Having trouble reading this email? Click here to view in a browser. April 14, 2017 Serving Indiana   What exercises can I do to keep myself healthy?   Scroll down for the answer. A Message from our CEO, Morgan McGill    Dear Friend,  For the next two months we, like you, will be committed to efforts to Pump Up the Purple! Many key awareness events are just around the corner – a brand new PJ Day planned by the Rheumatology Nurses Society, May 2;  World Lupus Day, May 10; and Put on Purple Day on May 19th this year. We hope that you may have plans to Make Your Mark and encourage giving to advance lupus research throughout the end of April and into May, Lupus Awareness Month. As we have in the past, we will provide tips and tools for you to host your own party in May, hold a Walk fundraising event, or give you strategies to make your #putonpurple day memorable and successful.  We would love to hear about your plans for May’s awareness focus – are you telling your personal story on social media, personalizing your Walk page and trying a new donation strategy, or involving your employer in helping to spread awareness?  All of these are within your reach – we can help you be fierce and boost your fundraising efforts this Spring, but we need to know about your successes to inspire the community and help raise support for our cause across the state. Our Staff continues to find new partners to connect with who wish, in a small way, to assist the work that we do. On April 30th, we will partner with CycleBar Carmel to host our first Ride For Lupus fundraiser.  All levels are welcome to cycle for this introductory 50 minute session and stay after to learn more about volunteering opportunities for our Chapter.  The ride begins at 1pm, however, riders are encouraged to come early to be properly fitted for their bike and shoes.  You can ride at your own pace and level and it will feel great to get moving! We pay special tribute each day to our wonderful volunteers who have helped us in our Chapter office and at past events.  All of our volunteers deserve a special THANK YOU and we will honor them during National Volunteer Week, beginning April 24th.  Have a fantastic Easter holiday and we hope you will join us next month to "Make May purple!"   Morgan E. McGill, CEO, LFA Indiana Chapter   PUMP UP THE PURPLE FOR LUPUS AWARENESS MONTH   Lupus Awareness Month is observed during May to increase public understanding of this cruel and mysterious disease that ravages different part of the body. To help us shine a light on lupus, several Indiana businesses will be lighting their exterior purple, including: Indianapolis Power and Light, Indiana Reperatory Theater, Eli Lilly, The Indianapolis Zoo, the Indiana State Museum, O'Reilly's Irish Pub, Punch Burger on E. Ohio St. in Indy, the Tin Roof, and Hancock Regional Hospital. If you're out and about on Friday, May 19th, be sure to snap some photos of these places to share with us!! Below are some ways you can Put On Purple for lupus awareness, tell the story and help others KNOW LUPUS.  • Wear purple proudly on Friday, May 19 and tell people why! Ask your friends, family, co-workers, and even your boss to Put On Purple on May 19th to help raise lupus awareness and support those who are impacted by the disease.  • Stock up on purple light bulbs before May 1st and shine them outside all month, to bring lupus awareness to your neighborhood.   • Take selfies and photos of your friends and co-workers in purple and share them to your social media and ours! Post photos on Facebook, Twitter. and Instagram using the hashtag #PutOnPurple and #lfain #lupusawareness Volunteer Recognition Week April 23 - April 29th Take time this week to recognize and thank the volunteers of our community who lend their support to create change. We at the Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter are so very thankful for all of all volunteers.  Currently there more than a dozen volunteers serving on the ATA planning committee, the Purple Days of Fall Northwest Indiana planning committee, and our Indy Walk planning committee. We would like to recognize those individuals and say thank you for the time and hard work you continue to do on our behalf and behalf of our members. We couldn't do it without YOU! If you are interested in volunteering, or if you have always wanted to meet people and get more involved, we have many Indy Walk, A Tasteful Affair, Purple Days of Fall, and In the Loop Symposium volunteer opportunities. Please email intern@lupusindiana.org to learn more! Things To Do!     Walk to End Lupus Now! Indianapolis  Ask The Experts Conference Calls ATA Planning Committee Meeting on Tuesday, April 18, 2017, at 6:00 p.m. at Grace University, 9302 N. Meridian Street, 2nd Floor. Newcomers welcome!! Come ride with us on Sunday, April 30th at the Carmel Cyclebar location at 1pm! The class is 50 minutes and is appropriate for all levels. Cost is $25 – please come early if it is your first time, as you will need to have them adjust your bike and you will have to get shoes. CycleBar Carmel is located near the Meijer off 31/Meridian Street.   Registration is required: https://carmel.cyclebar.com/class-detail/?apptid=1875952   LFA, Indiana offers Gentle Yoga and Tai Chi classes for people with lupus and one caregiver or support person. The cost is free, but registration for your first class is required. Click here to see footage of one of our sessions! Watch and Learn about the health benefits of Tai Chi. Sign up now. When: Yoga on the 2nd Saturday of each month. Tai Chi on the 4th Saturday.  All classes from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.  Where: IU North Hospital, 11700 N. Meridian Street, Carmel. Learning Centers A & B. We are so excited that our Indiana Chapter is participating in this year's Walking for Dreams, on May 21, 2017.  Walking for Dreams is an approximately 5K Family and Pet Walk that was started in 2004 to help local Indianapolis non-profit organizations raise needed funds to enable them to do more of what they do so well – serve the youth and families of Indianapolis. For the second year in a row, Walking for Dreams expands to the Evansville area for the 2017 walk! Walking for Dreams pulls together local organizations to share in a joint fundraiser. Walkers of all ages will join together to support their special organization by raising pledges and participating. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of local corporations, all checks turned in by the walkers should be made out to your chosen non-profit and will be given directly to the selected organizations and are 100% tax deductible. Learn More!       Our sixth annual A Tasteful Affair fundraiser will be held on June 23, 2017. On a Friday, summer night, from 6:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the Ritz Charles on N. Meridian Street. This year's event will include tastings from local restaurants and breweries (must be 21 to come), as well as our awesome silent and live auctions, and music to dance to from The Bishops! You're not going to want to miss this. Check out some of the fun auction items you can bid on this year! * We are still looking for auction items valued at least $100, as well as 90 points or better wine for the wine pull for A Tasteful Affair. If you or your company can help, please contact Lisa@lupusindiana.org. Thank you! Krazy Horse Krew's 6th Annual Rockin' Purple for Lupus Ride, Saturday 7/29/2017              The Krazy Horse Krew is a group of family and friends riding to raise money and awareness for LFA, Indiana Chapter. Gear up, get fired up and ready to ride. Kickstands up at 1:00 P.M at 920 N. Washington St. in Kokomo.   What an exciting year for the Walk to End Lupus Now, Indianapolis!! Teams are already forming and fundraising dollars are already coming in! Don't wait; get registered now and give yourself plenty of time to organize your team and raise much needed funds for our Chapter. NEW in 2017 - register online by May 1st and choose to immediately  donate $25 and you will receive an EARLY BIRD Tshirt on Walk day! The Early Bird Tshirt will have the exact design of this year's Club 100 shirt but will be gray and will not have the Club 100 designation on the sleeve. This shirt will be in addition to the other shirts also available - remember, all shirts are individually earned!   Register for the 2017 Indianapolis Walk here We need a Volunteer Chair for our Indy Walk Committee. This is an important role that truly begins in August and picks up until the Walk on October 7th.  If you are interested, please email Anna.                    Ask the Experts is a series of live educational teleconferences and pre-recorded webcasts on a variety of topics designed to provide you with important information about living with lupus. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from some of the world’s leading lupus experts from the comfort and privacy of your home. These live tele-conferences last one hour and are accessible via a toll-free number. Teleconferences will also be recorded and posted online. Pre-registration is required. Call-in/log-in information will be provided to all registrants one week before the event. The May 11th topic is Workplace Accommodation for Individuals with Lupus. Please join us via telephone and help us spread the word to others with lupus. Learn more or register here. Online Support Group  Support Kayla Lockwood The LFA, IN chapter ONLINE support group is off to a great start. With no need to leave home, you can get comfortable and share experiences, methods of coping and insights into living with lupus. Get answers to your questions, and find the support you're looking for.  The online support group meetings will be held the last Friday of each month from 6:30-7:30 pm. The next meeting will be on April 28th, 2017. To comply with national LFA requirements, a New Member Registration Form (NMRF) must be on file and returned to facilitators prior to participating in your first meeting. So climb into a comfy spot with your laptop the fourth Friday of each month, and surround yourself with people who care and understand what you're going through. Support is only a click away. To register or learn more click here   License Plates Bring Much Needed Additional Income to LFA, IN chapter    More than a dozen hoosiers purchased LFA INDIANA license plates in the month of March and we're so excited! Thank you for purchasing the lupus awareness license plate.  You can order your plate today for an annual $40.00 through myBMV.com, at license branches, and other customer service locations.  $25.00 from each LFA, IN license plate sold comes back to our local chapter so that we may continue our mission.    Interested in learning more about lupus? LFA, Indiana Chapter will be hosting an all day educational symposium for people with lupus, family members, and anyone interested in learning more about the disease. The In The Loop Symposium will take place on Saturday, December 9th, 9:30 AM - 3:45 P.M at Crowne Plaza Airport in Indianapolis. More information will be available soon on our website.                    Meet Kayla Lockwood. She is a student at Indiana University and a co-facilitator for our Bloomington support group. She is also a lupus warrior. Kayla lost her best friend to this mysterious disease in high school. Fast forward a to her freshman year of college, and she found herself battling against a strange list of symptoms. After months of medical testing, Kayla was diagnosed with lupus. Throughout her diagnosis and battle with lupus, Kayla realized she wanted to help others. She leads and supports others in LFA, Indiana Chapter’s Bloomington lupus support group, and she is eager to advocate for herself others like her at the National Policy Summit this summer in Washington D.C. The two-day Summit will address critical issues in lupus research, education and public policy. This year's meeting brings together leaders from key federal health and regulatory agencies, academic research, the private sector, and patient advocates for focused discussions on critical issues in lupus. On day two, Kayla and other advocates will take this information to policymakers on Capitol Hill asking Members of Congress to increase federal funding for lupus research and constructive public policies to support all people affected by lupus. Please support Kayla's efforts to go to Washington to make the impact that we all know that she can make. You can contribute to her Washington trip here. And thank you for making a difference! https://www.gofundme.com/lupus-national-policy-summit Read Kayla's story here: http://www.lupus.org/indiana/news/entry/like-you-kayla-lockwood  For more information on the National Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. visit: http://www.lupus.org/pages/national-public-policy-summit-on-lupus   LFA, Indiana Offers Statewide Support Groups The philosophy of LFA support groups is to provide a warm and caring environment where people with lupus, their family members, caregivers, and loved ones can share their experiences, methods of coping, and insights into living with lupus.  LFA support groups encourage and accept people as they are and provide a comfortable learning environment to help them develop the best coping strategies to reduce stress that often accompanies living with a chronic illness.  The Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter is fortunate to have professionally-trained volunteers to offer support to lupus patients, friends, and family members throughout the state  . For more support group information in your area, click here. To help us make others aware of our support group meetings, would you please share and/or post this PDF of our support group meetings?  Support Group PDF for sharing If there’s a specific support group meeting in your community that you’d like to help us promote by posting/sharing a flier specific to that support group, please contact Debbie Campbell         Click the button below to become a Champion for Hope with your monthly gift of $10, $15, $25 or more to the Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter and make a difference in the lives of those affected by lupus. Your support will help bring us one step closer to our vision of a life free from lupus. Answer: Just like everyone else, people with lupus need to exercise regularly or engage in some kind of movement, and most people with lupus can take part in some form of activity. All exercise plans should be discussed with your physician or exercise specialist in order to maximize results and minimize possible harm. Activities such as walking, swimming, bicycling, low-impact aerobics, certain types of yoga, Pilates, stretching, or using an elliptical exercise machine will strengthen your bones and tone your muscles without aggravating inflamed joints, while also helping to lower the risk for developing osteoporosis. It's also a good idea to vary the exercises, so that different muscle groups all get a regular workout.   You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter's newsletter. If you would like to unsubscribe or change your preferences, please click here.