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Spina Bifida
Association Serving people living with spina bifida, the most frequently occurring permanently disabling birth defect. SBANC is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c)(3) charity organization serving people living with spina bifida and their families. All donations are tax-deductible. |
sbanc@mindspring.com 1-800-847-2262 3915 Grace Court Indian Trail, NC 28079 |
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Former SBANC Vice President Ben Skillman died Dec. 1 at his home in Asheville, NC. An adult living with spina bifida, Ben served as President of the Western Carolinas chapter of SBANC and was a guest speaker at SBAA conferences. "We extend our deepest sympathies to Ben's family during their time of mourning," said Mike Gates, president, SBANC. "We will miss Ben dearly; he was an inspiration to all of us." Additional information about Ben's life is available at the Asheville Citizen-Times Web site. SBANC Participates in IBM Employee Charitable Contribution Campaign SBANC extends another big thank you to IBM for allowing us to participate again in its annual Employee Charitible Contribution Campaign (ECCC). October is also National Spina Bifida Awareness Month. IBMers' donations help SBANC to continue serving people living with spina bifida throughout the state, including the Charlotte and Raleigh areas. SBANC has been serving the state for more than 26 years. IBM employees can choose to donate to approved charities like SBANC via payroll deduction through the ECCC. SBANC is listed as a North Carolina charity with IBM Charity Code 0L260. Young Eagles Day October 4, 2003 EAA Chapter 309 invites you to join them Saturday, October 4, 2003 at the Monroe, NC Airport in the General Aviation Terminal operated by Piedmont Hawthorne for Young Eagles Day -- a special aviation event for children with special needs. Parents and siblings are welcome to participate in all activities. Children are given the opportunity to meet pilots and go for a short airplane ride in the local area. These flights are provided free of charge to anyone wishing to participate. All pilots will hold at least a private pilot certificate and meet FAA currency requirements.Registration will be set up at the terminal entrance. Lunch will be served between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Flight Line Cafe. Directions: Call 704-226-2300 if you need additional help with directions on the day of the event. Honda's New ASIMO Robot Has Potential as Helper Honda's four-foot tall walking robot wonder has arrived in the US for a 15 month tour. The robot has the potential to be a helper for people with disabilities. Its 26 degrees of freedom allow for fluid, expressive movement. According to PC Magazine, Honda is working on extending ASIMO's battery life with long-lasting fuel cells. More information on ASIMO is available at Honda's Web site. Summer Camps With the weather warming up, it won't be long until Summer's here. So here are some Summer camps we have been made aware of. If you have others you'd like to see included, please send an e-mail with details to sbanc@mindspring.com Joni and Friends Camp Carefree SBANC Participates in IBM ECCC Agency Fair
SBANC extends a big thank you to IBM and the Ambassadors who volunteered to tell our story at IBM's Employee Charitible Contribution Campaign (ECCC) kickoff events in Raleigh and Charlotte on Tuesday, October 1. October is also National Spina Bifida Awareness Month. Shown above, Breanna Gates (8) assisted her Mom, Kim, and grandmother, Peggy (a retired IBMer), as SBANC ambassadors at the event in Charlotte by proudly displaying her teeshirt and beautiful smile. Ambassadors at the Raleigh event included Debbie Sullivan, Amy and Nolan (3) Turner, and John and Elizabeth (4) Wagner. SBANC set up information tables for the annual event, which helps educate IBMers about the impact their tax deductible donations have on supporting agencies like SBANC in providing critical services to the community. IBM employees can choose to donate to approved charities like SBANC via payroll deduction through the ECCC. SBANC is listed as a North Carolina charity with IBM Charity Code 0L260. SBANC Receives Technology Donation from IBM The Spina Bifida Association of North Carolina has received a brand new IBM ThinkPad laptop through IBM's Fund for Community Service program. SBANC will use the donated IBM ThinkPad to produce information to enhance the awareness of spina bifida. This includes maintaining and updating this Web site, and producing brochures, CDs, flyers, presentations and other materials. "SBANC is extremely grateful to IBM for their kind donation," says Kim Gates, executive director, SBANC. "This tool will enable us to better serve our members and the community." 2002 NC Spina Bifida Conference Draws Record Attendance The 2002 NC Spina Bifida Conference -- Advancing Through the Years with Spina Bifida -- drew record numbers this year with 130 members, professionals and vendors attending the day-long event at the UNC Chapel Hill Friday Center on Saturday, August. 10 Kicking off the conference was Dr. Joshua Alexander, M.D., Director of the UNC-Chapel Hill Spina Bifida Clinic and Director of the TelAbility program. Dr. Alexander gave a powerful presentation on developing independence in the transition to adulthood, with key messages for youth and adults with spina bifida, their families, and the professionals who help them. Jean Brown, MS RNC, of the Shriner's Children's Hospital and member of the Spina Bifida Association of America's Nursing Council, gave an enlightening talk on Plumbing 101 -- tips and tricks for bladder and bowel programs. An audio cassette of both presentations will be available. For more information, send a note to sbanc@mindspring.com. S B A N C T U R N S 2 5 T H I S M O N T H ! The Spina Bifida Assocation of North Carolina was created on August 17, 1977 to help prevent spina bifida and to serve people living with the most common permanently disabling birth defect. Spina bifida occurs in North Carolina at nearly double the national rate, with 1 in 600 pregnancies affected by the crippling birth defect. The national rate is 1 in 1,000 (Source: SBAA). Spina bifida happens more frequently than muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, polio, and cystic fibrosis combined... Please consider joining our efforts to fight spina bifida by becoming a donor today. C-SPAN 2 to Air Senate Hearing for CDC Spina Bifida Funding C-SPAN 2 is scheduled to air the Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pension - Hearing on Birth Defects on August 20 at 2:00 pm. It will be part of an entire week of medical-related hearings. The hearing will help determine whether the Center for Disease Control receives funding to pursue research on spina bifida. The Spina Bifida Association of America (SBAA) and SBANC have played active roles in supporting this important measure. Julie Yindra of Greensboro -- an SBANC board member, learning specialist and adult with spina bifida -- helped get the message out by visiting the Washington offices of US Senators from North Carolina, including Senator John Edwards. We hope that you will be able to watch the hearing or tape it for later viewing. It will be part of SBAA's history that you'll want to remember. Musical Pajama Party July 27 Join SBANC for a special "MUSICAL PAJAMA PARTY" Saturday, July 27, at 7 p.m. at Borders Books & Music in Morrocroft Village Shopping Center in Charlotte, NC @ 3900 Colony Road (call 800-847-2262 for details). The event will feature live music, stories, milk & cookies, prize for "Best PJs" and Giveaways & prizes! DREAM WITH ME TONIGHT was born of a desire to wrap children and their imaginations in a cozy snuggle of songs ... without driving their parents nuts. Written by Lanny Sherwin -- a songwriting Dad who was driven to the brink of nutsdom by existing lullaby CDs -- these beautifully produced songs will be enjoyed over and over (and over!) again. Lanny Sherwin and his "Dream Team" have joined the Spina Bifida Association of America in helping to achieve it's very realistic dream of reducing the numbers of children born with this disabling birth defect. They will be donating 10% of all sales of Dream With Me Tonight to the SBAA. Spina Bifida is the number one permanently disabling birth defect in the US. SBANC will have a limited number of these fast-selling CDs available at the Spina Bifida Conference on August 10. For more information, call 800-847-2262. Miss the SBAA Conference in Orlando? Register now for Advancing Through the Years with Spina Bifida -- Coming Saturday, August 10 to the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC! Register for the conference now -- seating is limited! Please print, complete and mail form. The Spina Bifida Association of North Carolina is hosting a conference for adults and families living with Spina Bifida -- as well as interested professionals -- starting at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, August 10, at the Friday Center at UNC. The location has been changed to accommodate more people. Duke University Medical Center continues to be a stong supporter of the event and one of our sponsors. Dr. Joshua Alexander, MD, and Director of the Spina Bifida Clinic at UNC will be the Keynote speaker, kicking off this year's event, which has the theme: Advancing Through the Years with Spina Bifida. Jean Brown, MS, RNC, of the Shriners Hospital will discuss Bladder and Bowel Management. Two breakout sessions will be held in the morning and afternoon for adults with Spina Bifida, parents of pre-schoolers with Spina Bifida, and parents of school age children with Spina Bifida. The speaker line up for the breakout sessions features five adults with Spina Bifida:
Breakout sessions will also include:
Recreational Activities will feature Allegro Foundation Wheel chair Dance; and demonstrations of adaptive sports activities, including hand cycling and basketball by Chris Mackey and Mike Atkins, a player for the Wake Wheelers Basketball Team. Vendors will be set up to show the latest products and services available for your needs. Vendors will include Mentor, Amigo Mobility, Snug Seat, Carolina Mobility and Seating, ECAC, PAL, and Family Support Network -- a division of the ARC, and more. A block of rooms -- including handicap accessible accomodations -- is reserved for Friday, August 9, at a rate of $69 per night, at the Holiday Inn (919-489-7555) and Hampton Inn and Suites (919-403-8700). Shuttle service will be available to the Friday Center, which is only about 2 miles away. Watch your mailbox for registration package if you are a member. Or you may print, complete and mail the ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM (Print and Mail). Registration deadline is July 26; the registration fee is $10 per family and includes a buffet lunch. Supervised learning and recreational activities will be provided for ages 5 and above. Please call or e-mail Kim Gates for information on how to register at 1-800-847-2262; SBANC@mindspring.com . Subscribers to the SBANC newsletter will receive a registration package in the mail. Watch here for additional information. Thank you to our Sponsors for this conference, which include Duke University Medical Center, Wal-Mart, the March of Dimes and the NC Division of Public Health. Christa Rose Gibbs Christa Rose Gibbs, 4, of Wendell, NC died Wednesday, June 26. She is the daughter of
SBANC board member Susan Gibbs and Brett Gibbs, and a twin sister of Ashley. A celebration
of Christa's life was held Saturday, June 29 at First Baptist Church in Knightdale. The
Spina Bifida Association of North Carolina extends its deepest sympathies to the Gibbs
family and asks for your prayers and support for them. SBANC Member Appointed to NC Council on Developmental Disabilities SBANC member Monica L. Jackson of Kannapolis, information and referral coordinator for Programs for Accessible Living (PAL) in Charlotte, was among the new members appointed by Gov. Mike Easley to the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities. Jackson, an adult with spina bifida, is a 1995 Pfeiffer University grad with a BA in Writing. She worked almost two years as a reporter with the Independent Tribune before joining PAL. Look for "10 Steps to Advocacy" -- information provided by Ms. Jackson and PAL in the "Bee Independent" section of the January edition of the SBANC newsletter.
Council members pictured include, from left to right, front row: Ken Wease (outgoing secretary/treasurer), new appointees Keisha Lee, Jean Wolff-Rossi, Mark Ezzell (new Council chairman), and Monica Jackson. On the back row, left to right: Judge Waddell, new appointees Travis Evans, Lawrence Shockey, and Robert Rickelman; Jean Hollowell (returning member), Sadie B. Barbour (new member), Doris Jones (returning member), and North Carolina Developmental Disabilities Council’s Executive Director, Holly Riddle. The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities advises the secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the coordination of planning and service delivery of all State-funded programs providing service to persons with developmental disabilities. The council has 34 members all appointed by the Governor. On Friday, November 16, 2001, new appointees to the N.C. Developmental Disabilities Council were sworn in by District Court Judge Jerry Waddell at the council’s conference in Atlantic Beach, N.C. Included among those appointed by the Governor for a four-year term is Monica Jackson (front row, far right) of Kannapolis, new SBANC member and I&R Coordinator for Programs for Accessible Living in Charlotte. Thirty-four council appointees serve for four years by appointment from the Governor. The Council serves as an advisory body to the N.C. Secretary of Health and Human Services in the implementation and change of programs and services to people with developmental disabilities of all ages. SBANC Plans 2 Holiday Parties for Charlotte, Raleigh Areas Join us for holiday fun and fellowship at two upcoming SBANC member parties hosted by the Spina Bifida Association of North Carolina in early December. A party in the Charlotte area will be held Dec. 2, from 2 to 5 p.m. with refreshments and a special guest appearance by the Santa. If you would like to attend, R.S.V.P to Kim Gates at 1-800-847-2262, or sbanc@mindspring.com. A party in the Raleigh, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount area will be held Dec. 9, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the home of SBANC board member Doug Hutchinson. For more information, contact Doug at 919-284-5417. Don't miss the fun! Not a member yet, but want to come? You can join for free at the party! Southeast Produce Council Presents Generous Donation to SBANC The Southeast Produce Council donated the proceeds of its Charity Golf Tournament -- $5,000 -- to the Spina Bifida Association of North Carolina on September 27 in Charlotte. The gift will help with education about folic acid and spina bifida. SBANC Executive Director Kim Gates and her family accepted the donation from Todd Mudger, a board member of the Southeast Produce Council, at the council's Fall Dinner Event, held at Charlotte's Ballantyne Resort. "We chose SBANC as the recipient of the Southeast Produce Council's Charity Golf Tournament because of its commitment to folic acid education in North Carolina," said Mudger, who represents Country Fresh, Inc. on the council.
Southeast Produce Council board member Todd Mudger (left) presents giant replica of the gift check to Kim Gates, Executive Director, SBANC. From left: Todd Mudger, Kim Gates, Mike Gates, Jonathan Gates and Breanna Gates (seated). "Folic acid education is key in helping prevent spina bifida and we are very grateful to the Southeast Produce Council for your generous gift," Gates told attendees at the event. Women who consume at least 400 micro grams (mcg) of folic acid can reduce the incidence of spina bifida in up to 75 percent of pregnancies*. The natural form of folic acid -- also called "folate" -- is available in foods like: leafy green vegetables, such as broccoli and spinach, and some fruits and juices, like orange juice**. A two year old organization with over 230 members, the Southeast Produce Council promotes the fresh fruit, vegetable and floral industries of North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee through good fellowship, cooperation and mutual interest among its members. One of it's key missions is to support charitable causes in Southeastern communities. For more information about the council, please visit its Web site at http://www.seproducecouncil.com/ The gift will be used to promote folic acid and spina bifida awareness -- including an upcoming event at Greensboro College and placing books about spina bifida in NC libraries. *NOTE: Women who have already had a child with spina bifida, or who have spina bifida themselves, are at a higher risk of spina bifida occurring in subsequent pregnancies and should ask their doctor about a prescription for folic acid at the beginning of their planning for a pregnancy (SOURCE: SBAA Web site -- http://www.sbaa.org/). **NOTE: A diet rich in folate is important, however the average American diet does not supply enough folic acid, and so it is important for women of child bearing age to take a vitamin supplement containing folic acid (SOURCE: SBAA Web site -- http://www.sbaa.org). SBANC Family Fun Day Coming July 21 at New Central Location Join us for food, fun, an education seminar on learning disabilities and giveaways at the annual SBANC Family Fun Day, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 21! Festivities will include giveaways of Wal-Mart gift certificates; a mini vacation package that includes tickets to Paramount Carowinds, a 2 Night Stay at the Fairfield Inn in Mooresville, and tickets for a cruise on Lake Norman aboard the Catawba Queen; and more! We will have plenty of food and drinks, arts and crafts for children, and a special seminar on Learning Disabilities and Spina Bifida, presented by education expert Julie Yindra. Contact your SBANC local support group leader to ask about travel plans to the event, which will be held in Greensboro, NC at Guilford Day School. Click here for directions. For more information about Family Fun, contact Kim Gates at 1-800-847-2262, or sbanc@mindspring.com We've Moved -- SBANC Has New Home Office Address The Spina Bifida Association of North Carolina has a new mailing address for its home office: 3915 Grace Court, Indian Trail, NC 28079. All other contact information remains the same. Executive Director Kim Gates -- who operates out of her home -- recently moved to a new wheel chair accessible house near Charlotte with her husband and two children. Kim's daughter, Breanna, who was born with spina bifida almost 8 years ago (T12), is enjoying the freedom of their new home and neighborhood as Kim works hard to organize the office and house. The Gates family use used the book: A House for All Children -- Planning a Supportive Home Environment for Children with Disabilities, to plan for accessibility as the house was built. The book contains real world advice for creating a safe and accessible home environment, and is available for loan from the SBANC library system. For more information, contact your SBANC local support group leader (each support group has a copy). Wal-Mart and Krispy Kreme Team up to Help SBANC Wal-Mart Corporation sponsored a fundraising event for SBANC at its super store in Monroe, NC on May 6. Krispy Kreme's Matthews, NC store provided 125 boxes of donuts for the event -- 1,500 of the tasty morsels -- that SBANC volunteers sold outside of Wal-Mart, netting over $500. Wal-Mart also provided a generous $1,000 grant. Thank you for your support! Raleigh News and Observer Series on Spina Bifida -- "A Chance for Anna" Mid-State SBA Initiates New Children's Play Group Exciting New SBANC Library Resource for Families Raising a Child with a Physical Disability A House for All Children -- Planning a Supportive Home Environment for Children with Disabilities contains real world advice for creating a safe and accessible home environment. This book was developed with extensive input from 65 parents and 12 children with disabilities. It is authored by Richard V. Olsen, PH.D.; Lynn Hutchings, M. Arch.; and Ezra Ehrenkrantz, F.A.I.A., and published by The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Press. The SBANC Library System has several copies available for loan to members. Contact your local SBANC support group for details on using the SBANC Library System. The NJIT is offering a limited number of books at no cost. To inquire about a copy, call 973-596-3097. North Carolina Student Wins 2000 SBAA Scholarship Congratulations to Bryan Joseph Berger of Chapel Hill, NC -- one of 23 winners of an SBAA Scholarship for this year! These students were selected from 50 entries, and each individual receives $500. The 2000 - 2001 Scholarship fund is now $15,000, up from $11,500. Call SBAA for a current application or go to http://www.sbaa.org/. Photos from SBANC Summer 2000 Family Fun Picnic at Falls Lake Press Releases |
Ben Skillman 
