Boston — Lilly Stairs and

her “50 Cents for 50 Million

(50c50m)” group hosted the

Laugh for Immunity Comedy

Show on March 25. The

event was held in Boston and

raised more than $2,000 for

AARDA!

Stairs, a recent Northeast-

ern University graduate, has

been diagnosed with

Crohn's Disease, psoriasis,

hypothyroidism and psori-

atic arthritis. This led her

and a couple of her close

friends created the 50c50m

campaign. The campaign in-

cluded partnering with Bos-

ton based restaurants, t-shirt

sales, jewelry sales and online

donations. In total, the cam-

paign netted more than

$11,500 for autoimmune dis-

ease research! Way to go!

Inside Story Headline

Autoimmune Walkers from all across the country made an impact last year! Many cities that included Chicago, Atlanta, New York, St. Louis and Washington, DC raised more than $66,000 for autoimmune disease research. We salute everyone that donated, walked or wanted to walk. Visit www.autoimmunewalk.org for 2015 Walk Information. We will see you at the finish line.

Spring 2015

22100 Gratiot Avenue East Detroit, MI 48021 (586) 776-3900 www.aarda.org Twitter: @aardatweets Facebook: www.facebook.com/autoimmunity Youtube: www.youtube.com/aardatube AARDA, Inc is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt non-profit charitable organi-zation. Administrative expenses are less than 10% of all contribu-tions.

Strange Body Raises Money For AARDA

Grassroots Newsletter

Autoimmune Walks Successful From Coast to Coast

2015 is the year to

put into action the

Grassroots Fund-

raising activity that

you have been

dreaming about.

Whatever your tal-ent is, you can turn

it into a fundraiser

for AARDA! Do

you like to draw?

Create cards to sell

throughout the

year. Do you like to

bowl? Awesome!

Gather your friends

and host a bowling fund-

raiser at your local bowling

alley.

We recommend that

AARDA supporters organ-ize fundraisers around

what they love to do. Would

your employer allow a

Denim Day where employ-

ees pay a set amount, say $2,

to wear jeans? Autoimmune

Walks are always awesome.

Not only do the

Walks help you

move at your

pace but they

also offer the

opportunity for community in-

volvement. If

you have a

fundraiser that

you would like

to host, please

contact Sharon

at SHar-

ris@aarda.org.

All Team Leaders receive a cool Team Leader’s hat

as a thank you from the

50 million people that suf-

fer from autoimmune dis-

ease.

How You Can Be a Leader in the Fight Against Autoimmune Disease

Page 2 Volume 3, I ssue 1

Tips For Planning a

Grassroots

Fundraiser:

Be creative. People

may grow tired of

participating in the

same types of

activities so be sure

to think outside of

the box.

Use your networks

to recruit allies.

Use Social Media

(Facebook, Twitter,

etc.) to bolster your

project.

Be prepared for

questions.

Be sure to say

“thank you”.

Dancing Divas Shimmy For Autoimmune Disease Awareness

Earlier this year, The Step by Step (SBS) Dance Studio in Millstone Township, NJ hosted the Student Choreography Benefit – 2015. The fund-

raiser raised $1,800 for AARDA! The "Divas" chose AARDA because one of their teachers, Tiffanie Cohn-Masi, bravely lives with Takayasu's

Arteritis. Prior to her diagnosis, Tiffanie was experiencing “blurred vision, migraines, frothy urine, shortness of breath and elevated blood

pressure and heart rate.” A two week stay at two different hospitals with a team of 20 specialists eventually diagnosed with Takayasu's Arteri-

tis almost eight years ago. She said that she feels fortunate to have the support of Step by Step Dance Studio. And AARDA does, too!