Dear Friends and Family of MyositisSupport,
We have just passed another unprecedented month. We gained strides in creating more responsive and active communities, and Ben's Friends has been receiving some remarkable exposure lately. These convince me more of the worthiness of our cause.
Just a week ago, the 90’s top self help guru Stephen Covey passed away. He left our generation a legacy of vision-oriented entrepreneurs both on the social and corporate side with with his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He was the first to articulate President David Eisenhower’s Urgent vs. Important Principle through a four quadrant matrix which later became known as Covey’s Quadrants.
A favorite quote from Covey: "Be sure that, as you scramble up the ladder of success, it is leaning against the right building." He couldn't have said it any better.
I believe that we have leaned our ladder on the right wall, so to speak, when we chose helping rare disease patients as a mission. With persistence, we continued to focus our resources and efforts on what is important.
The following monthly highlights from Ben's Friends and MyositisSupport show this.
But first, let me extend a warm welcome to our new members.
IN THIS ISSUE
-———————————————————————————————————
BEN'S FRIENDS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH
The Guardian Interviews Ben Munoz as the US Supreme Court Deliberates Health Care
Ben Munoz Lectures on Social Entrepreneurship in North Eastern University
Eric Kroll Receives 2012 Mark V. Anderson Character-in-Action™ Leadership Award
Ben’s Friends Launches New Community for Traumatic Brain Injury Patients
MYOSITISSUPPORT COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
Featured Content: Vital Information on Herbal Supplements (Must Read)
-———————————————————————————————————
Welcome New Members
-———————————————————————————————————
Thank you for signing up! We assure you that you have chosen not just a community of well-wishers but a real family who cares for your genuine welfare.
Why don’t you make yourself at home and start exploring our site. You will find very interesting posts from over 30+ blogs and as many discussion points that may just bear the information you need.
Feel free to browse pages of members and find pictures and stories that are reflective of your own experiences. Throw in some of your pictures too! We love to see how you look as a new member of the household.
Locate yourself on the map and see if you are clustered near some members.
BEN'S FRIENDS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH
-———————————————————————————————————
The Guardian Interviews Ben Munoz as the US Supreme Court Deliberates Health Care
-———————————————————————————————————
Karen McVeigh of The Guardian talked to Ben Munoz, Founder of Ben’s Friends and a medical student from Texas, on June 29, 2012 giving him the opportunity to comment on the SC ruling in the context of his own battle with a debilitating illness.
-———————————————————————————————————
Ben Munoz Lectures on Social Entrepreneurship in North Eastern University MBA Program
-———————————————————————————————————
Ben shared how circumstances in life bring out the social entrepreneur in people and why they become better advocates in a cause where they are themselves involved. Sharing how Ben’s Friends got started, he cited interesting lessons for social entrepreneurs and inspiring life lessons from some of our communities.
-———————————————————————————————————
Eric Kroll Receives 2012 Mark V. Anderson Character-in-Action™ Leadership Award
-———————————————————————————————————
As a member of our team, Eric Kroll’s efforts in helping make life easier for rare disease patients did not go unnoticed by the Sigma Chi Fraternity.
-———————————————————————————————————
Ben’s Friends Turn Mobile
-———————————————————————————————————
Using technology to adapt to our members’ needs, Ben’s Friends has already made available most of the 30+ patient communities in a mobile app which will make discussion streams accessible to members 24 hours /7 days a week. Check out MyositisSupport’ s mobile link http://forum.myositissupport.org/m
-———————————————————————————————————
Ben’s Friends Launches New Community for Traumatic Brain Injury Patients
-———————————————————————————————————
TraumaticBrainInjurySupportis unique in that it started out as a Facebook group before being launched into a dedicated website.
-———————————————————————————————————
Twitter Chat
-———————————————————————————————————
John Stamler launched the first Twitter chat weekends this month with success. Watch out for announcements in your Myositis community to join in the next sessions with specific issues to be addressed.
MYOSITISSUPPORT COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
-———————————————————————————————————
Featured Content: Vital Information on Herbal Supplements (Must Read)
———————————————————————————————————
Like prescription medicine, herbal supplements can have both benefits and adverse side effects. Regardless of whether you subscribe to the use of herbal supplements or not, you will find this article very useful in providing insight on these matters.
-———————————————————————————————————
Featured Member: Robert
-———————————————————————————————————
Robert was diagnosed with myositis 14 years ago after his twins were born. With the help of his physical therapist, he is now in remission and is currently taking some medications to ease some pains. Robert joined MyositisSupport to connect with friends and share related experiences with other patients.
-———————————————————————————————————
Picture of the Month
-———————————————————————————————————
JC Coyler’s picture is our hands down featured photo of the month!
Og Mandino, American Author and Inspirational Speaker shares this quote: " Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday." Check more of JC Coyler's inpiring photos from this link.
———————————————————————————————————
Community Stats:
-———————————————————————————————————
Number of Members as of July 1, 2012 : 91
Members Joined Last Month: 6
I am glad that you have remained with us on this effort, and hopefully, if ever we reach our goal or if other interests direct us to even loftier heights, you will continue to be a part of our MyositisSupport family and the 19,000+ extended network of rare disease patients so far!
Cheers,
Ben