Blog Post #5

Dear Friends of NF Tennessee,

We hope you are staying safe, figuring out how to enjoy the holidays, and looking forward to 2021 with new hope and optimism.

The last few months have been really exciting for NF Tennessee. The MightyCause campaign organized by Elizabeth Wright in September generated a lot of interest and support, with 32 donors contributing to a total of over $5,000 for the NF Tennessee Laptop Giveaway Program. This will definitely expand the program for 2021. The interest was so strong that an additional $5,000 grant was awarded to NF Tennessee by the Gannett Foundation.

Another community building program that has just gotten underway, in collaboration with the artist Rachel Mindrup whose Many Faces of NF portraits have been so engaging and illuminating for the NF cause (see www.facebook.com/ManyFacesNF/), is the building of a portrait gallery of individuals from the Tennessee Valley region. So far four people have had portraits done, and we are looking for many more. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness about NF in our communities and it also serves as a fund raising activity by encouraging a donation to the NF charity of their choice.

Looking ahead there are lots of things coming up for the NF community in 2021:

• New editions of the NF Tennessee Newsletter and Kids page

• Teachers’ Resources for our NF kids

• Participation in the Neurofibromatosis Network Advocacy Program

• Acceptance of new applications for the NF Tennessee Laptop Giveaway Program (coordinated by Elizabeth Wright)

• NF Camp scholarships (coordinated by Pennie Brooks)

• NF Tennessee Picnic

• CTF NF Zoo day (coordinated by Nancy Carver)

• The fourth Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center NF Patient and Family Symposium

Please join NF Tennessee on our website (nftennessee.org), and follow us on Facebook at NFTenn. If you have an idea for a new program or know of a need that we can help with, please send in those ideas.

Happy holidays and best wishes for the new year!

Paul Moots, for NF Tennessee