Dear Family and Friends:
I recommend opening your letter by talking about your personal experiences with TM or the other neuroimmunologic disorders. As an example, the following paragraph is the opening of my letter:
Pauline and I have been on a journey. As you all likely know, Pauline contracted Transverse Myelitis in July 1994. From the onset of her illness, we have gone through a long period of rehabilitation and experienced many adjustments and accommodations in our lives. It has been difficult, but Pauline has made progress; from a wheelchair, to a walker, to canes. Today, while Pauline has numerous challenges, she has mobility and independence, and she can drive with special modifications in her car. Pauline works full time as a second grade teacher in the Worthington School System in central Ohio. We are truly blessed, and particularly in comparison to the many other people we know who have TM.
TM is a neurological condition caused by demyelination of the spinal cord. There is tremendous variability in the presentation of symptoms, which are based on the level of the spinal cord affected, and the severity of the damage to the myelin and the neurons in the spinal cord. The symptoms of TM include muscle weakness, paralysis, difficult nerve sensations, pain, spasticity, fatigue, depression, and bowel, bladder and sexual dysfunction. Infants can get TM; 90 year olds can get TM. Males get TM and females get TM. There does not appear to be any difference in the prevalence of TM among any particular ethnic or racial group.
Transverse Myelitis is a rare neurological disorder that is part of a spectrum of neuroimmunologic diseases of the central nervous system. Other disorders in this spectrum include Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), Recurrent Optic Neuritis, and Devics disease or Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO). The membership of The Transverse Myelitis Association includes persons with all of these disorders, their family members and caregivers and the medical professionals who treat people with these disorders.
The Transverse Myelitis Association was established in 1994 as an organization dedicated to advocacy for those who have these rare neuroimmunologic diseases. The TMA was incorporated on November 25, 1996 in the state of Washington and became a 501(c)(3) organization on December 9, 1996. The TMA has grown from 187 members in 1997 to more than 5800 members today from all fifty of the United States and from more than eighty different countries around the world. There are no membership fees; the TMA operates exclusively on the basis of voluntary contributions. The TMA has support groups in local communities around the country and around the world. The Transverse Myelitis Association is making a tremendous difference in people’s lives; the Association is making a difference in mine and my family’s lives.
The Association offers support to members and their caregivers. The TMA provides information and education and advocates for TM research. The TMA has a wonderful website that was designed by Jim Lubin, the Information Technology Director, an officer and a board member of the TMA. He is a full quadriplegic and is ventilator dependent. Jim performs all of our computer work by sipping and puffing Morse code into an adaptive device, which translates into computer commands.
The Officers and the Board of Directors of the TMA are volunteers. The TMA has no employees. The TMA has nearly no overhead. There are no offices; the officers and board work from their homes, pay for most of their own supplies and office equipment, their own computer equipment, and their own long-distance phone bills and internet access. The TMA does not use any of its funds for fundraising purposes. All of the operating funds go directly to offering services to the members. The vast majority of operating costs is for the printing of information that is distributed to members and for postage.
The Transverse Myelitis Association is raising money for research. We have brilliant physicians and scientists from around the country and around the world who are interested in performing research to find better treatments for the symptoms of the neuroimmunologic disorders. We also have researchers interested in finding a cure for TM. The ultimate hope for people with TM lies in the research that will find ways to regenerate myelin and neurons in the spinal cord.
If this research is going to be performed, the TMA is going to have to raise the money to make it happen. We need your help to make this happen. I strongly urge you to support this important effort. We would be so grateful for any assistance you might be able to provide. There is no contribution too small; please support us in any way you are able.
It is extremely difficult to raise money; the competition for good-cause dollars is fierce. There are a lot of good causes. People give to the causes that impact their lives; those causes with which they have an emotional connection. Unfortunately, from a fund-raising perspective, TM is a rare condition. We do not touch very large numbers of people; our shouts for help are easily drowned out by much larger but not more devastating or important causes. Thus, I am coming to you for help. This horrible illness has changed my life forever; it has changed my family’s life. I am asking that it change you! It is the only way I can make a difference; I need your help in making a difference.
Please make your check payable to The Transverse Myelitis Association and please write TM Research on the check.
Please send your check to:
The Transverse Myelitis Association Paula Lazzeri, Treasurer 10105 167th Place NE Redmond, WA 98052 United States of America If you are making a donation in honor of someone in your family or a friend, please send us a note with your check and we will be sure to send them a letter recognizing your generosity in their name. Please be sure to include their full name and mailing address. There are many companies that participate in matching gift programs. If you work for such a company and would like to encourage your company to match your contribution, The Transverse Myelitis Association is classified as a 501(c)(3) organization (not-for-profit) by the Internal Revenue Service. EIN 91-1780467. I know many of you set aside a percentage of your income each year to give to those in need. What I am asking is, if you do, please consider giving a portion to The Transverse Myelitis Association. The sooner we can find out what causes Transverse Myelitis, the sooner we can find a cure.
I greatly appreciate your consideration of this important opportunity to help a very special community of people.
Sincerely, Your Signature |