The Scleroderma Foundation Tri-State Chapter will hold its Virtual Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma event Saturday, June 26, 2021 on Facebook & YouTube.
Stepping Out is a family-friendly event that brings together people with scleroderma, their families and friends, and dedicated volunteers to honor people with scleroderma and lift the spirits of those who support them. All funds raised will help provide education and support services to the scleroderma community and help fund research to discover the cause, understand the mechanism, and overcome scleroderma forever. The virtual Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma event includes speakers, raffles, and entertainment in a virtual atmosphere via Facebook Live and YouTube.
Participants can register to walk or sponsor a walker online (www.SteppingOutWalk.org). Registration is also available via mail. The walk registration fee is $30 for participants 16 years and older and $10 for children ages 5 to 15. Children under five are free. Registration forms and donations may be mailed to the Tri-State office (59 Front Street, Binghamton, New York 13905).
The Virtual Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma event will combine 11 virtual walks throughout the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The walks are a highlight of June Scleroderma Awareness Month activities and they raise crucial funding to continue the Scleroderma Foundation mission. For more information, including a list of walks throughout the Tri-State region, visit www.steppingoutwalk.org.
Scleroderma [pronounced skler-o-derma] is a chronic, often progressive, autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks one’s body. Scleroderma comes from the Greek word “sclero” meaning “hard” and the Latin word “derma” meaning “skin.” One of the earliest and most easily visible manifestations can be a thickening and tightening (or “hardening”) of the skin. In some cases, it causes serious damage to internal organs, including the lungs, heart, kidneys, esophagus and gastrointestinal tract. As scarring, or sclerosis, of these organs and organ systems progress, they work less effectively, and can lead to organ failure and death.
Some medications and treatments can help with certain symptoms, but there is no cure for scleroderma. The disease affects about 300,000 people across the U.S, with an estimated 30,000 cases of scleroderma in the Tri-State Chapter’s New York, New Jersey and Connecticut service area.
The Scleroderma Foundation Tri-State Chapter is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving people living with scleroderma in New York, northern New Jersey and Connecticut. The chapter has a three-fold mission to promote the welfare of individuals and families affected by scleroderma, increase public awareness and support scleroderma research. The organization helps scleroderma patients and their families cope with the disease through support groups, educational forums, physician referrals and educational information such as articles, books and DVDs, available through our lending library and a growing number of videos online at www.sclerodermavideo.com.
More about the work and mission of the Tri-State Chapter can be found at www.SclerodermaTriState.org. Keep up-to-date on events and other happenings on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SclerodermaTS) as well as Twitter (@sclerodermaTS) and Instagram (sclerodermaTS).