The Cure Advocate Program is an exciting way for you to partner with the SRF in the common goal to find a cure for scleroderma. Cure Advocates are volunteers who actively raise awareness about scleroderma and raise funds for SRF research projects aimed at finding treatments and a cure. The SRF Cure Advocate Program has a long list of ways you can be involved in the quest for a cure. From organizing a simple car wash to a major gala event, you decide what’s comfortable and possible for you. The suggestions below can get you started thinking about the best way to become a Cure Advocate.

Cure advocate Leif Batel helps raise scleroderma awareness and funds by running a marathon in his friend Caroline Colsons honor.

Almost any activity can be made into a fundraising event. You can organize a dinner/dance, hold an auction, a fashion show or a garage sale. Sporting events are some of the most successful Cure Advocate fundraisers. Whether it’s a marathon, walk-a-thon, bowl-a-thon, or a fishing, golfing or tennis tournament, hosting a sporting event is a great way to raise awareness and funds for research.

The SRF will supply you with information on scleroderma to hand out at your event. Don’t forget to notify your local paper or television station to help boost participation and raise awareness even more.

When you raise awareness about scleroderma, you place the need for a cure in the public eye and bring more people to the fight for a cure. You can distribute information packets and flyers—supplied by the SRF—to friends and family, or speak at your local church, women’s groups, service club or any other social group or gathering. You can also sponsor an information booth at a local fair or festival, or host a small gathering in your home to show the movie “For Hope”, about a scleroderma patient and her family. The SRF has tapes available for screenings.

The media is a powerful tool that can be used to help raise awareness. Ask your local television station or newspaper to do a story about scleroderma. The story may include information about you or someone you know who has scleroderma. This is the most direct way to inform a great number of people. You can also alert a local newspaper to the time and place of your next education or fundraising event.

Contact the Scleroderma Research Foundation for your free Cure Advocate Program packet, with more suggestions, tips and advice to help make your first Cure Advocate project a huge success. Phone toll-free 1-800-441-CURE (2873). We are here to support you.