Another year, I’d like to
thank each and every one of
you for your endless support.
But, in order to continue our
mission of spreading COPD
awareness and education, we
need more help. We need each
of you to identify two other
individuals with COPD.
It’s as easy as starting a conversation with friends, family or neighbors. Identifying with others that have COPD will help them become educated, and empower them to take control of their lives and their disease.
Think of the 12 million people nationwide who remain undiagnosed —we want to reach as many of these people as we can.
As you read through this issue, final preparations are being made for the Second National COPD Conference on December 2nd and 3rd in Crystal City, VA. We congratulate the U.S. COPD Coalition for convening this follow-up conference to review progress made since the first conference in 2003. We’re excited to see the strides our community has made in education, awareness, research and advocacy—the cornerstones of our organization.
We’re also pleased that many leading researchers in the international COPD community will be participating in the conjoining COPD7USA Conference on December 3rd and 4th. This clinical education series is modeled a?er the COPD7 Conference held last summer in the U.K. Originally hosted in Europe on even-years, the European-held COPD Conference series for researchers and healthcare professionals is coming to the U.S. for the first time by the COPD Foundation. Both conferences will allow individuals with COPD to meet others, share their stories and partake in the building and growth of the COPD community.
This issue focuses on advocacy, since November is COPD Awareness Month, and World COPD Day falls on November 16th. We’re excited that more and more of you are signing up to be advocates for Operation 435! We can’t emphasize enough the importance of your involvement. Please take advantage of the advocacy toolkit you’ll find throughout the pages of this issue. It’s important that we connect with our lawmakers and establish relationships with them.
Over the past year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has engaged in our war on COPD, and created an action plan. ?e National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s national campaign, Learn More Breathe Better®, continues to generate more awareness, and the landmark public health awareness initiative, DRIVE4COPD™, has succeeded in screening 2 million people for COPD.
Through these campaigns and numerous local events, our community has significantly increased their involvement in programs and activities to support COPD awareness. We’ve proven that we can mobilize. Now is the time to increase the intensity.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, we’d like to thank all of you for your continued support—whether it be in the form of signing up for Operation 435, telling two friends about COPD, or donating to our cause. As we enter this ?anksgiving season, I would encourage you to make the COPD Foundation your charity for a tax deductible contribution— because every dollar counts. You can donate by utilizing the envelope you’ll find in this issue, or online at www.copdfoundation.org.
We’ve made incredible progress, but with limited resources, we need your help to be able to do so much more
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