Open Medicine Foundation (OMF) fundraising

@Cheesus - I remember you being quite down about the state of your situation a few weeks back. You have been highly effective and accomplished something great, all from your bed. A huge kudos and pat on the back for you. I hope your successful efforts help raise your spirits.

 

Thank you, @Diwi9! This was very much a team effort and I am pleased I played my part.

 

Just heard they received a $1 million donation, thanks to everyone who posted. https://pineapplefund.org/

 

That's amazing news!

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/952576009672458240

 

"We chose the Open Medicine Foundation because ME/CFS is a serious and complicated condition that torments the life of its sufferers. We hope that these funds can accelerate much-needed research in this area, and into related diseases."

 

Yes! Sea change underway!

 

What a magnificent donation!

Well done @Cheesus, and all who played a part.

 

Opportunity to say thank you on Reddit:

 

OMF Receives $1 Million Donation

2018 is starting off to be a fantastic year. Today, OMF has received a $1 million donation!
The Pineapple Fund has generously donated $1 million to OMF through Bitcoin, stating, "We chose the Open Medicine Foundation because ME/CFS is a serious and complicated condition that torments the life of its sufferers. We hope that these funds can accelerate much-needed research in this area, and into related diseases."

We are grateful to have been selected among the organizations receiving Pineapple Fund grants to improve the world. This donation was made possible because of you, our dedicated patient community.

This is the largest Bitcoin donation we have ever received. We sincerely thank all of our supporters for your efforts and for all that you do to support our work.

OMF CEO/President Linda Tannenbaum wrote to the Pineapple Fund and said, "Speaking as a parent of a daughter with this illness and as the founder of Open Medicine Foundation representing millions of patients advocating for awareness, validation and a cure, and from parents and caregivers who are so desperate to get their loved ones well, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You are a true hero."

This significant donation will help OMF continue to fund urgent ME/CFS research and to keep fighting for a better future for patients. We are grateul beyond words for this generous donation. This is a gift of hope to millions of people around the world. Thank you to the Pineapple Fund for setting the course for 2018 to be a tremendous year!


www.omf.ngo

 

Does anyone know if the bitcoin donation been converted into real currency? It's notoriously unstable, and valuation can swing wildly in a short period of time.

 

Yes, it was immediately converted when the funds were received. (Not that I understand much, but that's what Ben said.)

 

What: 5K Run/Walk to benefit OMF (Open Medicine Foundation)
When: Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019
Where: St. Paul Elementary School in St. Paul, Oregon, USA

For more details, or to make a donation, go to https://openmedicinefoundation.crowdchange.co/9150

 

Full disclosure: Isabela contacted me via email after seeing a post about my MillionsMissing event for ME Action back in May. She has asked me to attend this event to help hand out ME/CFS information.

But even without that connection I'm happy to spread the word about any fundraiser that will raise money for biomedical ME/CFS research!

 

A short update: So far there have been 34 pre-registrations. At $20 per person that's $680 raised so far.

And the weather is looking good for Sunday! I hope that will increase the number of folks who come which means more registrations and donations (some may make a donation without doing the walk/run).

 

A very quick update.

The fundraiser was a big success. The total raised for OMF was $4,500!

And although I've had to rest/recover afterwards I didn't have a huge crash so that was a relief.

 

Awesome!

 

@ahimsa that is amazing! Thank you

 

@andypants - I really appreciate the thanks! But I didn't do a single thing to raise that money. Any money raised was completely due to all the hard work of Isabela who did this for her high school senior project.

The only thing I did was say a few words at the start of the event along with a couple of other speakers. Then I sat at the information table. That's it! But I was happy to be there.

The event set-up was great. I didn't take any photos but there was a covered area next to the school with tables and chairs (they were selling tamales to raise more money). The area was festooned with blue and silver balloons and informational posters. She and some friends/classmates had set up a course for the 5K run/walk near the school.

At the table where people paid registration fees or made donations they handed out blue bracelets from OMF printed with the OMF website and "End ME/CFS." I'll take a photo of mine and add it to this post later. There was also a fact sheet from OMF.

PS. I thought I'd add that the town of St. Paul, Oregon, has a population of around 425 people. Quite a small town -- I've never lived anywhere that small.

 

I promised to post photos of the bracelet - here they are for anyone who is interested (click to enlarge photos).



I'm not sure whether these are given out free to anyone who does a fundraiser for OMF or whether they cost some nominal fee. I didn't get a chance to ask.

A fact sheet from OMF was also handed out that day. I looked for the PDF of this on the OMF website but I could not find it. Here are photos (front & back):