 |
 |
We are very pleased to announce that our online Shy-Drager/MSA email support group has officially grown to 500 members! Although we all wish this disorder did not exist we are always happy that those who need support and information are able to find their way to our online group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shydrager It's with this spirit of celebration that we wish to commemorate our 500th member by asking for your help in raising funds to benefit research or support for those affected by Shy-Drager/MSA. It's estimated that there are 150,000 people with Shy-Drager/MSA in the US alone and often many are misdiagnosed with Parkinson's or other similar disorders. There is currently no long term treatment or cure. Because the disease is so rare families often feel isolated and have nowhere to turn for information or support. For a good summary of the symptoms of Shy-Drager/Multiple System Atrophy please see http://www.parkinson.org/atrophy.htm Our initial goal was to raise at least $500 in honor of our 500th member. We're excited to announce that this goal has already been reached and exceeded through the generous pledges of several of our members. One member has personally pledged an amount of $500 and another an amount of $100. Several other pledges of $10 bring our starting total to $650! Who knows how high we'll go?! We encourage everyone who receives this message to forward to your friends, relatives and colleagues. We can all make a difference! Here are the steps to follow: 1. If you are able, we are asking that you write back to the volunteer who is sending you this message and pledge a donation to Shy-Drager/MSA. Your individual pledge will be kept confidential and we will add it to our tally and announce the final total raised in a few weeks. 2. Below is a list of suggested charities to direct your donation. Please select one or more and send your check directly to their address. To ensure your donation is used specifically for Shy-Drager/Multiple System Atrophy research or support you may wish to enclose a note with your donation and indicate your wishes for its use. If your favourite Shy-Drager/MSA charity is not on this list feel free to donate to them and drop us a note to let us know. Together we can make a difference! Thank you from everyone on the ShyDrager/MSA email support group. ---------- AUSTRALIA Parkinson's Australia Inc c/o- Parkinson's New South Wales Inc Concord Hospital, Bld 64, Hospital Road Concord, New South Wales, 2139 http://www.parkinsons.org.au/ CANADA Parkinson Society Canada 4211 Yonge Street, Suite 316 Toronto, Ontario M2P 2A9 http://www.parkinson.ca/donating/donating.html UNITED KINGDOM Sarah Matheson Trust Neurovascular Medicine Unit (Pickering Unit) St. Mary's Hospital Praed Street London W2 1NY http://glaxocentre.merseyside.org/msa2.html Adrienne Coles Memorial Trust c/o New Information Paradigms Manhattan House 140 High Street Crowthorne Berkshire RG45 7AY http://www.coles.org.uk/about.htm Parkinson's Disease Society 215 Vauxhall Bridge Road LONDON SWIV IEJ http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/ UNITED STATES Vanderbilt Shy-Drager Research Fund Vanderbilt University Medical Center AA-3228 Medical Center North Nashville, TN 37232-2195 http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/gcrc/adc/sdfund.html National Dysautonomia Research Foundation PO Box 211153 Eagan, MN 55121-2553 http://www.ndrf.org/contributions.htm Mayo Foundation Development Department 200 First Street, SW Rochester, MN 55905 http://www.mayo.edu/develop/give.html SDS/MSA Support Group Inc. 2004 Howard Lane Austin, TX. 78728 http://www.shy-drager.com/ (501(c) tax status pending) National Ataxia Foundation 2600 Fernbrook Lane, Suite 119 Minneapolis, MN 55447 http://www.ataxia.org National Parkinson Foundation, Inc. Development Department c/o Marc Lichtman or Lois Heffernan 1501 N.W. 9th Avenue Miami, Florida 33136-1494 http://www.parkinson.org/helpnpf.htm National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. P.O. Box 8923 New Fairfield, CT 06812-8923 http://www.rarediseases.org Michael J. Fox Foundation For Parkinson's Research Grand Central Station Post Office Box #4777 New York, NY 10163 http://www.michaeljfox.org/flash/donations.html The Parkinson's Institute 1170 Morse Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1605 http://www.parkinsonsinstitute.org/index.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn