Love, and our respects, this Valentine's Day

Since February is the month of Love here is our CCFA Newsletter about ALL that's going on with Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis. Letter from our President & CEO With Valentine's Day upon us, we wanted to remind you that CCFA began as the result of a love affair. Irwin M. Rosenthal, one of the visionary co–founders of CCFA, and Suzanne were due to be married in a few months time when suddenly Suzanne became very ill. Motivated by her struggle with Crohn's disease, Irwin, along with William and Shelby Modell, and Dr. Henry D. Janowitz, established the Foundation for Research in Ileitis, now known as the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. A passionate philanthropist, entrepreneur, and lawyer, Irwin served as president of the Foundation for the first 10 years of its existence. Sadly, Irwin recently passed away. This Valentine's we honor Irwin for his tenacity, compassion, and love for Suzanne, and for putting CCFA on the road to success. May you and your loved ones have a very Happy Valentine's Day. Sincerely, Michael Osso President & CEO Happy Valentine's Day To all of our supporters and their loved ones, CCFA wishes you a very Happy Valentine's Day! Don't forget to tell someone special you love them by sending one of our CCFA/Colitis Ninja IBD Valentine's cards. READ MORE ► IBD & Dating For some people with IBD, the thought of dating or being intimate may be daunting—but there’s no reason you can’t have healthy, successful relationships. To provide some guidance, we have a few resources, including our "Sex, Intimacy and IBD" fact sheet and "Being Intimate with IBD" video. Additionally, we will host the first of five Twitter chats on Wednesday, February 17th from 1-2pm EST. This chat will focus on IBD & relationships and feature patient Kirbi Fagan (@KirbiFagan), her fiancée Evan Hulscher (@EvanThomasHulsc), social worker Sofia Rivkin-Haas (@scrh326), and the IBD Help Center (@IBDHelpCenter). Tag @CCFA in your questions using the hashtag #IBDchat! READ MORE ► Register Now for Camp Oasis For children with IBD, Camp Oasis is a place where they can bond with each other and truly be themselves. Jessica Heirtzler is a wonderful example. Now a counselor, she says, "Everyone at camp—both campers and volunteers—taught me that Crohn's isn’t who I am, but it is a part of me…” Last year, more than 1,100 campers participated in Camp Oasis, and 2016 will be an even bigger success! We're proud to announce that there will not be a fee increase this year—and, as always, we offer scholarships to families unable to pay. Camper and volunteer applications are now open, so apply today. READ MORE ► Find Your Community Team Challenge trains you to run or walk an amazing destination race while raising funds for cures. But it’s so much more than that. Team Challenge enables you to find like-minded people who understand what you are going through. Join us in wine country for the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon or 5K, a scenic race that finishes in Sonoma with a wine and music festival. This popular race is SOLD OUT to the general public, but Team Challenge still has guaranteed entries! Come join the Team Challenge family. READ MORE ► Become a CCFA Member Now is the perfect time to become a CCFA member and receive all the benefits in 2016. Joining is easy—and it has a huge impact on the fight against IBD. Managing SBS CCFA and Medscape are teaming up to help manage Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS). Patients and caregivers can learn about things like diet and treatment options, while clinicians can gain new knowledge and skills. READ MORE ► Tell Congress to Fund IBD Research Congress is starting to consider funding priorities for fiscal year 2017—so email your legislators and ask them to support IBD research. The earlier we can generate support and the more legislators that request it, the more likely IBD programs will be funded in the final bills. READ MORE ► IBD Clinical Trials and Other Studies CCFA provides a comprehensive database of studies, clinical trials and other research on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. One of the recently added studies includes: A Phase 3, Multicenter, Randomized, Double–blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of Oral RPC1063 as Induction and Maintenance Therapy for Moderate to Severe Ulcerative Colitis, sponsored by Receptos Deciding whether to participate in a clinical trial is an important personal decision, best made with a full understanding of the drug development process and a participant’s role. Team Challenge CCFA Facebook CCFA Twitter CCFA YouTube CCFA Pinterest Forward Donate to CCFA Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America 7​33 Th​ird Av​en​ue, Sui​te 51​0, Ne​w Y​ork,​ N​Y 10​01​7 www.ccfa.org | 8​00-​93​2-​2​423 Talk with an I​BD Info​rmation Specialist at 88​8.M​y.Gu​t.P​ain | 8​88-​69​4-8​87​2