Join VHF in bidding Megan Schowengerdt a fond farewell! January 21st was her last official day with VHF and we are going to miss her. We thank her for her time and talent over the past four years and most especially for her enthusiasm in growing individual giving in our community and for our Unite for Bleeding Disorders Walk. She will be starting as the Development Director for Menokin in February and we wish her the best of luck in her new position!

March is Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month, and we need your help to spread awareness and raise funds! During the 2021 March Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month Campaign you helped us raise $6,367 (our goal was $2,500!) which allowed us to increase our Lyman Fisher Scholarship awards from two recipients to four! This year, with your help our goal again is to raise at least $2,000 from our amazing community of donors, constituents and supporters that will fund our 2022 VHF Scholarship Program. 

The VHF Lyman Fisher Scholarship was established to honor Dr. Lyman Fisher, a teacher, researcher, and clinician in hemostasis. For many years, he directed the adult hemophilia program for Virginia.

Application Deadline: 11:59 pm, Friday, April 30, 2021

Application Procedure: Applications can be completed using our online application form or you can download the paper application form and email the application to info@vahemophilia.org.

Scholarship Award: Scholarships are one-year awards in the amount of $2,000 for a full academic year. The scholarships may be used at any accredited nonprofit college, university, or vocational/technical school in the United States and are to be applied toward a student’s educational expenses. Go here to learn more and apply.

VHF is pleased to offer travel grants to attend national meetings. National meetings enable our community to come together and exchange information on a wide variety of topics, from the basics of diagnosis to the most relevant developments in treatment and technology. If applying for travel assistance for a national meeting typical award amounts depend on the availability of travel scholarships offered by the national organization. See the link below to learn more and contact VHF at 804-740-8643 or info@vahemophilia.org if you have any questions.

This beloved family event allows community members, their families and caregivers to come together for camaraderie and education. HFA is excited to host their first in-person Symposium since 2019 in San Antonio, TX, April 20-23, 2022. They know everyone is not comfortable traveling just yet so some sessions, such as the keynote presentations, will have an online component.

Travel grant applications for the NHF 2022 Bleeding Disorder Conference in Houston, Texas are now open! Applications will be open through March 6th.

NHF is offering Connections for Learning, Inhibitor, Inhibidores en Español, and Ultra-Rare Bleeding Disorder Travel Grants for those who want to attend the Bleeding Disorders Conference in Houston, TX from August 25-27, 2022. NHF’s Bleeding Disorders Conference enables communities to come together, network, learn and exchange information on a wide variety of topics including the basics of hemophilia & von Willebrand disease, rare bleeding disorders, research breakthroughs and new drug therapies.

Team IMPACT program tackles the emotional trauma and social isolation experienced by children between the ages of 5 - 16 years old that are facing chronic illnesses (such as hemophilia and Von Willebrand’s Disease) by matching them with a college athletic team. Through their two-year therapeutic program that complements their medical treatments, children develop relationships and skills that help them complete the full circle of healing. Go here to download a program overview.

The dangerously low blood supply levels have forced some hospitals to defer patients from major surgery, including organ transplants. Your donation is needed. One way you can help is by making an appointment to give. As an extra thank you, when donate in February, you'll get a $10 Gift Card by email from Amazon.

Date/Time: Sunday, February 20, 2022 at 4:00 pm

Location: Zoom

An interactive educational program sponsored by Spark® Therapeutics in collaboration with VHF. If you like escape rooms, puzzles, and teamwork, this is one event you don’t want to miss. Join a team to journey through a quest in this virtual adventure, where solving each clue gets you one step closer to unlocking the science of gene therapy research. Time is ticking… so sign up today!

Date/Time: Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 4:00 pm

Location: Zoom

Join VHF, HTC staff and mentor families for a virtual program for new families! This program is designed to support families of infants and young children with hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders with community connection and education. This program is free and open to VHF constituents with children who have been diagnosed with an inherited bleeding disorder in the last 7 years.

Topic: Ages and Stages: Early Childhood

This virtual session will help parents better understand what they can expect behaviorally and emotionally throughout the early years of childhood. Child development, temperament, common mood and behavior problems and parenting strategies will be discussed. The session will include some bleeding disorder specific information, for example, when a child can start to self-infuse from a behavioral standpoint not a medical standpoint, how (hemophilia) treatments progress with age, and the prevalence of anxiety and other behavioral challenges among children with bleeding disorders. 

Presenter: Juliana S. Bloom, Ph.D., Pediatric Neuropsychologist at The Levin Center

Date/Time: Sunday, March 27, 2022 at 10:30 am

Location: Topgolf Richmond

Get active with your bleeding disorders community and celebrate Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month! Join VHF for education, celebration, community building and opportunities to enhance health and fitness at Topgolf. We look forward to exploring how you can take charge of your bleeding disorder and life, while having fun learning about the game of golf.