By Nevus Outreach Executive Director, Mark Beckwith
The phrase “connecting the dots” is usually applied to a situation where you have a bunch of things laid out in front of you and you’re trying to figure out what their connections are, or what they could be, and consequently, your best guess at what they should be. I have on previous occasions remarked about how connecting the dots seems to happen with regularity at Nevus Outreach, and I’m not making a silly joke about large congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN).
When people hear stories of how things happen at Nevus Outreach, they are usually amazed at all the seeming coincidences, chance meetings and unlikely combinations that enliven the tales and enrich the outcomes. For this holiday season, I want to celebrate the growth and success of the support groups Nevus Outreach has been instrumental in creating for people affected by CMN.
A long time ago, one of our visionary founders, Kevin Williams, set us up on Yahoo! with a place where people affected by CMN can meet and talk. In recent years, his group has grown to have more than 1,200 people using it at times. Then only a few years ago, we got on Facebook. Our group on Facebook has grown to over 1,600 people in only a few short years, and spawned five different sub-groups.
If you want to see your donations at work, look no farther than the people whose lives are being improved by the support groups you have helped create!
- “Love you Nevus Outreach! When I had no hope you guys gave it to me. Thank you!” - Filitsa Mendez
- “I cannot imagine where my family would be in finding the information we have today had it not been for this group." - Corey Marshall
It’s the wave of the future, I’m telling you. Read an article from our Executive Assistant, Taylor Scott, who talks about how we want to bring our communication with you into the modern era, by trying to learn how you like to be contacted. There you will be asked four simple questions, and we will customize the way we contact you in the future.
Thanks, and have a great new year!