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When people
ask me how a small rare illness association can be so
mobile, can do so much and do it so fast, the answer
I give them is simple. The answer is you. We are in this
together.
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Dear Friend:
When I was a child, my parents took me to Niagara
Falls. I remember being impressed with the huge power plant four
and a half miles downstream from the Falls. I was struck by the
story of how electricity was drawn from the water.
It wasn't the river that made the electricity.
It was the people who stood back from the river and observed
its power…its potential. They built an amazing structure
that drew value and opportunity from that raw power.
Why am I telling you this story?
PHA is like that power plant. Our strength
comes from the harnessing of streams of individual potential
into an
organization of common cause...an organization working hard to
make a difference in the fight against pulmonary hypertension.
We are an organization that has grown from four
women around a kitchen table to now over 6,000 members – with
50 more joining each month.
Our possibilities are enriched when our members
and friends – people like you – step back to consider
the possibilities...and then step in to help.
The enclosed annual report is rich with many examples
of a community in motion...
- PHA’s medical journal – the
only PH medical journal in the world – was founded and
is led by a team of world class physicians from PHA’s
Scientific Leadership Council
- PHA’s Patient-to-Patient Telephone
Helpline which routes dozens of calls each day into the homes
of 16 volunteers, 15 of whom are patients, 7 of whom are
also nurses
- Our newsletters, Pathlight and Persistent
Voices,
are both edited by patients
- PHA’s network of 108 support groups
(and growing) is made possible by patients and other volunteers
committed to helping each other live better with this illness
- The new 282 page Patients Survival Guide,
3rd edition was produced by a patient working with a
volunteer team of over 40 researchers, writers, designers and
medical
reviewers
- Finance and strategic planning committees
that monitor PHA funds and plan our future directions
- Dozens of special events – garage
sales to golf tournaments – organized by first-time
planners and raising hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars
each
- Over 2,000 patients, family members and
medical professionals who have made – and are making – contact
with members of Congress educating them to our needs and
opportunities to help our cause
Thousands of donors and friends – like
you – are
contributing generously to make all the above activities and
the many others you will read about in the enclosed report (and
many beyond that!) possible.
Please renew
your annual membership today or make
an end-of-year
contribution. Keep PHA moving forward.
Thank you for all you are doing in the struggle
against this illness... and thank you, in advance, for your generosity
in helping us continue the struggle against pulmonary hypertension.
Together, we are making a difference in the history
of this illness.
Sincerely,
Rino Aldrighetti
Executive Director
P.S. There are many ways to contribute. I hope
the enclosed brochure is helpful to
you as you consider tax issues at the end of this year.
2004 Annual
Report (
email
