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New Chapter Serves Scleroderma
Patients and Families in Georgia
 The Scleroderma Foundation has chartered a new chapter to cover the state of Georgia. The formation of this chapter will connect scleroderma patients in the southern U.S. with the essential resources and support they need.
The Georgia Chapter is the 23rd chapter for the Foundation and will have headquarters in suburban Atlanta. It is the result of one family's determination to help people living with scleroderma as well as to educate the public about the disease after the death of one of its members. In 2009, the Basile family lost a sister and daughter, Kathleen Basile. "Our goal is to help people with scleroderma and their families. We want to make Kathleen's wish of finding a cure a reality so no one else has to go through what she did," said Doreen Towhey, Kathleen's sister. "There are so many people in Georgia that need a support system. It isn't just the patient that battles the disease. The entire family needs support to cope and manage scleroderma. Our mission as a chapter is to raise funds for research for the cure. But, as we wait for that to happen, we want to create new support groups throughout Georgia." Doreen along with her sister, Peggy Levengood, will serve as chapter co-president. With more than 2,300 members on the National Foundation's database in Georgia, the state currently only has one support group that serves the Atlanta/Duluth area. We hope to have a second support group in Newnan form later this year. The chapter's website will be available Monday, April 4. For more information about the Scleroderma Foundation's Georgia Chapter or to join, call Peggy Levengood at (770) 925-7037. | 
The Ad-Hoc Group for Medical Research
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