In This Issue
Much has been going on behind the scenes at FASGMC and many of our members have taken on new responsibilities.
Nonprofit Status
We are moving forward on our goal of making the support group a tax exempt 501(c) (3) organization. This will give our organization more stability, allow us to make tax-free purchases and make fundraising easier. Carol Sama and Jodi Guagliardo are working on the nonprofit status.
Children’s Activities
Chris Gauss is planning the annual food free Halloween party. Details are forthcoming. If you are interested in helping to plan the party, contact Chris at chrisandted@gmail.com.
Christina Frasca has volunteered to help set up play dates.
If you are interested in planning any other children’s activities, please contact njfoodallergy@hotmail.com.
Local Restaurants
Finding a restaurant that caters to food allergies can be difficult. Michele Donnelly is creating a database with information on local restaurants so our members can gain access to information that can help them choose a restaurant. If you would like to recommend a restaurant as allergy friendly or unfriendly, contact Michele atdonnelly34@verizon.net.
Recipes/Cooking Classes
Finding allergy-friendly recipes can also be difficult, which is why Laura Oldenski is working on a database of allergy-friendly recipes.
Laura has also scheduled an allergy friendly cooking class at Young Chef's Academy of Marlboro on April 28.
Mom’s Activities
Laura Oldenski is also looking into the possibility of some daytime meetings for moms who are not available in the evenings. Contact Laura at loldenski@yahoo.com.
The leaders of FASGMC were not looking for anyone to compile this information. Michele and Laura mentioned what they felt were good ideas and were encouraged to pursue them. Let us know your ideas!
Internet
We are now active on Facebook. Become a fan!
Cecilia DiTaranto has offered to manage our Web page at https://fasgmc.tripod.com/
Member List
Winnie Chan has taken over the member list, which includes more than 180 names. To better serve our members, Winnie is updating the list and verifying that we have the correct information for all members. If you haven’t given updated information to Winnie, please take the time to fill out the information below to ensure that you continue to receive our newsletters and meeting information.
In an effort to provide better support, we are asking if you would like to be part of a phone support system. If a member would like to speak with other members, we will match them up based on their children’s allergies and provide a contact name and number. If you would like to help, please answer "yes" for question number 10. Please take a few minutes to complete the following and email your answers to wsquared@comcast.net
Please be advised that if you answer yes for No. 10 we will share your phone number only to the member who requests help.
In the NewsThe National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is seeking public comment on a draft of “Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy.” The public comment period is open for 60 days beginning March 5 and ending May 3. Health care professionals and interested members of the public are encouraged to review the guidelines and participate in the open comment period by visiting the NIAID Food Allergy Clinical Guidelines public comment site at http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/clinical/Who/comments.htm.
Recent topics of conversation on FASGMC’s Yahoo Groups email list:
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