I am pleased to share that thanks to the generous support of our donors, the Celiac Disease Foundation achieved a number of critical milestones in 2020 in our efforts to accelerate the development of treatments and a cure for celiac disease. These include:
• Presenting celiac disease, for the first time ever, to the National Institute of Health’s Autoimmune Diseases Coordinating Committee.
• Hosting our first annual Patient Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC.
• Sponsoring the First SSCD Consensus Workshop: Research Opportunities in Celiac Disease 2020 at Columbia University. The workshop featured presentations by leading celiac disease researchers from around the world and, most importantly, was attended by a key research administrator from NIH.
• Launching iAdvocate, an online platform at iadvocate.celiac.org that generates both targeted and national grassroots support for critical legislative and regulatory initiatives important to the celiac disease patient community, including expanding the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act to include celiac disease.
• Patient recruitment for 5 clinical trials for celiac disease therapeutics and diagnostic tools.
• Creating with Children’s National a new 504 guide for parents, caregivers and school systems, Voluntary Recommendations for Managing Celiac Disease in Learning Environments.
• Growing iCureCeliac into an even more powerful and essential research tool, fueling the publication of multiple research papers and posters in leading peer-reviewed forums.
Despite that this has been a year unlike any other, we have continued to work hard to serve our patient and caregiver community. In recognition of these efforts, we have been awarded a 100% Charity Navigator Encompass rating and a Platinum rating by Guidestar.
I appreciate that you have many choices for your year-end philanthropy. I hope that our work over the past year, as well as the promise of even more success in 2021, has kept us on your list of preferred charities. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today as the Celiac Disease Foundation Board of Directors is matching all donations up to $150,000, DOUBLING the impact of your gift, in our fight for treatments and a cure.
Please know that I am always available at [email protected] and 818.716.1513 x102 to hear how we can better serve you.
Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year,
Marilyn G. Geller
Chief Executive