International Visitors: Help us win $500,000 US for ME/CFS research!

[Hope123]

Help us win $500,000 US for ME/CFS research without donating a penny or leaving the comfort of your home!

I do need you to lift a finger though!

Chase Community Giving in the US is giving away several million this month to US charities that garner the top votes on Facebook in a contest this month. Last year, people on PR help PANDORA to win $20,000! You do not need to be a customer of Chase banks, live in the US, or be a US citizen to vote.

This year both the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI - the folks that found XMRV in ME/CFS patients) and the CFIDS Association of America (CAA - the folks that sponsored exercise studies showing a biological basis for post-exertional malaise) are in the contest. How many times have you found yourself telling people about these studies or felt filled with hope that these groups are taking your illness seriously and studying it seriously? Both these groups are US charities but their impact is felt worldwide. Well, here's your chance to show your appreciation and advance the research.

From MAY 19th - MAY 25th:

1. Register for a Facebook account if you don't have one already - if you are concerned
about privacy, you can use an alias and not fill out parts of your profile

2. See the following video by Frank on how to vote:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/showt...l=1#post173974

[The links referred to by the video are below the video window. You'll see what I
mean when you click to the message above!]

3. Tell your friends and family to vote.

We need every vote we can get!

THANK YOU!

 

[Dolphin]

Well done, Hope123.

This link broke up - maybe you could edit your message to have it on one line (it should then show a line under it all)
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/show...FS-non-profits&p=173974&viewfull=1#post173974

 

[Hope123]

Well done, Hope123.

This link broke up - maybe you could edit your message to have it on one line (it should then should a line under it all)
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/show...FS-non-profits&p=173974&viewfull=1#post173974

Thanks, link is now fixed.

 

[Dolphin]

To be strictly accurate, one could have:
International Visitors: Help us win $900,000 US for ME/CFS research!
($500,000 (1st place) plus $400,000 (2nd place)).

Don't know if it can be changed. People get the idea anyway.

 

[Dolphin]

I realised something earlier which I thought I'd highlight:

Charities only get one shot at round 2 - after the one, both the WPI and the CAA will never be eligible again*.

So we need to make an all-out effort.

*Indeed this time next year, there may be a contest for charities with turnovers of over $1m where there are no eligible ME/CFS charities.

 

[Dolphin]

Flyer for meetings, etc. worldwide to help win $900,000 for ME/CFS Research

I made up a flyer for the seats of a meeting this week. I thought I'd post it in case it might be of use to other people.

I don't expect to win any design contests with it but if people don't have time to do anything fancier, hopefully it'll do the job. Feel free to adjust for your own purposes if you want, although it should work anywhere (hopefully).

It can also be linked to at:
http://bit.ly/mLgsxO
or
http://www.co-cure.org/Flyer_CCG_Round_2.pdf

 

[Dolphin]

CFIDS Association of America's "BIG IDEA" for Chase Community Giving

http://on.fb.me/itklJE
i.e.
http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-c...at-midnight-edt-please-vote/10150260426630539
(150 word limit)

In spite of its silly-sounding name, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is as
disabling as cancer, multiple sclerosis and late HIV disease. As many as 17
million children and adults around the world have CFS, and we still don't
understand its causes. To end the suffering CFS inflicts, the CFIDS
Association of America is building a critical mass of rigorous research that
validates the biological basis for CFS and leads to better ways to diagnose
and treat it. We're putting research first to achieve the vision of a future
in which the life-altering disability, stigma and isolation of CFS no longer
exist. Your vote will help us award grants to support new research studies
exploring diagnostics and treatments; expand our SolveCFS BioBank with more
samples and clinical information on patients and healthy volunteers; and
build a data-sharing platform to help researchers aggregate and analyze
information using powerful bioinformatics tools. Based in Charlotte, NC, our
work has worldwide impact.

 

[Dolphin]

From the Whittemore Peterson Institute Facebook page:

A message from Annette Whittemore

"As the competition moves along more charities are combining efforts. In the spirit of working together for patients, we're asking for people to use any unused votes to help support the CAA. Many have already voted for both and we thank you. Let's make medical research and patients a priority on this top 10 list for Chase."

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Links for the two organizations are:

(i) the CFIDS Association of America: http://t.co/VZEd5Pk

(ii) the Whittemore Peterson Institute http://t.co/Ev8j2dP

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ETA: I set up a specific thread to discuss it: http://forums.phoenixrising.me/show...temore-encouraging-people-to-vote-for-the-CAA rather than have a discussion spread over lots of threads.