MAY 2020

#GIVINGTUESDAYNOW WRAP-UP  A HUGE THANK YOU to our amazing community for supporting #GivingTuesdayNow by donating toward the VHF Scholarship Program. Together we raised $1,180 from 30 wonderful supporters. We are so grateful for your generosity during a challenging time, and we know our scholarship recipients are too! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

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VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: KRISTA DAVIDSON VHF is proud to spotlight Krista Davidson as a nominee for VHF Volunteer of the Year in 2020. Krista has been actively involved with VHF since 2015 and is the co-chair of the VHF/HACA Advocacy Committee, has volunteered her time creating and facilitating numerous advocacy education sessions, was elected to HFA's inaugural Advocacy Leadership Council, and is very involved in fundraising for the VHF Unite for Bleeding Disorders Walk. At the VHF/HACA Virtual Advocacy Chat in April, Krista shared her personal story of working in a hospital setting during this time of COVID-19. We were so moved that we asked her to share her story for this months' newsletter. This week is National Nurses Week so it seems fitting to also honor her work as a nurse. Join us in thanking Krista for all she does to support this community! My Experience of Covid-19 as a Nurse: There are billions of Covid-19 stories throughout the world and my experience seems like a raindrop in a rainstorm. I have been a nurse for 19 short years. My current specialty is Palliative Care. I take care of patients with serious illness needing symptom management, at end of life.

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BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU (BBB) TIPS ON AVOIDING COVID-19 SCAMS COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is affecting people, businesses and communities around the world. Better Business Bureau reminds everyone to remain vigilant to avoid scams related to the virus, use necessary, common sense precautions when traveling, and find reliable sources to stay informed about what to do as the virus spreads.

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LET'S CELEBRATE THE 2020 GRADUATES IN OUR COMMUNITY! Do you have a high school, college, and/or trade school graduate in your family? Send us an email with a photo and a few words highlighting their accomplishments so that we can share and celebrate them in our June newsletter! Email heather@vahemophilia.org.

HACA/VHF ADVOCACY COMMITTEE VIRTUAL CHAT Join the HACA/VHF advocacy committee for a virtual chat! Advocacy Amid Upheaval: Making it Work Join Miriam Goldstein, HFA Director of Policy, and Becky Bowers-Lanier, advocacy consultant for HACA and VHF, for a webinar devoted to advocacy in our newly configured COVID world. Join us as we share what we’ve learned since mid-March and how we can maintain our voice when we cannot physically be present. We’ll talk about strategies and answer your questions. Date: Tuesday, May 12 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Online - When you register you will receive instructions on how to join in, either by video conference or by phone call.

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FIRST STEP VIRTUAL PROGRAM FOR NEW FAMILIES 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 for families with children who have been diagnosed with an inherited bleeding disorder in the last 7 years. Date: Thursday, May 21 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Online - After you register you will receive instructions on how to join in, either by video conference or by phone call.

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VHF'S ANNUAL MEETING IS GOING VIRTUAL! We have made the difficult decision to move our 2020 Annual Education Meeting from an in-person event to virtual. Our biggest priority at this time is the health and safety of our community, and by moving to virtual we are still able to bring you the same relevant and timely education that was planned all while keeping you and your families safe. We will be spreading these sessions out over a few dates in June and we will send more details via email and social media soon - stay tuned! Dates: Thursday, June 4th at 7:00 pm Thursday, June 11th at 7:00 pm Thursday, June 18th at 7:00 pm Saturday, June 20th at 1:00 pm, 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm Sunday, June 21st at 5:00 pm

HACA/VHF CAMP YOUNGBLOOD UPDATE The 2020 in-person session of Camp Youngblood has been suspended. We are working to figure out how to continue to engage campers in new and creative ways and/or exploring ways to provide alternative programming for our campers, we will be in touch!

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UNITE FOR BLEEDING DISORDERS WALK: REGISTRATION IS OPEN! When: Sunday, October 25, 2020 Where: Stony Point Fashion Park, Richmond We are still planning on our October 25th fundraising walk. Join us in person or virtually as we unite together for a special one-mile walk, program and fun fall festival at Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond! You do not need to be present to fundraise and spread awareness for VHF and bleeding disorders - but we hope to see you there! This event is free and open to everyone inside and outside the bleeding disorders community. Walk t-shirts will only be available to those who are registered and have raised a minimum of $25 by Thursday, October 16th. We have a fundraising goal of $25,000 from our participants and we need your help to get there! We encourage you to form a team and make your own special team shirts to walk together that morning!

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