Week 1: 1,030 letters generated to Congress
Week 2: 2,719 letters sent to editorial pages of newspapers
across the country
Week 3: It’s up to you!!
The nation’s top public health official is Secretary
for Health Tommy Thompson. He heads the Department of Health and Human
Services (DHHS) and provides leadership for the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and several other health agencies.
DHHS has a CFS Advisory Committee. It has met three times since September 29,
2003. Secretary Thompson will rely heavily on this committee to set the "CFIDS
agenda," but he needs to hear from you, too.
This week we will direct letters to Secretary Thompson with
copies to his chief staff for CFS issues, Dr. Christina Beato, the Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, and Dr. Larry Fields who serves as the
CFS Advisory Committee’s executive secretary.
Our letters will focus attention on the shrinking support of
CFIDS research by the NIH, reinforce the need for more staff for the CDC’s
research program, and thank him for creating the CFS Advisory Committee, an
important forum for moving research and education efforts forward.
We have created an area for you to share a brief recap
of your CFIDS story, whether you’re a patient, a caregiver or a
concerned friend. Please fill in text here, otherwise your letter will
include the words "Insert brief personal story here." (The vast majority of
letters sent during week 1 included this "stock" text, one reason we didn’t
leave a space in the week 2 letter!) Go to http://www.cfids.org/,
click on the Capitol Building icon and follow the prompts
from there.
You may want to say more or edit other parts of the letter.
This is possible and not hard to do. Our Grassroots Action Center allows the
user to create custom letters on any topic, at any time. And you can cut/copy
text from our letter and paste it into your own. Follow the steps provided below
my name.
And don’t forget to use Tell A Friend. The
more letters Secretary Thompson receives, the greater our impact will be.
Thank you for participating in CFIDS advocacy. We value your
support!
K. Kimberly McCleary
President & CEO
The CFIDS
Association of America
Steps to create a custom letter:
1.If you want to use any of the prepared text, go to that
letter first and copy it into your clipboard (highlight text and hit
control-C).
2.Click on the "Elected Officials" tab.
3.Click on "Agencies" text, located just below the Media Guide
tab.
4.Select "Department of Health and Human Services" and click
GO.
5.Click the envelope icon to the right of Thompson’s name.
6.Fill in your letter! (If you have our prepared text in your
clipboard, drop it into the box using control-V)
