Fibromyalgia Support Group
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I have been searching for the post on the FM calendar from the UK that had the polkadot girls in it but can't find it, so I'll post a new one.
I know there were conflicting opinions and I don't want to stir up any trouble.
What I did was email the owner and ask her where the funds would go from the sale of the calendars.
That was my main concern.
You can make up your own minds - but here is her response:
-----------------------------------------------
Dear deb,
Thank you for your recent email. I am sorry about sending you an un edited copy yesterday. I have never done that before, but was wanted to reply to your message as soon as possible. I had just got in off a flight from the USA, where l have been meeting with the director and her wonderful team of the National Fibromyalgia Association of the USA. I was having a major flare up together with having problems with my blackberry!
Anyway l hope the following answers any questions you had. And l hope you are able to support our campaign.
Part of the profits realised from the sale of the calendar will be pledged to raise awareness of Fibromyalgia. The Polkadotgals campaign was created to specifically raise awareness of Fibromyalgia within the press and media.
I created the campaign which the calendar is part of after speaking to leading world specialists, politicians, Fibromyaligia organizations and of course sufferers and realizing a real need for raising awareness in this area.
In order to create interest within the media and place fibro in the public eye, we needed to come up with something fashionable, fresh and fun, and with the calendar we feel we have achieved this already receiving national and international, t.v,newspaper and magazine coverage.
I have now managed to employ a reputable PR company full time and have established relationships with leading fibro specialists and organizations all over the world.
This however is a huge undertaking, it has always been my intention for this PR campaign to span over a number of years to give fibromalgia the attention it needs and deserves. This needs to be done by professional pr consultants who have the expertise, contacts and knowledge needed to be able execute a successful campaign. All of this of course comes at a great and ongoing expense. I have already put a huge amount of my own money together with families and friends and some corporate donations into the campaign to get to where we are now.
We need to continuously look at ways of raising funds for this cause to keep fibro where it needs to be in the public eye.
If you have anymore questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
It's fantastic to hear from Australia, as we will be distributing the calendar to Australia also.
Could you also please let me know which forum to look at where the project is being discussed.
Kind Regards
Bianca Embley
Polkadotgals Director
www.Polkadotgals.com
-----------------------------------------------
> Hi Bianca
>
> I just have a query about your calendar. It is being discussed on an
> FMS forum - good and bad..
>
> Where will the proceeds from the sales of the calendar go?
>
> I think that your answer to this question may impact on the sort of
> support you will get from fellow sufferers.
>
> I look forward to hearing from you.
>
>
>Regards
>
> Deb in Australia
> A fellow sufferer
>
>
I know there were conflicting opinions and I don't want to stir up any trouble.
What I did was email the owner and ask her where the funds would go from the sale of the calendars.
That was my main concern.
You can make up your own minds - but here is her response:
-----------------------------------------------
Dear deb,
Thank you for your recent email. I am sorry about sending you an un edited copy yesterday. I have never done that before, but was wanted to reply to your message as soon as possible. I had just got in off a flight from the USA, where l have been meeting with the director and her wonderful team of the National Fibromyalgia Association of the USA. I was having a major flare up together with having problems with my blackberry!
Anyway l hope the following answers any questions you had. And l hope you are able to support our campaign.
Part of the profits realised from the sale of the calendar will be pledged to raise awareness of Fibromyalgia. The Polkadotgals campaign was created to specifically raise awareness of Fibromyalgia within the press and media.
I created the campaign which the calendar is part of after speaking to leading world specialists, politicians, Fibromyaligia organizations and of course sufferers and realizing a real need for raising awareness in this area.
In order to create interest within the media and place fibro in the public eye, we needed to come up with something fashionable, fresh and fun, and with the calendar we feel we have achieved this already receiving national and international, t.v,newspaper and magazine coverage.
I have now managed to employ a reputable PR company full time and have established relationships with leading fibro specialists and organizations all over the world.
This however is a huge undertaking, it has always been my intention for this PR campaign to span over a number of years to give fibromalgia the attention it needs and deserves. This needs to be done by professional pr consultants who have the expertise, contacts and knowledge needed to be able execute a successful campaign. All of this of course comes at a great and ongoing expense. I have already put a huge amount of my own money together with families and friends and some corporate donations into the campaign to get to where we are now.
We need to continuously look at ways of raising funds for this cause to keep fibro where it needs to be in the public eye.
If you have anymore questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
It's fantastic to hear from Australia, as we will be distributing the calendar to Australia also.
Could you also please let me know which forum to look at where the project is being discussed.
Kind Regards
Bianca Embley
Polkadotgals Director
www.Polkadotgals.com
-----------------------------------------------
> Hi Bianca
>
> I just have a query about your calendar. It is being discussed on an
> FMS forum - good and bad..
>
> Where will the proceeds from the sales of the calendar go?
>
> I think that your answer to this question may impact on the sort of
> support you will get from fellow sufferers.
>
> I look forward to hearing from you.
>
>
>Regards
>
> Deb in Australia
> A fellow sufferer
>
>
It was reported as abuse I think - apparently someone at DS agreed.
Thanks for the update - I know some people don't think it matters, but it matters to me a great deal what the motivation is, and what the money will go for.
Even though I don't like the fibro commercials running here, I think any awareness and validation is good. I also think that showing a healthy, attractive person helps to dispel the misconception that we're all lying around on a couch, watching wrestling and eating chocolates.
We are as diverse a population as any other. In my local support group, I have women in their 20s all the way to 70s, women of all colors, sizes, and interests, and two men. We are not a sterotype, we are people, and the more awareness is raised, the more people will realize that.
Just MHO.
I would think the director of the NFA would have it posted somewhere on their site, since the leader of the PolkaDots meet with her.
Maybe I need to search Polkadots on the NFA web site. NO, nothing came up on the NFA site for Polkadotgals either.
The organization that is doing the calendars is in the UK, and that could be yet another reason that they aren't mentioned on the FMA website. There is a lot of information about the group and their efforts on their website www.polkadotgals.com, and I noticed that they are endorsed on the FibroAction website, which is also UK based.
Resource Directory
Complementary TreatmentsMedicationsDisability and Work IssuesMedical ResourcesElder IssuesMental Health and CounselingFinancesOverlapping ConditionsInsurancePain ManagementLegal IssuesResearch and Clinical TrialsLifestyle ResourcesService ResourcesMore info on the above resources can be found at the following web site http://www.fmaware.org/site/PageServer?pagename=resources_directory
External Events Agreements info can be found here.
http://www.fmaware.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_nfa#externalEventsAgreements
Financial Information can be easily found under annual reports.
http://www.fmaware.org/site/DocServer/AnnualReport2008.pdf?docID=1441
They also have some information on international FM communities
http://www.fmaware.org/site/PageServer?pagename=community_international