Home Forums General Discussion Our past "e-Bulletins," are they still being sent?

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  • #308618
    A Friend
    Participant

    Hello Cheryl, and all of our RBFBB leaders,
    While doing a search in my Word documents, one of RBFBB e-Bulletins showed up… containing very interesting information that wasn’t on my immediate topic list at the time it was received.

    I searched all over the Board Index, etc. up above, but did not find a mention of it.

    Then I did a search in the little search window above to search for posts by topic words, and the e-bulletins did not show up. Then, had the idea to put e-bulletin in quotation marks (“e-bulletin”) and success! Quite a number of us posted accolades for our president Cheryl and those others responsible for these e-Bulletins. If any of you are interested in these, maybe they are archived and a link to them may be available ???

    Best to all of you for the fast-approaching NEW YEAR 2015. And my prayers and best wishes for all of you/us searching for answers for ourselves, our families, and for all people who suffer and need answers. And let’s not forget about the DONATE button, if we are able. Together our small donations may join together to do a BIG thing!

    Hugs to all,
    AF

    #374305
    Maz
    Keymaster

    @A Friend wrote:

    Hello Cheryl, and all of our RBFBB leaders,
    While doing a search in my Word documents, one of RBFBB e-Bulletins showed up… containing very interesting information that wasn’t on my immediate topic list at the time it was received.

    I searched all over the Board Index, etc. up above, but did not find a mention of it.

    Then I did a search in the little search window above to search for posts by topic words, and the e-bulletins did not show up. Then, had the idea to put e-bulletin in quotation marks (“e-bulletin”) and success! Quite a number of us posted accolades for our president Cheryl and those others responsible for these e-Bulletins. If any of you are interested in these, maybe they are archived and a link to them may be available ???

    Best to all of you for the fast-approaching NEW YEAR 2015. And my prayers and best wishes for all of you/us searching for answers for ourselves, our families, and for all people who suffer and need answers. And let’s not forget about the DONATE button, if we are able. Together our small donations may join together to do a BIG thing!

    Hugs to all,
    AF

    Hi A Friend,

    Thank you for kindly remembering and commenting on the quarterly RBF eBulletins that were produced a few years ago. They were incredibly time-intensive to write and produce and, in spite of the annual appeals in the Fall eBulletins, didn’t seem to be stimulating much in the way of donations for the foundation in relation to the cost, time and amount of effort that was going into them (e.g. interviewing people in remission for Remission Corner stories, recruiting doctors for articles, gathering research articles and writing commentaries, writing up outreach and foundation news items, etc).

    A look back…

    In the old days, when RBF first started out, no doubt you will remember that there was a quarterly hard copy newsletter, called “The Intercessor” that Pat Ganger (a co-founder of RBF) and the early crew of volunteers put together. To receive this newsletter by snail mail, people had to apply for a paid subscription to cover costs of printing and mailing and this also provided a way to collect regular donations to the foundation from subscribers.

    When RBF began producing the eBulletin, the decision was made, however that it would be a free newsletter, eBlasted on a quarterly basis, to all subscribers who signed up for it with their email address on the home page of the main site. At that time there were nearly 5000 subscribers!

    Today…

    As you kindly mentioned, A Friend, RBF has only managed to exist on few donations and, in large part, on the good will of its volunteers to continue keeping it alive for all APers. No one receives a salary at RBF, there are no institutional financial sponsors, and it is a foundation run by patients and patient advocates to provide support and resources to other rheumatic patients choosing the treatment. A small group of patient volunteers email thousands of peer-maintained doctor referral lists per year upon request, moderate and maintain the forum, take time from work to attend conferences and meet for monthly meetings, set up booths at health fairs, to hand out brochures and other information, connect with doctors interested in helping their patients with the treatment, spend hours per day on the phone or via email talking with patients who are looking for peer support…the list of behind-the-scene activities of this foundation is endless. The donations that occasionally come in are from patients who were grateful to receive a physician list and to find the therapy is a treatment option. So, thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention. It is the end of the year and it is the season for giving to others and paying-it-forward.

    The future…

    RBF volunteers have high hopes for a functional new website to bring RBF into the 21st century in the not too distant future. A new website should increase the foundation’s web rankings and visibility would be greatly improved, extending its reach to countless souls who aren’t aware that this treatment choice exists. A new website would also include a Community Blog for subscribers to receive email notifications of regular RBF Blog news items and include all the great items that used to be included in the eBulletins and Intercessor newsletter and more.

    The future is bright for RBF and, rest assured, every single penny that is donated to RBF goes right back into keeping this foundation and its community forum alive for past, current and future APers! πŸ™‚

    For you, AF, and anyone interested in a “look back,” here are links to old RBF eBulletins that spanned a few years. They evolved a bit over time:

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_spring08.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_summer08.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_fall08.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_winter09.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_spring09.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_summer09.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_fall09.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_winter10.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_spring10.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_summer10.html

    https://www.roadback.org/EmailBlasts/ebulletin_fall10.html

    Wishing everyone a very happy 2015 that will bring renewed health to all!

    #374306
    Ariel
    Participant

    Maz,

    I tried to submit a donation electronically, and I received an error message. I tried 3 times and got the error every time.

    #374307
    Maz
    Keymaster

    @Ariel wrote:

    Maz,

    I tried to submit a donation electronically, and I received an error message. I tried 3 times and got the error every time.

    Hi Ariel,

    Yes, thank you – someone else mentioned this issue the other day, as well. πŸ™

    For the time being, the alternative “old fashioned” method is also mentioned on the site, as follows:

    https://www.roadback.org/Giving/index.html

    Gifts and Contributions can also be sent to:

    The Road Back Foundation
    P.O. Box 410184
    Cambridge, MA 02141″

    Thanks for sharing this issue, so others don’t waste their time trying to figure that out, Ariel. πŸ˜‰

    #374308
    A Friend
    Participant

    @Maz wrote:

    @Ariel wrote:

    Maz,

    I tried to submit a donation electronically, and I received an error message. I tried 3 times and got the error every time.

    Hi Ariel,

    Yes, thank you – someone else mentioned this issue the other day, as well. πŸ™

    For the time being, the alternative “old fashioned” method is also mentioned on the site, as follows:

    https://www.roadback.org/Giving/index.html

    Gifts and Contributions can also be sent to:

    The Road Back Foundation
    P.O. Box 410184
    Cambridge, MA 02141″

    Thanks for sharing this issue, so others don’t waste their time trying to figure that out, Ariel. πŸ˜‰

    Maz,
    My spouse mailed a donation to Road Back on December 9, 2014 to the address I gave him. Just checked our copy of the letter accompanying it, and we used the address you have above. If this has been received, this should confirm this is a good address to use.
    Hugs to all of you,
    AF

    #374309
    Cheryl F
    Keymaster

    AF~

    Thank you for your contribution. To date I have not received notice of having received this donation (I personally receive the info from the person who picks up the mail (the past president, Diane, whom you know). I have emailed Diane to inquire. I will write you personally when I learn whether the donation was received.

    Warmly,

    Cheryl

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