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Upcoming Events
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For a complete list of upcoming events, please visit the
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CHASE Community Giving
On behalf of the entire WSA family, we want to thank everyone who took the time to vote, share our links on your Facebook page, or encourage others to vote by posting special messages during the recent CHASE Community Giving Awards Campaign. With your help, the WSA placed 85th in the campaign and qualified for a $20,000 grant from CHASE. Placing 85th is a significant achievement. Consider the following: - More than 30,000 charities were nominated by CHASE customers nationwide.
- 7,000 charities were subsequently qualified by CHASE to participate
- WSA's ranking at #85 placed us in the top 1.2% of vote getters!
Williams syndrome awareness continues to grow, and our ability to help individuals with Williams syndrome is growing too. Thank you for all you do to help!
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George Cup
On September 27th, the 3rd bi-annual "George Cup" was held at the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, CT. Doug & Lucy Conrod organize the event in honor of their young son, George to help support WSA programs which will benefit, not only George, but every individual with Williams syndrome. Along with a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers, Doug and Lucy created a special event for all attendees, and an unprecedented success for the WSA. The event was the most successful in WSA history, and will dramatically increase our ability to fund research, and grow programs. On behalf everyone in the WSA family, we'd like to extend a very special thanks to Doug & Lucy.
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WSA Webcasts
On October 30th, the first of a series of bi-monthly webcasts was held for WSA members and friends. Drs. Thomas Collins and Leslie Smoot were our guest speakers for the hour-long informational seminar on the QTc prolongation that is sometimes seen in patients with Williams syndrome. If you missed the live webcast, you can listen to a recording on the WSA website. All future webcasts will be recorded and available on the website. Webcasts will be held bi-monthly and topics will alternate between medical, educational, and other issues. Our next webcast will be held in late December. The topic will be Assistive Technology. If you would like to suggest a topic for a future webcast, please send your ideas via email to info@williams-syndrome.org. Subject: Webcast topics
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Election 2012
Elected officials regularly make decisions that are critical to your life, including decisions about benefits, health care, education, and civil rights. By voicing our opinions as voters, we can make a huge difference in the everyday lives of all individuals with Williams syndrome.
The WSA encourages every individual with WS and their families to vote and make our voices count on November 6th!
Here are some nonpartisan resources you may find helpful:
The Williams Syndrome Association, as a 501(c)3 charitable organization, is legally prohibited from taking positions in support of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office. This information is provided for individuals to use in making their own judgments. |
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WSA Regional Realignment
Our membership is growing and with several queries from families and input from our Regional Chair-people (RC) we have re-aligned several regions to better serve our families.
- Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and the Western portion of the Florida Pan Handle now comprise the Gulf Coast Region with new RC, Searcy Kelly at the helm.
- The southern half of Texas, formerly a part of the Gulf Coast Region, is now a region of its own - the South Texas Region. Former Gulf Coast RC, Tess Lopez-Rich continues on as RC of the South Texas Region.
- The New York City Metropolitan areas of Manhattan, the Boroughs, Long Island, Southern CT and Northern NJ now comprise the NYC Metropolitan Region. These areas, all within a 40 sq, mile area were formerly parts of the Tri-State and New England regions.
- The Tri-State Region will continue to support Pennsylvania, the majority of New Jersey, and Western NY, while the New England Region will serve the traditional NE states plus Northeast NY and just the northern half of CT
- The Central Plains Region has been re-named the Heartland Region, on the advice of our RC in that area and other local families.
- Other recent adjustments (within the past 12 months) included moving Delaware to the Mid-Atlantic Region and Iowa to Heartland Region.
We hope that all of the changes will help us provide more, and more centrally located, events for everyone.
The regional realignment brings an adjustment to the RCs as well. As mentioned above, please welcome Searcy Kelly of Mobile, Alabama to the Gulf Coast Region. Searcy and her husband, Russell have 2 children. Eloise (WS) who is age 2 and Nancy Mae, age 4. Jessica Vecchia, formerly a Tri-State Region RC will be shifting to the NYC Metropolitan Region. Additionally, Amy Jun will become the RC for the Midwest Region, taking over for Ashley Happ. Amy is a former Michigander (now in the greater Chicago area). Amy, and her husband Matt have 2 young boys. Liam (WS) who is 4, and Evan, age 3.
Modern technology has allowed us to create a map that outlines the new regions and pin points where the WSA families are located. We encourage you to review the map, learn more about the population of your region, and appreciate how hard our many volunteers work to keep us all connected. If you find yourself in an area with a lot of pin points, and few opportunities to connect with other families, we need you. We are always looking for RCs to champion a region (or a portion of a region) as well as folks to host families for WSA supported parties and events. Please, contact Jennifer O'Byrne at the WSA National Office to inquire further - jobyrne@williams-syndrome.org or (800) 806-1871. |
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