Last week I received an email from Merilee, writer of the blog Its Lovely, about a great cause that needs some attention. There’s a lot of info here, so I’ll let her explain in her own words.
I am on the event committee for the leading Lyme Disease non-profit the Turn the Corner Foundation, working on their yearly fundraising gala, UnMask A Cure, at the stunning venue Gotham Hall on November 13th in New York City. Donations are down this year, for obvious reasons, and I’m making a valiant effort to reach out to as many people as possible to promote awareness and the event. As far as fundraising, I immediately thought of brides who are planning a favor donation and looking for a worthy cause in which to donate. Brides who do offer to donate to TTC, I am offering to them my design services to create the art for the card(s) to display at their wedding in the bride’s color/theme for them to print on their own.
For your reference, there’s a common misconception about Lyme Disease that it is easy to diagnose and treat. In fact, this is not the case as the CDC Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment are not definitive and under great dispute. Most doct ors and the general public are simply unaware of this and therefore thousands of people go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed wreaking havoc on their lives not to mentioned their livelihoods. Late diagnosed/Chronic Lyme Disease can get into every tissue and every organ of your body. (My husband went for 5 years and almost died before being diagnosed. He may now need a kidney…I have it as well….)
TTC supports and funds new research into the progression, treatment and prevention of Lyme Disease. It is the Foundation’s goal to reach as many people as possible to promote public awareness regarding how prevalent Lyme Disease actually is and to work with the medical industry to provide them with the resources that they need to properly diagnose and treat this debilitating disease. It is near and dear to my heart.
The money raised by TTC goes to fund initiatives such as their Physicians Training program
where in about two weeks, trainees become “Lyme-literate” through watching mentoring doctors in action with patients, reviewing different cases , and learning their individual approaches to diagnosis and treatment. These professionals bring this skill set back to their community in order to better care for their patients.
TTC is also involved with the national distribution of the first feature length documentary about Lyme Disease Under Our Skin. The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, details th e untold st ory of Lyme Disease by fol lowing the stories of patients and physicians as they battle for their lives and livelihoods. The film brings into focus a truly haunting picture of our health care system and its ability (or lack thereof) to cope with Lyme Disease. Check out some of the riveting footage from the film here http://www.youtube.com/openeyepictures
TTC also provides grants to doctors and scientists who are working on groundbreaking research such as Dr. Alan MacDonald. Dr. MacDonald is exploring if a Borrelia Burgdoferi (Lyme related) infection is one of the causes of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers!
In addition to cash donations, items are desperately needed for the Gala’s auction.
Items such as:
sports memorabilia; jewelry; designer handbags, shoes, clothing; original art; travel donations such as a weekend at a B&B, beach house stays, ski weekends; celebrity meet and greets; personal training, massage, nutritional sessions, gym memberships; theater, concert sports tickets; gift bags/gift baskets; private cooking lessons from a well known chef; Letterman tickets; family portrait photo sessions; gift certificates to stores and for services. Should you decide to post and include the need for auction items as well you can put my info to contact for more information about item domation at [email protected]
For more information about the event and how to donate, your readers can click here: http://www.turnthecorner.org/unmaskacure2008/
All donations be it cash, service or item are indeed tax deductible.