Welcome to all new members

[Guest guest]

I just wanted to welcome all the new members that we have. Gosh it seems

like every day we get another newbie. This is sad, but I'm glad that we are

here for you.

This is a wonderful support group. We are here for anything that you may

need. We offer support for the RPer and the rest of the family. If someone

in the group cannot find an answer for you, they will head you in the right

direction. We come from all over the world. I live in California. We have

members in Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia,

Finland, Puerto Rico, oh the list just goes on and on. We are one big family

here.

Please ask all the questions you want. There is never a silly or dumb

question here. This is how we all learn. There are over 400 shoulders here

so there is always someone to vent to, cry with or share a big belly laugh

with. Humor is very important to the group as you will see. Sometimes

laughter IS the best medicine.

Please don't believe all the stuff you may have read. A lot of it is old and

the outlook of RP isn't a rosy picture according to the old articles. There

is being a lot of research done. Not as much as we would like to see, but it

is being done.

Okay, I will try to shorten this up. LOL

We offer chat groups one Wed mornings at 9:30 pacific time and Friday nights

at 6:30 pacific time. Chat is at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rpolychondritis/chat

Hope some of you can make it. We have lots of laughs there. Bring your

mic's or headphones and you can try to out talk us all. LOL

There is also an RP Foundation that you may be interested in. It is totally

separate from the support group.

It is a non profit Foundation. The goal is to bring awareness to the public

and medical professions in the form of educational material. There is a

newsletter and we keep you informed of any new research that is being done.

All board members work on a voluntary basis and they can always use

volunteers for committees such as fundraising, newsletters, public relations

etc. You may visit the Foundation site at

www.polychondritis.org

We rely strictly on donations. If anyone is interested in making a donation,

you can simply make your check or money order out to " RP Foundation " for a

minimum of $15 yearly (US dollars) and mail it to

RP Foundation

c/o Colloran

775 Bounty Place

Manteca, CA 95337

The support group is helping the Foundation by writing letters to family and

friends asking for donations. I will send a copy of a sample letter you may

use if you want to join us.

We are also dropping our spare change into a jar every time we exercise (or

don't) LOL and at the end of 3 months we will send a check for that amt to

the Foundation.

We are also making a quilt (in patriotic theme - red/white/blue) Who ever

wants to make a square or squares will and then send it to Kathleen L and she

is going to put it together for us. We will raffle it off I believe.

If you are interested in any of the above, please feel free to contact me

through the group or privately. Rccolloran@...

The Foundation also has RP Angels who sponsor those who have a hardship and

can't donate to the Foundation at this time. If you feel you want to join

the Foundation but can't at this time, please let me know privately and you

will be sponsored. If you feel you would like to be an RP Angel, also

contact me privately. This is all confidential and no one knows who is

sponsored and who is a sponsor.

Well, now that I have turned this into a novel, I hope you are still awake.

LOL Oh we do have a member's address list. I will let Heidi explain that

one to you. I don't think I need to make this any longer. LOL

Again, Welcome, you have found a wonderful group of people to help you

through your hard times and make your life a better place.

hugs