FIBROMYALGIA

Like millions of women the world over, as well as a smaller percentage of men, Rebecca is afflicted with fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia, or FMS, is a syndrome currently believed to attack the central nervous system, affecting eighteen or more muscle groups throughout the entire body and causing usually daily, widespread --- often crippling --- musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and even, in extreme cases, partial to full disability. Those afflicted with FMS have, on average, three times more substance P (pain-causing chemical) in their bodies than do normal people. Their bodies also have other chemical anomalies, and they frequently suffer from at least one other autoimmune syndrome, such as rheumatoid arthritis, as well. Currently, there is no known cure for FMS and no truly effective treatment, either. If you, too, have FMS, or you know someone who does, and you would like to learn more about this baffling, painful, fatiguing disease, the American Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association, Inc., the Fibromyalgia Network, the National Fibromyalgia Association, and the FMS & CFS website, this last maintained by fellow FMS sufferer Misty, provide excellent information and resources.

LITERACY

Shockingly, nearly 50 million American adults are functionally illiterate. They lack even the most basic literacy skills needed to obtain and hold decent jobs to support their families and to actively participate in civic life --- much less to read a book for the sheer joy of it. Years ago, when Rebecca taught interpersonal communication at the university level, she was horrified to discover that despite twelve years of public education, many of her students could not even read her course's textbook! The literacy organizations listed herein all work actively to assist families all across the U.S. in learning how to read. Please contribute or volunteer in some way to help them. The ability to read is not only a vital skill in today's society, but also one of the greatest means of enjoyment and enlightenment.

TREES & RAINFORESTS

More than 4,000 acres of our planet's irreplaceable rainforests are being burned every single hour. That's nearly 100,000 acres a day! In fact, this wanton destruction has now reached such incredibly alarming proportions, it threatens consequences worldwide --- including global warming, the extinction of hundreds of wild-animal species, the loss of vegetation that provides fully one-quarter of today's drugs and medicines, and the laying to waste of countless square miles of our earth. Please join these organizations in helping to preserve our trees and rainforests. Without them, our planet as we know it won't survive.