On September 23rd Alida DePease invited the AVRF to Reston, Virginia to attend the "Satellite Symposium on Vitiligo" as representation of a vitiligo patient advisory group.  AVRF celebrates our 10th Anniversary this year and we had a lot of accomplishments/goals to share with the physicians and researchers that were in attendance.  We covered milestones of the past 10 years and spoke volumes with our pictures and testimonials of children and vitiligo patients that have been impacted through the years because of our foundation.  Everyone knew we appreciated their interest and support and we pledged our commitment to continue with our mission. I found the response from the brilliant doctors in attendance to be heart-warming at the very least.

After the symposium, I traveled on to Washington DC to go see some relatives as well as take in the new WWII memorial among other sites. It was the weekend of many organized protests in the capital and I couldn't help but feeling a huge sense of patriotism at what a great nation we have and diversity at every corner; much like the AVRF's mission to celebrate diversity.  We, the patient advisory organizations, (much like democrats and republicans),  may not always agree on the methodology, but we are all moving our cause forward by taking action.

By Roxanne