My name is Steven Schultz, and I’m the state director for advocacy and access at the Arthritis Foundation. Last fall, I had the great pleasure of joining Rep. Ami Bera, who represents the Sacramento area in Congress, for a Walk With Ease session.Continue readingIt’s Easy to Walk With Ease
New Hampshire is one of a handful of states with a special fifth season — Primary Candidate Visit Season. Gaye Jacques decided to take advantage of it by trying to meet as many of the Democrat primary candidates as she possibly could, bringing their attention to the barriers to care people with arthritis face every day.Continue readingHow Gaye Jacques Is Making Arthritis a Priority in the 2020 Election
At this year’s 2019 Advocacy Summit, the Arthritis Foundation was excited to welcomeMeg Maley, CBS’ “Big Brother” Season 17 houseguest, as a first-time Advocate.
Meg was diagnosed withpsoriatic arthritis (PsA)when she was just 12 years old. After her time on “Big Brother” came to a close, Meg decided to use her newly-found platform as an opportunity to share her story of living with PsA and uveitis. Since then, she has emceed theWalk to Cure Arthritisin New York City and hosted a multitude of fundraisers to benefit the Arthritis Foundation.
Continue readingMeg Maley Joins the Arthritis Foundation to #AdvocateforArthritis
The final day of the Arthritis Foundation’s 2019Advocacy Summitis also the most exciting for Advocates. It’s a day filled with energy, focus and a little bit of nervousness – but those jitters were quickly funneled into fuel for a long day of meetings.Continue readingAdvocates Share Their Stories to Empower Change
2019 Advocacy Summit – A Busy First Day Readies Advocates for a Day on Capitol Hill
Yesterday, more than 300 Advocates from all parts of the United States came together in Washington, DC, filled with fire as they get ready to voice their personal stories to make real and meaningful changes for the arthritis community.
The Arthritis Foundation’s 2019 Advocacy Summit kicked off on Monday, March 11, 2019, with an exciting welcome by Foundation President and CEO Ann M. Palmer. The day included motivational and educational breakout sessions where Advocates learned about key legislative asks to support top issues affecting the arthritis community’s access to affordable care. They also learned some important tips and tricks for their Capitol Hill meetings and had the opportunity to participate in aLive Yes!Connect Group demonstration.
The intensive day of training and information concluded with the Excellence in Advocacy Awards Dinner. Seventeen-year-old Ethan Berkovitz from Solon, Ohio, was awarded the Emerging Leader in Advocacy Award for his continued efforts to
raise awareness of the disease by actively advocating on Capitol Hill and the Ohio Statehouse, as well as being the go-to team captain for theWalk to Cure ArthritisandJingle Bell Run.
Karen Anderson of Santa Barbara, California, was awarded the Edward M. Kennedy Advocacy Leadership Award for her many years of advocacy on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation. Karen is attending her 11thAdvocacy Summit and has been a Platinum Ambassador since its inception. She began volunteering for the Arthritis Foundation after her daughter, Kristin, was diagnosed with systemic scleroderma, one of the over 100 forms of arthritis, at the age of 15. Karen’s introduction to the Foundation was at aJA Conference, and since then she has been a passionate volunteer at the local, regional and national levels. She has served as Walk to Cure Arthritis chair, advisory board chair, regional public policy and advocacy chair and as a member of the national public policy committee.
Representatives Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA), received the Advocacy Leadership Award for fighting to reform step therapy requirements nationwide and break down barriers to care for people with arthritis.
创纪录的70位白金大使也被认为超越了职责的召唤，完成了一份具有挑战性的宣传需求清单，同时筹集资金支持我们征服和治疗关节炎的努力。
在一天结束的时候，倡导者们正在为他们与国会议员的数百次会议做准备。During these meetings, legislators will be asked to discuss legislative priorities like reforming burdensomestep therapy practicesand makingaccess to vital treatmentseasier and more affordable. They will also be urged tosupport fundingfor arthritis research at the Department of Defense andto join the Congressional Arthritis Caucus– a group for members of Congress that serves as a clearinghouse for information regarding arthritis and its devastating toll on our population and economy.
Join us on March 12 at 12:00 p.m. ET to help amplify the impact of our in-person meetings with legislators by participating virtually in our #AdvocateforArthritis social media campaign.打印出这个标志and, in one sentence, written large and legibly, tell us why you #AdvocateforArthritis!
Advocating for the arthritis community, says 27-year-old Stephanie Kwiecien, has restored the voice that bullying shut down.
“Advocacy is really important to me because it gave me back the voice I thought I’d lost,” says Kwiecien, who was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (now known asjuvenile idiopathic arthritis) when she was 18 months old. During her elementary and middle school years, Kwiecien’s peers were unfazed by her condition and her teachers were understanding. But high school was different.
By Maya Miserlian
My name is Maya Miserlian, I’m 15 years old, and I am one of 300,000 children in the US withjuvenile arthritis(JA).
At the age of 11 I was diagnosed with Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CRMO), a rare bone disease that is one of the many diseases included in the definition of arthritis umbrella. My diagnosis came after over a year of being told my aching bones were just ‘growing pains’.CRMOaffects one in every million people, which has left me feeling alone in the past, because I did not know anyone else with my diagnosis. In the past year I was introduced to the Arthritis Foundation, which has played a big role in my journey with CRMO. Iadvocate for arthritisas aJunior Ambassadorfor the Foundation, which has allowed me to take control of my disease and advocate for myself and others with JA. I consider myself lucky – because I live near my specialist and was able to get on medication that works, I reached remission only three years after my diagnosis. However, easy access to a specialist is not a reality for most people.
Continue readingJunior Ambassador Spotlight – Maya Miserlian
By Amy Barron, Platinum Ambassador, OH Advocacy Committee
I am privileged to serve as a member of the Arthritis Foundation’s Ohio State Advocacy Committee. Advocacy committees like mine help to chart the course of local and state-wide advocacy action for our arthritis community. Many of our committee members serve as Arthritis FoundationAdvocatesandAmbassadors, at both the state and federal level.
Continue readingPlatinum Ambassador Spotlight: Amy Barron, OHIO
On Monday, Danielle Highley of Deer Lodge, Montana, and her mother flew over 2,200 miles to Washington, D.C. with Montana Sen. Steve Daines to attend today’s State of the Union address. Sen. Daines invited Dani, age 9, and her mother, Glory, to join him after he told Dani’s story on the floor of the U.S. Senate earlier this month, urging his colleagues to support long-term CHIP funding.
儿童健康保险计划(CHIP)于20多年前在两党压倒性的支持下成立。该项目为全国近900万儿童的重要医疗保健提供了保障。2017年9月，国会允许资金到期，该项目面临终止对这些儿童的覆盖的危险。上周，国会将对CHIP的资助延长了六年。
Continue readingDanielle Highley: CHIP Recipient and Special Guest at the State of the Union Address
In 2016, I was fortunate to attend the Arthritis Foundation Advocacy Summit in Washington D.C. alongside some seasoned advocacy veterans from Denver. I had never met with my legislators or shared my story before, so it was a new experience. It was easy to “catch the bug” for advocacy being surrounded by so many other fellow arthritis patient advocates who want to make a difference for all of us. Raising awareness and fundraising for arthritis has been an integral part of my life for the past several years, but advocacy has become an even greater passion. This year, I achieved the Platinum Ambassador Award and will attend the Arthritis Foundation’sPlatinum Ambassador Assemblythis March 12-13, 2018.
Continue readingPlatinum Ambassador Spotlight—Rebecca Gillett, Colorado