A few ways your sponsors can have a MAJOR impact...

Current Focus Project/Centers of Excellence:

• Hearing Preservation and Restoration: to preserve and to restore hearing using stem cells/new drugs and delivering them safely to the inner ear.
• Glaucoma Center of Excellence: to preserve vision of glaucoma patients through developing methods for earlier detection as well as new treatments, specific to each, individual and patient, and new patient programs for genetic screening and early diagnosis.
• Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgical Oncology Center of Excellence: to transform surgical care of patients with thyroid/parathyroid cancers by developing safer, better surgical techniques and devices, disseminating their adoption globally, and training future global leaders.
• Balance Center: to develop comprehensive, ame day diagnostic capabilities as well as treatment programs for each kind of balance problem, and new devices to help patients maintain stability.
• Tinnitus Center: to clinically characterize the different kinds of tinnitus and develop safe, effective treatments for them.

Here are a few ways your sponsors/donors can have a major impact in directly improving the lives of others. Invest in.....

• Hearing Research and hearing can be restored for millions within 20 years.
• Glaucoma Center of Excellence and functional vision can be preserved for millions of patients within 10-25 years.
• Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Center of Excellence and functional vision can be improved for millions of patients within 5 - 20 years.
• Balance Center of Excellence and dizzy patients can get accurate diagnosis quickly and will get targeted treatment; new devices will help millions maintain balance, avoid falls, injuries.

You might be interested to know....

Some very interesting distinctions that Mass. Eye and Ear holds.
(Share some of these with your sponsors to help increase your fundraising efforts!)

Distinctions:

• The Eaton-Peabody Laboratory at MEEI is the largest basic hearing research center in the world.
• Discovery of the first heritable cancer gene, most of the genese idenrified in retinitis pigmentosa, and some glaucoma genes.
• Primary teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School in Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology.
• MEEI's residency training programs in Orolaryngology and Opthalmology are among the most selective in the U.S.
• Discovery of the role of VEGF in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), leading to the first two FDA-approved drugs for treating AMD.
• Discovery of stem cells in the adult inner ear, which increases the potential of hearing restoration.
• First diagnosis of retinopathy or prematurity.
• First eye pathology laboratory in the U.S.
• First use of isolation to segregate patients with infectious diseases.

For those of you in the Boston area..

I just found this on the Boston Marathon website. For those around the Boston area, the B.A.A. and Adidas offers monthly runs in and around Boston for anyone training for the 2008 Boston Marathon. The group runs feature presentations, guest appearances by adidas athletes, product give-aways, and refreshments.

Group Run #1: Thursday, January 31st
Time: 6:00 p.m., with refreshments from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Boston Marathon Finish Line & CharlesMark Hotel (655 Boylston Street)
Group Run #2: Thursday, February 28th
Time: 6:00 p.m., with refreshments from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Boston Marathon Finish Line & CharlesMark Hotel (655 Boylston Street)
Group Run #3: Thursday, March 27th
Time: 6:00 p.m., with refreshments from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Boston Marathon Finish Line & CharlesMark Hotel(655 Boylston Street)
Group Run #4: Thursday, April 10th
Time: 6:00 p.m., with refreshments from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Boston Marathon Finish Line & CharlesMark Hotel(655 Boylston Street)

For more information, click here.

If anyone has done this in the past and has reviews of the program, feel free to leave comments for your fellow team mates.

Need a hotel room the weekend of the Boston Marathon?

Are you coming from out-of-town and need a hotel room the weekend of the Boston Marathon?

Team Eye and Ear has a hold on 14 room at the Westin Waterfront hotel until February 15th, through marathon tours. Since the weekend of the Boston Marathon is a busy one in Boston (not only the marathon, but also the Olympic trials), it may be hard to find a hotel room otherwise.

The hotel is about 2 miles away from the Boston Marathon finish line and is accessible by public trans

To reserve one of these rooms, please e-mail Cliff Jennings of Marathon Tours at cliff@marathontours.com, tell him that you are part of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary team block and give him the following information:
● arrival and departure dates (2 night minimum)
● complete mailing address, and daytime phone
● room type (one or two beds)
● credit card with expiry to guarantee the room (must expire after 4/08)
● number of persons (adults and/or kids) in the room with all adults names
Westin Waterfront $219 per person double occupancy
● tax of 12.45% is additional

If interested in this option, I would suggest emailing Cliff ASAP, as we were only able to get a block of 15 rooms and they are only on hold until February 15th.

Team Eye and Ear Kick-Off Party

WHO: 2008 Team Eye and Ear Members.
WHERE: 7th Floor Cafe Dining Room @ the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (243 Charles Street, Boston)
WHEN: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
WHY: To meet fellow team members, enjoy pizza from Upper Crust and listen to, and meet, famed running legend, Bill Rodgers.

RSVP: Please RSVP to Kristina Sym by Wednesday, February 20, 2008.

Welcome to Team Eye and Ear!

Welcome team members to the official blog website for Team Eye and Ear!

I will be updated this blog with official Team Eye and Ear Members updates and news and useful links and stories for your training and fundraising.

Please feel free to leave comments on any of the posts to communicate with your fellow Team Eye and Ear members.

Also, don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns that you have!

-----
Kristina Sym
Special Events Coordinator
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
(617) 573-6364
Kristina_Sym@meei.harvard.edu