May 12th, Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) and Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) Awareness Day, is just around the corner. It is extremely important to voice our concerns to the politicians so that they will know that we need them to support more funds for research into the cause, effective treatments and to find a cure for these illnesses. We have a pre-formed CFIDS/FMS Awareness Day letter is meant to do just that!

The letter can be highlighted, copied and then pasted into an email, or printed and photocopied, and handed out to everyone willing to sign and mail it. You can change the information within the letter to better suit your needs. The letter can be used as a sample, in part or in its entirety.

Handwritten letters get the most credence but we understand that writing a letter by hand is too much for many of us. You may want to hand-write a sentence or two on the form letter to personalize it.

If you aren't up to mailing the letter out you can send emails and/or make phone calls on May 11th. (May 12th falls on a weekend this year.)

Ask you friends and family members to contact their representatives too-every person counts!

1. Each person should send three letters:

• one letter to each of their state's two Senators and
• one to their Representative. *

2. Click here for our pre-formed Awareness Day letter.. Be sure to fill in the missing information such as name, address, zip code, (for both you and your government representatives), and sign the letter.

3. Mail, fax or email your letter to your Senators and Representative.

*The Senators for your state can be found by going to the following web page and entering your state:

United States Senate:
http://www.senate.gov

The Representative for your local area can be found by going to the following page and entering your zip code:

You can also call your local voter registration office to obtain the same information.

After you send your letter:

1. Ask your friends and family to write their representatives. (They can adapt the pre-formed letter to reflect who they are: family member of a person with CFIDS/FMS, husband, wife, friend, etc.)

2. Wear a blue ribbon to promote awareness of these illnesses. Take as many opportunities as you can find to let people know about CFIDS and FMS over the coming week.

3. Ask you friends and family to wear the ribbons too-and have them tell others about the effects these illnesses have had on you.

4. Make follow up calls to your representative's offices on or near Friday May 11th. (May 12th is a Saturday.) Remind them of the important issues you included in your letter.