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    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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Aviva! Your vote can help fund a year of ME/FM awareness in Canada!

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It will cost you nothing more than an online vote to help see the National ME/FM Action Network enter the second round of the Aviva community competition to win $100,000. Voting in this round closes 14th October and you can vote every single day until then - so please join us and cast your vote now! By Firestormm.

Join us in sending the National ME/FM Action Network of Canada through to the second round of the Aviva Community Fund competition so that they can win $100,000 to be used to help raise awareness on 12th May 2014.​

This is the first of three qualifying rounds of the online competition. At the time of writing we have 12 days left until all the votes are totted up and the National ME/FM Action Network will move hopefully a little closer to winning $100,000.

Voting is so darned simple even I could do it!

Go here to register.

Click the button, Vote Now.

Complete the simple voting registration form (the one on the left) with your email address and provide a password.

Or, you can vote via your Facebook account (the blue button above), and simply skip the permission request to access your profile etc.

You only need to register the first time and you don't need a Facebook account to vote in this competition.

You can vote every single day (using the same link will redirect you to the right place - or click the pictures above and below which are also linked to the voting page) and you can ask to be reminded to vote automatically.

Voting for the first round ends on 14th October at which time we'll aim to publish another article when they are successfully through to the next round.

But your support is needed. So please help give a fighting chance for the National ME/FM Action Network of Canada to win $100,000 so that they can ensure May 12th 2014 begins a spectacular year for raising awareness of our disease and bringing much needed attention to those like us who are most affected by it.

The Action Network has already made it into the top ten in its size category of this round and if it maintains that position and is then able to repeat its performance in subsequent qualifying rounds, it will go through to the semi-finals in December. All finalists in each round win $5,000. The leaderboard can be found here.

Please consider sharing this article on your own Facebook page to help bring greater awareness to the competition. Use our share link (the green pop-out located on our Home page version of this article), to 'like' on Facebook, to 'tweet' or to recommend the article on other applications.

The National ME/FM Action Network of Canada

The Action Network's contest statement is as follows:

Our dream begins with awareness. May 12th Awareness Day is a chance for the 750,000 people living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM) to be seen and heard! These illnesses are real; the people are real; and they need help NOW!

ME/CFS and FM are chronic and severely disabling illnesses. They are as disabling as MS and are more prevalent in Canada than breast cancer, MS and AIDS combined! People are frequently bedridden and become isolated from friends and family – invisible in their own communities.

Dr Nancy Klimas, an expert in both ME/CFS and AIDS, was quoted as saying “A CFS patient feels the same or worse than congestive heart failure. The same or worse than late stage AIDS. If I had to choose between the two illnesses I would rather have H.I.V.

These illnesses do not discriminate. All races, men and women, rich and poor, adults and children can be afflicted. It is devastating when a child is forced to cope with such a disabling illness.
We are on a mission to bring awareness in Canada for this community of people living with these illnesses and to set the stage for fundraising for research and more physician education. To date our volunteer efforts have been handcuffed as not only is our community very disabled, many are in financial distress. The illness limits our ability to raise the substantial amounts required to mount a large scale awareness event and to fund the desperately needed research. It is the dream of our community to erase stigma and finally be taken seriously by friends, family, researchers, government and those in our local communities.

This contest gives us a chance to fund a nation wide awareness campaign for 2014, the 22nd Anniversary of May 12th Awareness Day. It will also define Canada as a world leader in raising awareness as this day is also an international event. It will not only benefit 750,000 Canadians, but it will indirectly benefit the 20 million people that suffer worldwide.

We will use the funds to hold events in as many communities across Canada as possible which will lay the foundation for a strong network of organizations in Canada and future fund raising for education and research. We’ll connect with every MP and provincial/territorial representative in Canada and have May 12th proclaimed in cities nationwide. We’ll sport t-shirts, carry signs and have engaging speakers in as many communities as possible. Each event will have its own venue but will share elements common to all. In order to unite the larger community across Canada we’ll also advertise in national and local papers, and, if funding permits, on TV and radio. As education is so critical, we will also target physicians, medical students and other health professionals with our letters and/or advertising. Brochures and a white board medicine video are planned.

We believe with awareness, will come action! Our community is desperately in need of treatment facilities and funding is required to support research and our scientists. A successful May 12th will bring many rewards for years to come. These activities will not only benefit us today, but they will be an investment in our future.

Aviva’s gift will help to unite our national and local communities and make a difference to the lives of many Canadians. It will give us credibility in our quest for treatment and a cure and hope for a better tomorrow.

To quote Helen Keller – “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

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Tuha We sent the above email to our 3,000 + subscribers. Hopefully, that might get people voting :balloons:

A tweety-bird told me you might be planning to light Niagara up again as well as other monuments in Canada.

A most excellent notion :)

Thanks firestormm - it always helped in the past. Btw. did you already send the email because I think I am on your mailing list but I didnt get anything
 
Thanks firestormm - it always helped in the past. Btw. did you already send the email because I think I am on your mailing list but I didnt get anything

No problem. Yes the emails have gone out to all those who receive/are signed up for our newsletter. I received my copy - so I'm not sure why you haven't had one. Did you get the newsletter the other day from Mark?
 
Thanks firestormm - it always helped in the past. Btw. did you already send the email because I think I am on your mailing list but I didnt get anything
If you light the falls, please give lots of warning. It's an hour away, but maybe I could get a group to go.
Got to get some papers to cross the border though.
 
Thanks for mentioning comments Nielk. Yes we want lots of comments. They want to see at least a hundred. There is a judging round so the comments will help sell the entry.

We need everyone to vote. It's not just so we win the prize but just being in the contest gives us exposure. If all of us where to vote we'd be way out in 1st place and people would be looking to see who we are. The prize would be a bonus.

Right now we're behind a beagle sanctuary and
a children splash pad. We deserve to be ahead of entries liked this. So anything you can do to help get the vote out would be greatly appreciate and beneficial to all of us.
 
In the top 10 of the medium budget category. The rank they are showing doesn't appear to have much meaning other than 30 entries more on to the semi finals. I find it misleading but were still in the top 30 too so I guess that's a good thing.
 
If You Have Unused Votes

I have missed a couple of days of voting and will miss one more. I still get 15 votes, so I have some extra. I found this group that does outreach to women caught up in the sex trade. They are seeking funds for a van. That struck me as a little more worthwhile than animals and playgrounds.