BOBBY JONES CSF NEWS

JANUARY 2023

Welcome to our News page! Every month, we will share important, interesting or newsworthy information about what’s happening with Bobby Jones CSF and what we feel you may want to know! Learn about our programs, upcoming educational and fundraising events, virtual support group & Ask the Expert meetings and research projects. We look forward to sharing it all with you!

Check your Charity!

It’s important that before you donate to a charity, you make sure that organization aligns with your passions and values. When you give to Bobby Jones CSF, you can give with confidence!

GUIDESTAR
Check us out here
Platinum Transparency 2022

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU (GIVE.ORG)
Check us out here
Bobby Jones CSF is the only accredited Chiari organization to have met all 20 standards of charity accountability.

CHARITY NAVIGATOR
Check us out here
Bobby Jones CSF is the only Chiari organization to receive a 100% score, earning the 4-Star Charity designation.

GREAT NONPROFITS
Check us out here
2022 Top Rated non-profit with 111 reviews

Education

This month, our Virtual Ask the Expert lecture will feature Dr. Steffi Dreha-Kulaczewski, on Thursday, January 26th at 7:30pm ET. Topic will be announced soon. Register here.

Have a topic of interest? Contact: mpoppe@bobbyjonescsf.org

Support

We hold a support meeting for those who are HIGH SCHOOL and COLLEGE aged every last Sunday of the month at 5:00pm ET, for ADULTS every last Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm ET, and for PARENTS and CHILDREN quarterly, on the second Tuesday of the month.

The Children’s support meetings will take place just prior to the Parent’s meetings, at 6:30pm ET. A parent or caregiver must be present with the child at the children’s meetings. Registration is part of the Parent’s registration (there is an extra question to answer regarding whether you will be attending the child’s meeting at 6:30pm)

High School/College Support Meeting – Sunday, January 22nd @5pm 

Adult Support Meeting – Tuesday, January 31st @7:30pm

NEW!

Additional Support & Social Services. Patients and caregivers living with Chiari malformation, syringomyelia and related disorders may need help that Bobby Jones CSF can’t provide. For example, many patients and caregivers alike need more help with benefits assistance, clothing/household goods, transportation, employment services, housing/utilities, respite care, legal/financial counseling, mental health and more. These concerns, often referred to as the “social determinants of health” are just as important as accessing care. Social and economic issues can even impact symptom presentation or long-term outcomes of treatment!

To try and fill this gap, BJCSF has partnered with our friends at the Child Neurology Foundation and Unite Us to help connect patients and caregivers with services that can help them in the ways that we cannot! Learn more.

Research

We are busy ramping up our research programs and ongoing projects for 2023! There are few ways you can get involved right now, focusing on anything from the language of disability to the underlying issues associated with Chiari, syringomyelia and related disorders.

Understanding the Language of Disability. Below is a call for research from a current genetic counseling student who is looking to hear from people impacted by various disabilities. This is a great opportunity to improve the research space in the understanding of disability, invisible or otherwise!

My name is Megan Weible, and I am a student researcher in the Genetic Counseling program at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro. I am seeking diverse perspectives about the lived experience of how language interacts with disability and health. I, myself, have a disability and am interested in conducting research in this area as it combines my personal and professional interests. It is important to me that research about our community is done in collaboration with experts – you! If you identify as disabled or as having a disability, have a health condition that influences how you interact with the world, are a disability advocate or activist, a family member or loved one of someone with health support needs, a caregiver, and/or a healthcare provider I want to hear from you! Through this study, I aim to explore language preferences between those who are personally affected by a health condition or disability and unaffected individuals who are advocates, healthcare workers, or loved ones of affected individuals. I would love to hear from those with diverse neurotypes, physical differences, mental health conditions, chronic illnesses, genetic diagnoses, and other health conditions. If you would like to learn more about my story and research, you can watch my Genetic Alliance webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEwAZHVtURM&list=PLmDcGanXc-MPTUPSDNqpJhaF_RWAgL8SJ&index=1.

Participation in this research study would involve completion of a short survey. The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. Follow this link to participate directly: https://id.lunadna.com/referrer/peer-group-uncg1?studyName=disability-uncg. Complete a short registration process with Luna to gain access to the survey. Thank you so much for your interest in this research. If you have any questions, please reach out to mmweible@uncg.edu.

International Patient Registry. You can also participate in the international patient registry. New publications are currently being written, based on responses many of you have already provided! Don’t forget to also consider connecting your patient health portal and genetic results to your account to improve the data! Got questions? Contact kesposito@bobbyjonescsf.org.

Events

Casino Night “Night at the Races
Saturday, March 4, 2023
Staten Island, New York
Purchase tickets, a sponsorship, or journal ad or make a donation here.

Bobby Jones Classic
Sunday, March 26 – Monday, March 27, 2023
Atlanta, Georgia
Secure your playing spots or sponsorships now!

The Calamity Jane Charity Cup Benefiting Bobby Jones CSF
Date TBA
Bobby Jones Golf Course
Atlanta, Georgia
Registration coming soon

Dinner Dance for a Cure “In Paris
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Twinsburg Hilton Garden Inn
Twinsburg, Ohio
Registration coming soon

Introducing unite4answers!

We introduce you to unite4answers and here is the new logo…

unite4answers is a collection of fundraising events around the country to help fund medical research and education programs that foster better answers. These events bring people together who are living with the devastating effects of Chiari malformation, syringomyelia, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and related disorders. You can read more about unite4answers at this link:  https://bobbyjonescsf.org/unite4answers/

We invite you to join us as an Event Chairperson, participant, or solo walker. If you are interested in chairing a unite4answers event, please register here.

Introducing the 2023 t-shirt design

To become a 2023 National Sponsorship Form for unite4answers, please see the below information and send in the form or complete the sponsorship on line here.

The deadline to be included on the 2023 t-shirt is 4/1/2023.

unite@thehill

We will be walking to Capitol Hill again this year. Registration is now open! For more information, visit our unite@thehill page.

Shop Amazon and Support Bobby Jones CSF!

Thanks to you for shopping at smile.amazon.com or with AmazonSmile turned on in your Amazon shopping app! Your everyday purchases have generated over $11,000 in donations to Bobby Jones CSF!!

Shop right now by clicking the picture below and AmazonSmile will donate a portion of your proceeds back to Bobby Jones CSF at no additional cost! You can do good just by purchasing items you already need!

 

If you remember to go to AmazonSmile first, every time you shop, that’s awesome! For most people, the best thing to do is add a browser extension that automatically redirects you.

For Google Chrome, check out Smile Always.

For Firefox, check out Smile Redirect.

For Safari, check out KeepOnSmiling. These extensions will automatically redirect you to your smile.amazon.com page every time, so you will never need to remember to go to smile.amazon.com first!