The National Hemophilia Foundation’s (NHF’s) Annual Meeting provides an opportunity for people with bleeding disorders and their families to come together to get the latest educational information on treatments and therapies, reconnect with old friends and forge new relationships. Each year, NHF provides educational grants, giving new families and those who were previously unable to attend a chance to participate.
In 2011, NHF offered grants to 26 families and individuals. Grant recipients submitted applications explaining their circumstances, why their families needed assistance and how they planned to use the information learned at the meeting when they returned to their communities. They also submitted 250-word essays detailing why they wished to attend the meeting.
Kathleen Presti, from Plainfield, Illinois, attended the meeting in Chicago with her husband and two sons, one of whom has a bleeding disorder. The educational sessions she attended empowered her. “I learned a great deal of information that will help me be a better parent, advocate, consumer and patient,” Presti says.
The educational grants can be used to cover airfare or ground transportation, hotel costs for up to three nights and four days, and meeting registration fees for up to four family members. Attendees can enroll their children in NHF’s Babycare/Activity Program for Kids & Teens. “My children had an absolutely wonderful time at the children’s program,” says Darla Clayton, from Crescent, Pennsylvania. She attended the meeting with her husband, Gary, and her two children, 8-year-old Trent and 4-year-old Amarisa. “Several weeks after being home, they were still talking about the friends they had made,” she says.
To apply for an educational grant to attend NHF’s 64th Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, “Mapping Our Future,” on November 8–10, 2012, download an application (available in English or Spanish). Entries must be postmarked by Friday, June 22. NHF does not accept e-mailed or faxed applications. For more information, contact Sonia Roger, NHF education coordinator.