawmakers, you might still benefit from some new materials designed to help make the case that CFS is a serious, widespread disorder that warrants attention and funding. An article from the July 17, 2007, New York Times Science section about CFS might also be useful. We’ve heard from people who have shared these materials with physicians, family members and employers. Here are the links:
We’re grateful for the continued support and encouragement we receive from a broad array of individuals and groups within the CFS community. This month we honor a few more of them in the second installment of “Organizations Making History,” part of our tribute to 20 years of collective effort on behalf of all those affected by CFS.
Don’t miss the summer Chronicle, currently at press. It features profiles of seven other organizations, stories about childhood ME/CFS and an in-depth look at the 2007 Georgia prevalence study. Association members can look forward to receiving this issue mid- to late-August. If you are not a member of the CFIDS Association, please join now at http://www.cfids.org/support/membership.asp. Supporting the cause through membership helps accelerate crucial education, advocacy and research programs. . . and starts your subscription to the Chronicle, the only national magazine devoted exclusively to CFS news, education and encouragement.
And if you’re in the New York area this summer, see the traveling “Faces of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” photo exhibit while it’s at Penn Station August 6-13. The full schedule of venues through early 2008 is posted at http://www.cfids.org/sparkcfs/photo.asp.
I hope you’ll enjoy a little recess this August, in whatever form it might take!
Kim McCleary
President & CEO
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