As we move into Summer we want to take a moment to reflect on our very busy Spring and to let you know what we have planned for the remainder of 2023!IN THE NEWS We are excited to announce our new Executive Director!!! The Lupus Foundation of Northern California (LFNC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Bakewell as its new Executive Director effective July 01, 2023. Tom Bakewell started as the Interim Executive Director in February and the LFNC is thrilled to continue to work with him moving forward. Tom is a leader with a passion for creating positive change in the community. With over 15 years experience in the nonprofit sector, Tom has a proven track record of successfully leading organizations and driving impactful initiatives. Under Tom’s leadership, the nonprofits he has been associated with have achieved significant milestones including growth in programs and services offered, increased funding levels, solid expense management and overall organizational efficiencies. As a result, each organization has been able to expand its reach and impact making a meaningful difference in the lives of those served. Prior to joining the Lupus Foundation of Northern California, Tom has held leadership or board positions at several other nonprofits, including the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, the Sovereign Order of St John, Cake4Kids and the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University. Tom works collaboratively with the staff, volunteers, board members and community partners to achieve the Lupus Foundation of Northern California’s mission of Improving Lives Impacted by Lupus. Hopefully, you had a chance to meet Tom at our 45th Anniversary Gala, or have seen him as a moderator for our Lupus Heath Conference. We invite you to join us in welcoming Tom at a Welcome Reception on July 27, 2023 from 5:00- 7:30 pm at the Lupus Foundation of Northern California’s office. Wine and appetizers will be served. For more details or to RSVP click here.  Lupus Awareness Month The San Jose City Council honored the Lupus Foundation of Northern California for our service to the lupus community on May 9, 2023. Our Executive Director, Tom Bakewell, attended the ceremony and received the commendation from Mayor Matt Mahan and District 3 Councilmember, Omar Torres. We began celebrating Lupus Awareness Month by offering our Lupus Community free classes to REGAN MOVES, every Tuesday and Thursday in May! We hope you enjoyed that and as a special thank you, we have partnered with Regan Birr to offer these classes for the rest of the year! The zoom links will change quarterly, so be sure to register in order to receive the most recent information. Also if you cannot make it during the day but would like to try a workout, Regan records her workouts and we can email them to you! Send an email to communications@lfnc.org and we can send you a recording. We were also happy to welcome back our 2020 Face of Lupus and Living Well with Lupus practitioner, Julie Viscuso in May to lead us in some wonderful mediations on our Instagram page. You can view her mediations on our Instagram or Facebook pages.  Although May is Lupus Awareness Month, we bring awareness to lupus every month! You can help by sharing your lupus journey on your social media and tagging us or by donating to the Lupus Foundation of Northern California! Any amount helps us continue to offer support and services to lupus patients! PATIENT SUPPORT PROGRAMS Announcing a NEW Patient Program ~ Virtual Pharmacist We are always looking for new ways to help our Lupus Community and with that in mind we have organized a new program which will give access to a Pharmacist virtually every month. During a scheduled meeting you can discuss medications, side-effects or ask questions. More information will be available soon- so keep an eye out on our social media and/ or your email! Lupus Health Conferences We have been busy hosting our FREE, virtual Lupus Health Conferences over the past few months. We hosted 2 in April which covered some great topics, including Diagnosis Systemic Lupus 2023 and Treatment, and Teen with Lupus. We also hosted a great conference in May about “Finding Common Ground with your doctor, and a dietician spoke on health food choices for lupus patients! Don’t forget, If you missed any of the previous Conferences, you can find them all on our website under Video Resources. We have been very focused on finding new doctors and speakers to present interesting and unique topics. Don’t miss your chance to join us on August 19th where Dr. Rekha Mankad, an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the division of cardiovascular diseases and the Director of the Women’s Heart Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Rekha will be discussing rheumatological conditions and the heart. In our 2nd session of the conference we will welcome Regan Birr of REGAN MOVES! Our next Fall Lupus Health Conference will be on Sep 30, 2023. Dr. Alvin Wells will discuss Lupus Nephritis and we will have our Sacramento Support Group holding a Patient Panel! You can register for these FREE Lupus Health Conferences below!
Lupus Buddy Program Can you believe that our Lupus Buddy Program will be celebrating its 8th Anniversary this August!?!? We are so proud of this program which aims to create, nurture and sustain an environment in which patients can share their experience and knowledge by pairing relatively experienced patients with newly diagnosed patients—the "lupus buddies." FUNdraisers this summer!!  Enjoy some great beer for a great cause!! We have some FUN planned for this summer! Join us on Thursday, July 13th between 6:00-9:00 pm at Hapa’s Brewing Company in San Jose! This event is open to everyone and Hapa’s will donate 10% of all sales between those hours! Hapa’s is family and dog friendly! So bring your whole family and help us raise some $$ AND enjoy a night out!! Hapa’s is located at 460 Lincoln Ave, Ste. 90, San Jose  Outrun Lupus 5K!! The 29th Annual Outrun Lupus 5K is returning to Campbell Park on September 23rd!! This event will be In Person AND Virtual! Start training now, if you want to run and earn a placement medal!! We are excited to welcome back Rob Mayeda from NBC Bay Area News as our Emcee this year! This is our 2nd largest fundraising event of the year, and we need your help to make it a success! Grab some friends and create a team - whether you live locally or not- you can participate! Outrun Lupus Mascot Contest
Do you have a four-legged best friend? If so, start taking some cute pictures and writing up a brief description of them so you are ready to enter the Outrun Lupus Mascot Contest! The companion that receives the most votes will lead the Outrun Lupus Race and receive some cute LFNC logo’d items! Watch our social media or your email to see when you can submit your favorite four-legged friend!! We hope to see you over this summer! We have a few other exciting things in the works so be sure to follow our social media at: https://www.facebook.com/LupusOnline/ https://www.instagram.com/ https://twitter.com/LFNC
0 Comments
  Can you believe April is here already?!!? This year has started out with the addition of 3 new Board Members, an Interim Executive Director and our Annual Gala & 8th Annual Purple Ribbons Awards!! We also have our first 2 Lupus Health Conferences scheduled and are working with Doctors to get more scheduled throughout the year! Read all about our exciting changes below! Welcome New Boards Members & Interim Executive Director We are excited to announce our 3 new Board Members, Allison Jones, Janet Green and Kamran Turkoglu. Allison Jones is Doctor of Pharmacy with professional experience in the Biotech Industry, specifically Regulatory Affairs. She is focused on consistently optimizing processes and keeping up with the clinical and pharmaceutical landscape. What interests Allison is combining her pharmacy and biotech knowledge to support patient advocacy. She is committed to giving back and support the community via volunteering and education. She also enjoys consistently learning, making an impact, strategizing positive change, creating solutions and empowering others to reach their best potential. In addition to her professional career Allison continues to volunteer with other nonprofit organizations by tutoring children K-8 th grade. Allison is originally from Cary, NC, but currently lives in Fremont, California.  Janet Green has been a Management professional with over 30 years of experience in leadership, business operations, and extensive volunteer roles. She has worked in high-tech since 1989 and has been at Adobe Systems for thirteen years, fulfilling many positions focusing on operations and process improvement. Her current role as Business Excellence leader has been her favorite, and she continues to love the challenge and opportunities it brings. She has accomplished much over the past two decades and is looking for new goals and aspirations to help others live a healthy and fulfilling life in any way she can. Her greatest accomplishment has been working closely with orphans and destitute adults in Andhra Pradesh, India, for eight years. Working with others to shelter, feed, clothe, educate, and focus on health and spiritual growth within underprivileged communities during this time. Our team constructed a modern facility that continues to house thirty children and a local Christian church to help bring spiritual guidance to the surrounding communities. She has recently serviced her Harley Davidson Nightster and purchased a new helmet and riding boots; hoping to begin riding again this summer!  Kamran Tukoglu: Dr Turkoglu is a seasoned emerging technologies/markets executive leader, with diverse advanced/innovative technology leadership and architecture background. Dr. Turkoglu possesses experience with concentration on emerging technologies, partnerships, markets, innovation, and business development, and holds past collaboration experience with many industry and academia partners including but not limited to NASA Ames Research Center, NIO-Autonomous Driving division, National Science Foundation, US Air Force Directorate and more. He has been actively participating as a Board Member in different organizations and has unique interest in health care, biology and preventive healthcare analytics. We are excited to have new board members with a variety of backgrounds and experience to bring to our Foundation.  Meet our new Interim Executive Director! Tom Bakewell: Tom is an accomplished IT executive with exceptional experience in the insurance, high tech industry and nonprofits with a relentless drive to improve business operations, increase productivity and reduce costs. He is a passionate problem solver known for business acumen, delivering on commitments and creating an environment of continuous improvement and entrepreneurship. In addition to his professional career, Mr. Bakewell has been involved in many nonprofit and charitable Organizations. Tom is excited to join the Lupus Foundation of Northern California helping the Foundation achieve our strategic goals, continue to deliver outstanding patient programs and services, and to help to position us for continued success. Tom currently lives in Aptos, California with his wife Alison. Their children reside throughout the Bay Area and western United States.  8th Annual Purple Ribbon Awards We had a lovely evening celebrating our 45th Anniversary & 8th Annual Purple Ribbon Honorees on March 18th! It is always such an honor to hear lupus patients share their lupus journeys and know that we offer support and education to them and those who love them. You can view the photos from the evening here. If you joined us and had your photo taken, be sure to check them out here. Fund the Mission It is not too late to Fund the Mission and help us continue to improve lives impacted by lupus. Follow this link to donate today! 2023 Programs This year we have 2 Lupus Health Conferences scheduled for April! Our first conference will focus on Systemic Lupus and Lupus Nephritis and our second conference will focus on Lupus in Young People, mainly adolescents and teens. We are grateful to AstraZeneca, Aurinia, and GSK for their sponsorships for the 2023 Lupus Health Conferences. You can find more information about both Lupus Health Conferences here at our website. We are planning some exciting events for Lupus Awareness Month in May, so be sure to check our website and/or social media to get the most up-to-date information. Did you have a chance to join Julie Viscuso for a Breath mediation session in February? If not you can view it here or just try it whenever you feel like you need to relax and de-stress! We are working with Julie and some other talented people to offer some useful Living Well with Lupus sessions in 2023!  Mark your Calendar!!
The 29th Annual Outrun Lupus 5K is coming back to Campbell Park on September 23rd!! Get ready to start a Team and start training now, if you want to run and earn a placement medal!! Be sure to check our website or our social media to get details on when signup begins!! Goodbye 2022! Happy December! We cannot believe it is already the end of the year and we are on our way to welcoming in 2023!! We ended November with the sad news of the passing of our founder, Jo Dewhirst. We wish to convey our condolences to Jo’s family and friends. The LFNC will miss Jo and having her wonderful support at our events and just chatting on the phone to catch up. You can watch an interview with Jo from 2019 on our website here. Donations can be made in Jo’s honor on our website. Her legacy will continue to guide LFNC’s team until we find a cure. Face of Lupus At the end of each year, the Lupus Foundation of Northern California recognizes the courage and strength of lupus warriors near and far, and honors a lupus patient as the Face of Lupus for the following year. In this role, the Face of Lupus dedicates their time and story to help raise awareness and build community with others living with lupus. Our 2023 Face of Lupus is our Sacramento Support Group Leader, Shauntay Davis-Patterson. Shauntay’s story has inspired all of us at the Foundation throughout the years and we are proud to welcome her as the 2023 Face of Lupus. You can read about Shauntay and her lupus journey here and donate to help us continue to offer our free education and support programs to lupus patients. Save the Date!Speaking of the Face of Lupus, we are very excited to announce that our 45th Anniversary Gala & 9th Annual Purple Ribbon Awards will be held on March 18, 2023 at the Glass House in San Jose. Put the date in your calendar and be on the lookout for more information in the new year! 2023 ProgramsAs we look into the upcoming year we are working with Rheumatologists and Wellness providers to begin planning our 2023 Lupus Health Conferences and Living Well with Lupus events. We are hoping to host many of these in person and also offer virtual attendance. Be sure to follow us on our Social Media accounts so you see the most up-to-date information.
The staff and Board of Directors of the Lupus Foundation of Northern California wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season and a healthy New Year!  Can you believe it is already July?! We hope everyone has a chance to relax and enjoy some free time! We are extremely grateful for all of our volunteers who support us in many different ways. If you have some extra time and would like to join us and volunteer contact us! Click HERE to find out more! This week we are welcoming our newest teen volunteer, Harshita! Harshita will be helping us with our social media and also writing a blog for us! Here is a bit about Harshita in her own words. “My name is Harshita Bathina, and I’m a high school senior from Fremont, CA. In my free time, I enjoy taking my dog on a walk and playing tennis with my friends and family. After a personal diagnosis of lupus, I wanted to be more involved and learn all that I could about lupus. Through my blog, I hope to provide some insightful information and encourage fellow patients to live their lives to the fullest! “  FREE Summer Lupus Health Conference Don’t miss the next Lupus Health Conference which will be on July 16th at 11am. This month’s topic is Integrative Approach to Rheumatologic Sleep Conditions, presented by Dr. Valerie Cacho. You can register here for free. We hope you can join us for this zoom conference- if you have any questions you can send them to us prior to the event at communications@lfnc.org. Register Here!  Outrun Lupus Mascot Contest
Don’t forget we are raising money to support our mission to improve lives impacted by lupus with our 28th Annual Outrun Lupus on September 24, 2022 at Campbell Park! We are planning a fun-filled day for the entire family so register today!!! And don’t forget about our Mascot Contest- take some great pictures of your favorite animal friend and Send an email to communications@lfnc.org with a recent photo, breed, sex, age, a few sentences about why they should win and human companion information (your name, address, email, phone). Enter by Friday, July 31st. |
“They understand that you are unique at the Lupus Foundation of Northern California. I don’t feel like a failure when I’m here”.
|
CONTACTCommunity Services
outreach@lfnc.org Phone 408-954-8600 SHOP AND EARN MONEY FOR THE LUPUS FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
|
