Well it’s finally here… the holiday season is upon us. What a wonderful time to be with family and friends!

Before you know it, it will be time for the 9th JSF & RCD Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. The dates for the next conference are July 15 – 18, 2009.
The conference committee has been working hard planning the upcoming conference. I am amazed at what progress they have made. Pretty much everything is already done.
Just some final details need to be made and then it is all set.

Recently there have been some questions about the conference. Please refer to page 6 for conference information. 

In case you are having trouble getting money together, here are some ways to raise money to get to the conference:

Garage sale. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure! Go through your closets and basements and find things you no longer use.
Ask family and friends to bring their items to your yard and you sell them and keep the profits. Talk to your neighbors about having a neighborhood yard sale where all proceeds will help send your family to the conference.
Pampered Chef. Ask your local Pampered Chef representative if she’d donate a portion of her sales to cover your conference expenses—and have a party!
Longaberger Baskets. Host a party and ask the sales consultant if she’d donate a portion of the sales for your conference travel.

There are a lot of companies, other than Pampered Chef and Longaberger, that sell their products through home parties (I.e. Tupperware, Candles, Jewelry, etc.). Ask the rep if she will donate a portion of her profits. Host a pot luck dinner and charge a small fee per plate. This is a great way to get family and friends together.

If you’ve held any fundraisers to help cover your conference expenses and you’d like to share your ideas, please send them in to the newsletter editor for publication in the Winter 2009 issue. Many families have held events over the years and had their entire trip paid for!

The JSF&RCD fundraising committee recently finished the annual Sally Foster fundraiser. Thank you to all who participated in this year’s fundraiser. Please keep in mind that you can still order Sally Foster wrapping paper and gifts directly from their website. Please be sure to select Joubert Syndrome Foundation & Related Cerebellar Disorders as the charity you would like to support. Proceeds from your purchases will still go to JSF & RCD.

In the Summer issue of The Rainbow (and printed again on pages 4-5 of this issue) was information about the various positions that will be available within the Foundation in July 2009. We would like to strongly urge you to join the JSF & RCD team, whether as an officer, board of director, or a committee member. The Foundation is currently looking for a new President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, additional Board members and committee members. The Foundation also needs a Certified Public Accountant that is familiar with non-profits to prepare and file Form 990, prepare an audited financial statement, and help with various state registrations.

Are you familiar with writing grants or letter writing to get sponsors for future conferences? If so, the Foundation needs you! Are you involved in the legal field and/or are you familiar with non-profits? If so, the Foundation needs you, too! Many of the current Board Members, and officers, terms will be expiring. They have served the Foundation for many years. It is time for other people to step up and continue moving the Foundation ahead. Please consider volunteering for one of these worthwhile posts.

If you have any questions regarding any of these positions, please feel free to contact any board member. Their email addresses are:

Michele Abdulaziz, Janet Gundling , Eric Rosenthal , Luise Reading , Era Hall,  Nadine Phillips , Ali Ender.

On behalf of the JSF & RCD Officers, Board of Directors and Committee’s, we would like to wish you a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year!!!! Looking forward to seeing you all in July!