National Convention
MAGIC's Annual Convention is the highlight of the year for the foundation and our families. The convention is an event that has been going on for decades. Lifelong friendships have been made through the convention. It's the ideal event for children to be around other children with the same disorders. Parents find the convention to be incredibly supportive as well, for the same reason. They meet others going through the same experiences. Here are some interesting points about last year's convention:
Local Parent Programs
As parents of affected children ourselves, we enjoy working with groups of parents from many areas throughout the country who have affected children. These programs are fun, educational and conducted in your local community.
Criteria to host a local program - We need a local parent to head up the effort. This person will:
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Contact their local pediatric endocrinologist and ask that he/she speak for about 45 minutes with 15 minutes for Q & A during the program.
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Find a location (free is always good) where we can meet that has chairs, power for presentation equipment like slide shows etc. and is fairly easy for people to drive and find. (The hospital where your physician practices is often willing to provide a meeting room at no charge for these meetings-so it is a good place to start.)
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Be the local spokesperson/host for the event (see refreshments below).
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Assist the doctor's office with mailings as described below.
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Work with the media if the opportunity arises.
We provide:
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A speaker from MAGIC
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Invitations for the doctors to put labels on for mailing to their patients announcing the program.
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Finances for refreshments provided during the program.
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Outreach to the media to promote your efforts.
School Nurse Programs
MAGIC offers a FREE educational program for School Nurses and other Health Official groups.
If your local school nurse association is in need of a speaker at an upcoming educational meeting, have them reach outto MAGIC And we will provide a speaker that can tell their personal story and share information about MAGIC and the various growth disorders that affect our children. (This is not for individual nurses but geared toward the nursing association in your area. We hope that the audience would be a minimum of 20 attendees.)
Are you concerned that a student might have a medical condition affecting his/her growth and therefore health?
As a school nurse, you are keenly aware that far too often you are the only medical professional many children see during the course of a year. It is a tough job with many responsibilities. We want to make that job easier for you by providing you with tools to help you identify children whose physical health problems may be showing itself as a growth issue.
Helpful links and materials are listed below. Copy or print them as needed. If you need additional information, contact us. We are available to assist you by phone at (630) 836-8200 or email ContactUs@magicfoundation.org.
Helpful Resources