CONTACT NAME:

TEL:

EMAIL:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE:

“Fibromyalgia Affects Everyone”
(NAME OF TEAM) to Participate in 2nd Annual Walk of FAME as Part of
National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day - May 12, 2009

CITY, STATE— (TEAM NAME) will be one of hundreds of teams to participate in the National Fibromyalgia Association’s Second Annual Walk of FAME (Fibromyalgia Awareness Means Everything). The event, a major component of the association’s 2009 National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day campaign, consist of a series of buddy-type walks in local communities nationwide. (TEAM NAME) will walk from (START TIME) to (END TIME) at (LOCATION) in the city of (NAME OF CITY).

The theme for this year’s campaign, “Fibromyalgia Affects Everyone,” focuses on the far-reaching effects of this common, chronic pain disorder—from broken lives to the economic costs for patients and society.

• An estimated 10 million men, women and children in the United States suffer from fibromyalgia, which is characterized by chronic widespread pain, multiple tender points, abnormal pain processing, sleep disturbances, and fatigue.
• For those with severe symptoms, fibromyalgia can be extremely debilitating and interfere with basic daily activities.
• Total healthcare costs over 12 months are about three times higher among fibromyalgia patients compared to patients without the disorder
• Fibromyalgia costs the U.S. between $12-$14 billion each year

[Insert paragraph about your team and who will be walking. Example: Team Fibro is led by Linda Smith, a Chicago-resident who was diagnosed in 2002 with fibromyalgia. She will joined by XXXXXX.]

“This event provides an opportunity for (TEAM NAME) to educate others in our local community about this life-altering disorder—and to bring hope to the millions of people who suffer from it,” says Team Captain (YOUR NAME).

ABOUT AWARENESS DAY
In 1993, Tom Hennessy, the founder of RESCIND, INC.  (Repeal Existing Stereotypes about Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases), designated May 12 as International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND).  The date was chosen to memorialize the birth date of Florence Nightingale, the English army nurse who inspired the founding of the International Red Cross.  Nightingale contracted a paralyzing, CIND-like illness in her mid-30s and spent the last 50 years of her life virtually bedridden.  Despite her illness, she managed to found the first-ever School of Nursing. Awareness Day activities take place worldwide in an effort to increase awareness of chronic pain illnesses including fibromyalgia.

 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL FIBROMYALGIA ASSOCIATION:
The National Fibromyalgia Association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and execute programs dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with fibromyalgia. The NFA publishes a quarterly magazine, Fibromyalgia AWARE, and hosts an award-winning website at www.fmaware.org.