A Letter From Our Board President

Dear Georgia Chapter volunteers, staff, supporters, and community at large:

This month I will be closing out my third and final year as the Georgia Chapter Board President.  I started volunteering with the Foundation a little over five years ago after discovering my wife had Crohn’s, and later, that both of my brothers, as well as my father, had begun their own battles with IBD.  Like many of you, I was on a mission to learn more about the disease and how to fight it, and to raise money to help improve patients’ quality of life, and ultimately, to find a cure.

I was honored to be invited onto the Board, and again, when asked to serve as President.  One of my early tasks was to host a strategic planning retreat, where we determined our goals and priorities for how we would support the Chapter.  We landed on three:

1. Drive fundraising and elevate the experience of our marquee fundraising events
2. Promote advocacy and education, and raise awareness of IBD and the Foundation
3. Recruit, and show appreciation for, our wonderful volunteers                          

I hope you’ve had the opportunity to participate in some (or all) of our annual fundraising events, including the Torch Gala, the Take Steps Walk, or the Golf Classic.   Our staff and volunteers have truly taken these events to the next level.  Earlier this year, before the pandemic struck, the Torch Gala broke records for “fund the mission” participation.  The Take Steps team, meanwhile, pivoted to a drive-through format, allowing participants to demonstrate their unity and spirit from the safety of their own vehicles.  And we just wrapped up yet another successful Golf Classic, treating players to a beautiful day on the links at one of Atlanta’s top courses.

We have continued to host patient and physician education seminars, and enrollment in our patient support groups is up 2 – 5x, depending on the group.  Last year, we delivered a major patient advocacy victory, when Georgia House Bill 63 was signed into law.  HB63 protects patients by limiting a health insurance process known as step therapy, which would force patients to try and fail on older, cheaper medication before they can receive the specific treatment prescribed by their health care provider.  And speaking of medication, I’ve had the chance to learn quite a bit about the IBD research sponsored by the Foundation, and I’m hopeful for, and awed by, the research and treatments in the pipeline.  We’ve come a long way since when IBD first dragged my family into the fight.

Our reputation as a top Chapter within the leading IBD advocacy, support and research foundation in the world has helped to attract and sustain the volume and type of volunteers necessary to operate a “volunteer-driven” organization such as ours.  And the more heads, hearts (and yes, guts) we have on our side, the more successful we’ll be.  I’m proud of the fact that over the last three years, we’ve grown our Board to 14 fabulous members.

Our accomplishments are worth mentioning and celebrating, but it’s also important to remember that we have much work yet to do.  And that’s why I’m so incredibly thankful for the Foundation, the Georgia Chapter staff, my fellow Board members, and all of you.  I know I can count on you to join me in rallying behind Scott Zweigel, our Board President-Elect for 2021.  Together, we will achieve our mission of finding cures for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and improving the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases.

Sincerely,

Andrew Goldberg
Georgia Chapter Board President