AAAF Goes to NAAFCon2017

With AAAF South Australian Branch Manager Liz Bear.

1. What’s your connection to Alopecia/AAAF?

I was first diagnosed with AA 34 years ago.  My eldest daughter also has AA as did my paternal grandfather.

2. Tell us about the NAAF Conference

The NAAF Conference is held annually at various cities in the United States by the the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. People with AA and their families attend from all over the United States and some from Overseas.  This year it will be held in Miami, Florida.  During the 4 day conference, while different session are on during the day for attendees, NAAF organises a children’s camp so children with AA can meet others who are like them.  There can be around 500 attendees.

3. Why do you want to attend?

I am very interested in meeting and forging friendships with other support groups.

4. What are you hoping to achieve by attending?

There are also quite a number of sessions which I would like to attend to hear how others deal with issues we have arising all the time.  The highlight will be hearing Dr Angela Christiano speak and hear more about her research.

5. What are you most excited about in attending?

I’m excited to be part of a large group of people with the same condition as myself.  When I was first diagnosed there was no support group anywhere in Australia.  I was continually asked by my wig supplier to talk to people who suffered AA and we’re having difficulty coping, but I never met them personally.

6. What, if anything, are you nervous/worried about?

The only thing I am worried about at the moment is that we may miss a connecting flight.

7. Have you been to America before? Is there anything else you’d like to do while you’re there?

Yes, I have been to America a couple of times, most recently in 2014.  I’ve never been to Florida so I would like to visit the Everglades and take in the atmosphere around Miami.

8. What does Embrace Alopecia mean to you?

To me, Embrace Alopecia means being comfortable living with yourself & with your hairloss.  It may take some time but you are still the same person on the inside as you always were.  Looks aren’t everything.

 

Liz will be one of two AAAF representatives who will be attending the NAAF Conference in Miami, Florida. If you have questions you’d like to ask or have AAAF ask the expert speakers, please let us know in the comments. Be sure to follow AAAF on Facebook for live updates!

Why GST on Wigs Matters To You

If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that AAAF’s social media accounts have been busy with information about GST and wigs, petitions and demonstration rallies. It’s easy to think that taxation on wigs is a tiny issue, only affecting a tiny portion of people, and only having a very small impact on those people. If you don’t wear wigs, you might find yourself thinking why on earth does this matter, and why on earth would it matter to you.

For people with alopecia, the question of Goods and Services Tax on wigs can be, quite literally, a matter of life and death.

AAAF’s New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year! We hope you all had enjoyable and safe holiday season and are feeling refreshed and excited for the year ahead.

Before we took our holiday break, we were talking here on Love, Alopecia about all the things AAAF has achieved over the last 12 months. This week it’s all about where we want to go next. That’s right, it’s time for AAAF’s New Year Resolutions. These goals are our commitment to our community that we will never stop striving to do better, be better and help others to have a positive journey with Alopecia Areata. So what’s in store for 2017?

Highlights of 2016

Man. What a year.

On a global scale, it’s pretty well unanimous that 2016 has been hectic. Closer to home things have been pretty busy too, and this year has been a big one for the AAAF Team. So for the last post of 2016, we thought we’d look back on what we’ve achieved this year. 

Three Big Reasons to Support Small Charities this Giving Season

The majority of charities are small organisations.

In Australia the official earnings threshold to be classed as a “small” charity is less than $250,000 revenue per year. About two thirds of our registered charities are in this group – and of that, about a third are classed as “very small” and earn less than $50,000.  Only 19% of charities earn over one million per year.

Embrace Alopecia

Last week AAAF launched out theme for the next year – Embrace Alopecia. We figure you probably have questions. That’s okay, because we’ve got answers.

So what is a theme and why does AAAF have one?

Every year AAAF’s Committee gets together at our Annual General Meeting to discuss our programs and brainstorm ways we can continue to improve.. For the last few years we’ve developed themes which guide our efforts through the following twelve months. We keep the theme at the core of all projects, campaigns, competitions and events over that year and it informs how we focus on achieving our key missions – improving awareness, funding research and providing support.

Welcome!

Welcome to Love, Alopecia!

If you’re here, you’re most likely one of the millions of people in the world who make up our alopecian community.

Perhaps someone in your family, maybe your child or partner or sibling, has joined the alopecian tribe.

Maybe you work with someone with alopecia, perhaps as a hairdresser or wigmaker or doctor or psychologist or teacher, and you want to know more about alopecia in order to help them the best you can.

Welcome.