<<THE IBDCURE.ORG FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL>> [RELEASE REF. ID: PM00103]

IBDCURE UPDATE: ACTION ALERT / A Personal Message From Gideon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 19, 2003: 12:44 AM EST

HIGHLAND PARK, NJ, US, & on the web @ http://ibdcure.org --

Dear Friends:

As my secondary school days come to an end, I walk down the science corridor
of my high school realizing that the greatest gift in life, is perhaps life
itself.

After recalling the countless days, weeks, and months that were spent either
sick at home or in the hospital, separating me from a life of normalcy, I
realize that my proudest accomplishment in life is not being accepted to
college or winning my fair share of accolades; my proudest accomplishment is
merely living to this very day. After double-digit hospitalizations,
exhausting every FDA approved medication for Crohn's, and two major
abdominal surgeries, there's no way to truly measure or articulate how lucky
I feel, and what means to be ALIVE.

I decided to write you tonight for a few reasons. One primary reason
revolves around history being made today in the nation's capitol. Today, the
first-ever, National IBD Advocacy Conference took place in Washington D.C.,
urging the immediate approval of the "Inflammatory Bowel Disease Act." This
vital piece of Congressional legislation already has a list-load of
co-sponsors in both the House and Senate, and, if passed, will introduce
sweeping reform and promote more Crohn's and Colitis research than ever
before.

It was my intention to go down to D.C. to fully embrace the events and
promote the legislation, but due to my educational obligations back home, it
was not going to be possible. I would however, in one brief statement, like
to extend my greatest support to every Crohn's and Colitis survivor and
supporter who are currently on the Hill, working their hearts out to see
this legislation through to fruition. It is my hope that this event will
represent the beginning of a movement to better treatments, way of life, and
will ultimately, lead to a cure.

The second major reason why I felt compelled to pen this email was to inform
you of some major new additions to our Foundation. It is with utmost
enthusiasm and gratitude that I announce the two newest members to the
ibdcure.org team: two invaluable friends of mine, Katie Willison and Michael
Evans.

-Katie Willison will be a freshman and the University of Virginia this fall,
and will be taking over as our Editor-in-Chief of our e-news service. I've
known Katie for nearly four years now, and I told her that when I thought of
someone who we desperately needed to not only write with clarity, character,
and passion, we most-importantly desired staying on-top of breaking news.
Over the past two years, you may have realized that from time-to-time,
events suddenly "pop-up" on our site late or without prior notice. The
bottom line is that those days are over, because Katie's got it all to run
our e-news service with full-fledged energy and efficiency, and we are not
only delighted but privileged to have her aboard.

-Michael Evans will be a freshman and Emerson College this fall, with intent
on majoring in marketing. Mike has been elected to our team as our Chief
Marketing Strategist, and will be in charge of analyzing everything from PR
to our website. When I thought of someone we needed to not only criticize
but SCRUTINIZE the way we market ourselves to the public, I thought to
myself: "that's gotta be Mike." Fortunately, Mike enthusiastically accepted
the position, and I know that his feedback will seem naturally effortless to
him, but will benefit us in countless ways.

In addition, in the upcoming weeks, we'll be announcing across-the-board
initiatives within our Foundation which will encompass:

1) The introduction of first-ever concurrent "IBD Stamp" legislation.
2) Efforts towards educating those chronically ill and disabled.
3) A revolutionary partnership with the Robert Pilkington, creator of
http://crohnie.com, and author of the just published "Crohnie Handbook."
4) New Foundation endowment for IBD research and partnerships, and:
5) Summertime fundraising efforts.

As most of the news above pertains directly to current efforts on behalf of
the Foundation, I'd like to leave you with a headline that hit the CNN
ticker-tape this past Memorial Day [and it read]:

"PEARL JAM GUITARIST GOES PUBLIC WITH CROHN'S"

Mike McCready, the lead guitarist for Pearl Jam has just announced that he's
been battling this devastating condition for over 15 years. His announcement
came to the shock of many, including myself. But his announcement meant more
than just a "celebrity" announcing his battle. Mike's announcement
symbolized a movement in which the general public is now talking about
Crohn's and Colitis more than ever before.

Seven years ago when I was first diagnosed with Crohn's, there was only one
wonder drug that I knew of coming down the pipeline, only to be used as a
last-resort. You'd walk up to strangers on the street, ask them about
Crohn's, and get a weak, unfamiliar response. These days, I can easily count
six or seven novel drugs coming down pharmaceuticals' pipelines, not only to
put this disease into a long-term remission, but to enhance the quality of
our lives. I can also walk down the street and find strangers responding
with more familiarity when I mention the term "Crohn's or Colitis."

In addition, pharmaceutical companies are now buying out full-page adds in
today's most circulated periodicals and newspapers, JUST to advertise their
new drug for Crohn's. More scientists and doctors are enthusiastic about
discovering the cause and cure for IBD and, last year, the first ever
IBD-related legislation was introduced to Congress to secure more federal
funding to help these medical professionals do just that. The bottom line is
that the odds have never been better, and my hope has personally never been
greater. If there's one thing I'm sure of, it is exactly this:

We are just steps away from cracking IBD.

Today, however, it is important to take a moment to support this new IBD
legislation, and everyone down on Capitol Hill, fighting for the IBD cure. I
hope you will take the time to visit the links below to contact your
Congressional members to tell them that YOU want to see this legislation
approved immediately. Pre-written letters are now available at the CCFA's
website, and you may contact anyone from our Foundation should you need
assistance with contacting your reps.

Thank you all for your unrelenting avidity.

With great health and happiness,

Gideon

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Reply to: gideon@...

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E-NEWS RESOURCES:

Below are additional resources pertaining to this press release.
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SUPPORT THE INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE ACT:

http://www.ccfa.org/news/ibdbilloverview.htm
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WRITE-YOUR REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTORY:

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

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PEARL JAM GUITARIST GOES PUBLIC WITH CROHN'S - SOURCE/REUTERS:

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=musicNews&storyID=2811054

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Defying all realities:

:: THE ibdcure.org FOUNDATION INT'L ::

Always on: http://www.ibdcure.org
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