Welcome New Members

[Guest guest]

Wow...we have quite a few new members to the group... I'm sorry I'm late in

welcoming you....

Haven't heard from most of you,, and that's okay... I'm glad you found us...

Please feel free to jump right in... tell us something about yourselfs or

share your story.

You have found a great group...We are here for support, to listen to you rant

and rave, to help you find information on Rp and any suggestions or drs we

may know of. And we also provide you with a lot of humor... We treat the

whold person, not just the RP. I think you will find that we are a really

nice second family to belong to...

Lurk as long as you like, but please do not hesitate to just tell us your

name and a little about yourself.... and ALWAYS feel free to ask all the

questions you may have... We all learn from questions...

Welcome and looking forward to getting to know you better.

hugs

claudia

[Guest guest]

I would like to welcome all the new members we have. Boy there have been a

lot in the past month. Please feel free to just join right in. Ask all the

questions you want, that is how we all learn.

Heidi has given you most of the details about the address list and how to NOT

to forget your MEDICATION!!! Boy you had better do what she says, or else she

might use her " pain reliever' on you. LOL

I would just like to let all the newbies know about the RP Foundation. It is

totally separate from the support group. The Foundation is a non profit

Foundation. Yes, we have our tax exempt status now and everything is going

to start falling into place this year.!! We did wonderful last year, being it

was our first year.

The main goal for the RP Foundation is to provide support to sufferers, their

friends and family members in the form of educational material and to

promote awareness by distribution of educational materials to health care

providers.

We want to make the public and the MEDICAL proffessional AWARE of RP. Most

doctors don't know what it is or how to recognize it. Some have no idea how

to treat it. We can save alot of time and damage if we can get this darn

disease treated as soon as possible. We are in the process of getting the

brochures made and printed. These will be available for everyone to hand out

to their doctors, in hospitals, to friends, and any place else you think they

might do some good.

We have a newsletter that goes out 3-4 times a year and a site that is only

for members of the Foundation. We post all updates and any special

information there.

We have a web site at : polychondritis.com Take a look.

We were able to donate to Dr. Jane Buckners research last year and hope to

give more this year. Our goal is to one day find a CURE for this RP so we

won't need this support group.

No one gets paid. All the money is used for postage, mailings, printing,

etc. The work is all voluntary by all involved. If you would like to

volunteer, you may let Barbara Angerhob know. She is our volunteer co

ordinator. Contact her at Angerhob@..., or contact me and I will pass

your name on. Tell her what you are interested in and what your talents are.

We can use all the help.

All we ask is that you donate $15 a year. (we will always take more) LOL

You may make your check ormoney order out to " RP Foundation " and mail to

RP Foundation

c/o Colloran

775 Bounty Place

Manteca, CA 95337

Any donation is tax deductable. Also tell your family and friends that this

is a great way to help support you when they sometimes feel helpless.

Just thought I'd make the new members aware of what else we have to offer.

Thanks again to all that have helped the Foundation come as far as it has.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Colloran