SomnusNooze
Can you believe that 2016 is almost half over? It’s been a very busy year at the Hypersomnia 
Foundation, where volunteers have been hard at work establishing new programs and bringing you the latest information on the central disorders of
hypersomnolence—primarily idiopathic hypersomnia, but also narcolepsy and Kleine-Levin syndrome. In case you’ve missed anything, here is a brief summary.
- Attendance at Beyond Sleepy in the Mile High City far exceeded our expectations—we anticipated 50 people, planned for 75, and hosted 81 in Denver! Keeping our fingers crossed that the Livestream version would be well received, we hoped for 500 to 750 people to tune in. Wow, more than 1100 people viewed the program live, with an additional 235 having watched the recording in the past week. Not surprisingly, slightly more than 70% of people watched from the US. However, folks from Australia, Norway, France, the UK, and seven other countries also participated. Thanks to a volunteer, we were able to take questions from anyone who had a twitter account, and most of the questions were answered during the Q&A session, which was ultimately included in the Livestream broadcast. If you missed the program, please sign up at https://www.hypersomniafoundation.org/2016-hypersomnia-regional-conference-register/ and watch as many times as you like or invite your family and friends to participate.
- You are reading our 100th issue of SomnusNooze, the Foundation’s weekly free
electronic newsletter. Today, it landed in 1282 inboxes, which is up by more than 25% since the first of the year. If you have friends, colleagues, classmates, teachers or family members who would benefit from learning about the latest research regarding hypersomnia or understanding from reading what it is like to live with hypersomnia, encourage them to subscribe to SomnusNooze at https://www.hypersomniafoundation.org/news/. - We will be implementing a new feature in SomnusNooze called Ask the Doctor. Members of the Medical Advisory Board have graciously offered to answer your general questions about central disorders of hypersomnolence. Of course, they won’t be able to answer specific questions regarding individual treatments or conditions. Please send your questions to .
- After years of endless revisions and input from researchers, physicians, people with various forms of central disorders or hypersomnolence, and CoRDS personnel, we have launched the Hypersomnia Foundation Registry at CoRDS. This registry will form the backbone of many future research projects to be conducted by scientists from throughout the world. Your participation in the registry will garner new insights into the disease processes and help scientists better understand the differences among the various hypersomnia disorders. Please sign up today at http://www.sanfordresearch.org/cords/ to help solve the puzzle of hypersomnia. For more information, please visit the June 14, 2016, issue of SomnusNooze.
- This month, the Hypersomnia Foundation was the recipient of a grant from the Trip Advisor Charitable Foundation to increase awareness of hypersomnia. We are most appreciative of these funds, which will allow us to update our website and enhance our social media presence.
- The Hypersomnia Foundation has sought the input of a broad swath of the hypersomnia community in various ways over the past six months. With the launch of the PAAC, the People with Hypersomnia and Advocates Advisory Council, we have developed a means to boost communication with our constituents. In addition, last month’s survey, to which 192 people responded, is the first of what will be many surveys to elicit your input. You gave us a clear mandate that research and increasing awareness among the public and physicians are your priorities for the coming the year.
Not only do the members of the Board of Directors work tirelessly on your behalf, but they also all make the Hypersomnia Foundation a priority in their charitable giving. However, we can’t do it alone. Although we understand that not everyone has the means to simply write a check or transfer an appreciated stock, the continued success of the Hypersomnia Foundation is dependent upon your financial support. We offer you here several additional creative ways to support our continued efforts to meet these challenges you have set ourt for us.
Company Matching Gifts – Several donors have employers who match their gifts to the Hypersomnia Foundation – even a small donation makes a big difference when you double the opportunity to support people with hypersomnia!
Recurring donations through credit card or PayPal – A small monthly gift certainly adds up over time and is easy when you set it up to occur automatically. You don’t have to remember to make that payment, but what you can remember is the impact you will have on the hypersomnia community through your support.
Employee-Advised Grants – We received the grant from the Trip Advisor Charitable Foundation when a dedicated Hypersomnia Foundation volunteer nominated us late last year for her company’s giving program. We were invited to submit a proposal and make a presentation, which resulted in the aforementioned funds to increase awareness of hypersomnia among the general public and physicians. Perhaps your company has a similar program and a simple inquiry can make a world of difference
Friends and family helping friends and family – Many of the donations that we receive are in honor of someone who has hypersomnia. Talk about spreading the love!
AmazonSmile – Do you shop ANYTHING Amazon? If you designate the Hypersomnia Foundation as your charity of choice at amazon.smile.com, Amazon will donate a percentage of your eligible purchases to the Hypersomnia Foundation at absolutely no cost to you. Last year we were received several hundred dollars from AmazonSmile. Every bit counts!
Bravelets – A supporter set up a shop through Bravelets, where $10 from each item purchased is being donated to the Hypersomnia Foundation. When she set up the campaign, the supporter sent us this note, “Welcome! I came across this wonderful website a couple weeks ago. There are so many great fundraisers already started, but I noticed there was not one for hypersomnia yet! As someone who was diagnosed with hypersomnia, I know how hard it can be to be brave in the face of this frustrating and sometimes confusing illness. Please join me in spreading the word and helping the Hypersomnia Foundation.” https://www.bravelets.com/bravepage/hypersomnia-awareness-bravelets
Do you have a creative way of giving to the Hypersomnia Foundation? Please let us know, and we will gladly share it with others in an upcoming edition of SomnusNooze.