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September 2015

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Serving Indiana

Question

 

Will 'nightshade' vegetables increase joint pain or lupus flares?


Scroll down for the answer.  


Strategic Planning Update and Workplace Giving

Dear Friend,

The Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter (LFA-IN) Board and Staff continue to work with Dalton & Associates on the implementation of our strategic plan.  In August, over 5,000 electronic surveys were distributed to different geographic areas and to different groups. We are proud to report a slightly higher than average completion rate for this first stage of our data compilation project.  Over the next few weeks, several telephonic focus groups are scheduled with facilitators, with patients, with partner organizations, with sponsors and with our physician network to gather additional information. These calls are confidential - neither myself nor LFA-Indiana staff will attend these conferences. This is an opportunity to give your unique perspective on the prioritization of future goals. We sincerely hope that all who are invited choose to attend one of these calls.  

This is also an opportunity, on our end, to thank you for the many ways you may be supporting what we do. What we are able to accomplish is, in large part, due to all of your efforts: from volunteering or spreading awareness to monetary, product and service gifts. The Indiana lupus community has taken to heart a phrase that occurs in the philanthropic world again and again: No money, no mission. Ours is a collective responsibility. Some of you will be with us at our Indianapolis Walk to End Lupus Now! event next Saturday, September 26, and we are excited to thank you in person and to hear your stories. 

I would like to spotlight one woman and the way she has chosen to support our cause through her workplace. Theresa Burks has worked for over 8 years for the BMV and she recently reached out to her leadership at BMV to promote her Indianapolis Walk team, Fine as Frog Hair. BMV has featured her story in their employee newsletter and has announced it will donate half the funds raised from special events for the State Employee Community Campaign (SECC) to our Chapter to further our mission. Congratulations to Theresa and a huge extension of gratitude to BMV for their involvement. 

Theresa's accomplishment makes an easy link to an important reminder: Fall is the time that many employers advertise their workplace giving campaigns. Public sector, private sector and military employees can donate to the LFA-Indiana Chapter through their annual payroll deduction plan. Please carefully review your pledge form from your employer to see if you can designate LFA-Indiana Chapter to receive your gift. 


Sincerely ,

Morgan E. McGill
CEO
Thank you to our National Walk™ Sponsor


Walk to End Lupus Now™, Indianapolis
September 26 is right around the corner! Click here to register and start 
raising funds for lupus. 

Thank you to two of our main, Gold Level ($5,000), and Silver Level ($2,500) sponsors:

 
Spotlight on Duke Energy: Duke Energy makes life better for millions of people every day by providing electric and gas services in a sustainable way --affordable, reliable, and clean. Duke Energy Indiana makes life better for people with lupus by being a sponsor of the Walk to End Lupus Now! Indianapolis. For the last two years, the Company has donated funds to support the Walk and purchase the lupus patient bags. Doug Esamann, past president of Duke Energy Indiana and current Executive Vice President and President-Midwest and Florida Regions, and his wife, Kim, engaged with our Chapter as a result of their daughter, Kalee, having lupus. 
Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States, supplying and delivering energy to approximately 7.3 million U.S. customers. 
Duke Energy Indiana is a regulated public utillity primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in portions of Indiana. Duke Energy Indiana's service area covers 23,000 square miles and supplies electric service to 810,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers. 
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company. 
Our Chapter thanks Duke Energy for their support! 

Spotlight on Eli Lilly and Company: 
Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism.
Lilly was founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs. More than a century later, the company is passionate about building on this precedent in its continued pursuit to make life better for individuals, communities, and the world.
Lilly's heritage and values are the foundation of their promise to unite caring with discovery to make life better for people across the globe. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Lilly employs approximately 41,000 worldwide. Lilly makes life better for people with lupus by supporting the LFA-Indiana's fundraising and advocacy goals for the past 5 years. The largest supporter of both the Crown Point, Indiana and the Indianapolis Walk to End Lupus Now! events, the Chapter owes its growth and success to Lilly's partnership.  
Upcoming Events
Sept 22, 2015
Health and Life Science Experience Expo,  11am-1pm; Tower Residence Hall on the IUPUI campus. 875 W. North Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202.
LFA-Indiana will exhibit at this community event!

Sept 26, 2015
Walk to End Lupus Now™, Indianapolis
Southeastway Park
Indianapolis, Indiana

October 24, 2015
Facilitator Training
11:00am -5pm
LFA-Indiana Office, 9302 N. Meridian Street, Suite 203, Indpls, 46260.  This is a free training event which is mandatory to become a volunteer facilitator for an Indiana support group. If interested or for more information, contact debbie@lupusindiana.org.
Registration is required
 


Follow us @lfaindiana.
We are 136 followers and growing! Follow us!  


Please be reminded that if you would like to hold a Third-Party Fundraiser for our Foundation we will post your event on our Chapter website. If you would like assistance creating a third-party fundraiser, we will work with you to help plan. Here are two ways that you can help support our chapter:
1. Ask your favorite restaurant to donate a portion of their daily sales to the LFA-Indiana Chapter for one day. Please let the Chapter know if your restaurant agrees, so we can work with the restaurant to promote the event for its greatest reach.
2. Hold a fall yard sale and donate all or a portion of your proceeds to the LFA-Indiana Chapter. 


Save the Date!
Annual Volunteer Luncheon, Saturday, November 7th at 11AM, Indianapolis, location to be determined. 



Ask the Experts: Lupus in Children and Adolescents

"Ask the Experts" is a series of educational talks and presentations on a variety of topics designed to provide you with important information about living with lupus. This month, Dr. Stacy Ardoin provides information about lupus in children and adolescents. 

Fifteen questions were submitted by readers and will be answered on this topic. Be sure to check back in October to see all the questions and answers!
  
Joy Cameron: Shine Your Light
After a lupus diagnosis at age 40, Joy felt as though she had lost herself. She had always been an advocate and caretaker for others, including an adult son with autism, but now she needed to care for herself and find a way to move forward. What better way than to start competing in pageants? Let Joy's story of following her own path inspire you to follow your own.
 
Read her story here.
Support Groups
One of our chapter goals is to have co-facilitators for all support groups to ensure the sustainability of the groups. To that end, we are seeking dedicated volunteers who would be interested in becoming co-facilitators for existing support groups in Bloomington, Greenfield, Indianapolis North, Otterbein & Valparaiso.
We are also in search of new facilitators to take over or start new support groups in Anderson, Evansville, Greencastle, Kokomo, Richmond & southeastern Indiana.
A passion to serve & modest time commitment are necessary. The co-facilitator must attend LFA facilitator training; a session is scheduled in Indianapolis on Sat., Oct. 24. Please view the Facilitator Role Description for additional information.
The philosophy of LFA support groups is to provide a warm & caring environment where people with lupus, their family members, caregivers & loved ones can share their experiences, methods of coping & insights into living with lupus. LFA support groups encourage & accept people as they are & provide a comfortable learning environment to help them develop the best coping strategies to reduce stress that often accompanies living with a chronic illness. 
We hope that you or someone you know might be interested in volunteering for this important role in meeting support needs for people whose lives are impacted by lupus.
 
Interested candidates should contact Debbie Campbell via email at debbie@lupusindiana.org .
 
Click here  to see all Indiana locations and details about each group.

Chapter participates in Leadership Indianapolis' Get on Board event October 5th 

Hosted by Leadership Indianapolis, Get on Board is an opportunity for civic-minded, passionate individuals to learn more about area non-profit organizations, their services and leadership.  Now in its 13th year, Get on Board will take place on Tuesday, October 5th, at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis from 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. This is an opportunity to learn about more than 2,500 organizations in search of great leaders and volunteers. Mark your calendar and plan to attend! Be sure to visit the LFA-Indiana exhibit while there. This is a free event with free parkiing, but registration is required. To register, visit www.leadershipindianapolis.com 
 

To learn more and/or to attend this event, please click here.

Announcing our newest Staff member!  

LFA-Indiana welcomes Susan Perry to our team as Office Manager.

Susan brings over 8 years of experience as a Principal Gift Officer at Butler University, working alongside several University boards and stewarding over 150 donors. Susan worked most recently at the Indianapolis Art Center as a Public Relations & Fundraising Manager. Susan resides in the Meridian Kessler area of Indianapolis and currently is involved with several civic organizations, including Teacher's Treasures, the Portfolio Club, and The Player's.  Welcome to the team, Susan!  She can be reached at susan@lupusindiana.org

 
AnswerNightshade vegetables include white potatoes, tomatoes, peppers (sweet and hot) and eggplant. While there is anecdotal evidence that some of these foods can be related to inflammation, there is no solid scientific evidence to support this concept. If you have a concern about a particular kind of food in your diet, keep track of when you eat that food, and to look for a pattern between consumption and a worsening of lupus symptoms. You would want to observe a link between a particular food and a flare on multiple occasions, not just a few times.    Learn more.
 

If you're shopping online, don't forget that a portion of your purchase will benefit LFA Indiana Chapter when you shop using the links below:

Give Back While You Shop
 
Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter | 800.948.8806 | morgan@lupusindiana.org | http://www.lupus.org/indiana
9302 N. Meridian St., Ste. 203
Indianapolis, IN 46260