Volunteers significantly contribute to the success of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association and our commitment to providing support, education, advocacy, and advancement of research, understanding, and care to those with HCM. Our volunteer’s tireless dedication gives an extra hand needed to make our communities healthcare experiences positive. To learn more about HCMA volunteer opportunities and get involved, click here.
HCMA Volunteer GEM Awards Program Please remember to log your volunteer hours regularly to participate in our Volunteer GEM Awards (VGA) program and be recognized at the end of the year with fun prizes and other forms of appreciation. Click GEM to learn more about our HCMA Volunteer GEM Awards Program and how you can get involved.
Share Your Story (SYS) HCMA Theme of the Month Stories One of HCMA’s themes for the month of May is Medical Management: what’s New, what’s old and what works,” featuring the story of Joseph Caruso. If you want to share your HCM story, please email julie@4hcm.org to schedule an interview. Patient stories are essential to help educate and spread awareness about HCM! HCMA Ambassador Program We are reviewing the applications we have received for our HCMA Ambassador Program’s inaugural class of 2023. Selected candidates will participate in a workshop designed to develop best practices for optimizing your social media feed to raise awareness of HCM through storytelling on various social medial platforms. They will learn to educate their audience using the HCMAs repository of accurate information to ensure HCM public awareness is factual and sound. To apply to share your HCM experience via social media as an HCMA Ambassador, click here.
Legislative Advocacy We have some new faces at the HCMA, our Summer 2023 interns! Each of our interns possess the education, experience, and enthusiasm needed to succeed in helping us move forward with the introduction and passing of the Healthy Cardiac Monitoring Act in each state.
Healthy Cardiac Monitoring Act (HCM Act) Our interns and volunteers have been working hard to set appointments and meet with legislators in Ohio and Connecticut. They aim to gain support and obtain a bill number as the next step to passing the HCM Act into law in these states.
To view the HCM Act proposed legislation, click the following link: Health Cardiac Monitoring Act – Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association ( 4hcm.org)
HCM Awareness Day Resolution/Proclamation:
The HCMA and Bristol Myers Squibb have partnered for a legislative initiative to designate the fourth Wednesday in February each year as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Awareness Day in every state.
These resolutions/proclamations will support our efforts to educate people about
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
**State by state, as we progress with these efforts, we will reach out to our volunteers to help champion these efforts in their home state. If you want to volunteer for our legislative advocacy group, click the link: https://bit.ly/3DNBKJI. Under Elizabeth T. McNamee, LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY VOLUNTEER GROUP
Free Online Patient Discussion Groups Our online discussion group meetings are recurring, but you must register for each meeting date. Our meeting dates, times, and topics are updated regularly, so check our event calendar regularly to join a meeting (or more than one) best suited for you! UPDATE: Our “Newly Diagnosed/New to the HCMA” online education sessions will now be held three times monthly, at various times, for even more opportunities to join a meeting.
To view our event calendar for meeting dates and times, please click the following link:
Patient Discussion Groups – Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association ( 4hcm.org)
If you have any questions about our volunteer projects, you can reach Julie Russo via email at julie@4hcm.org. We truly appreciate the generous people who donate their time and talent to advocate for and support our community.
The post <strong>Volunteer!</strong> appeared first on Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association.