The Life Raft Group is celebrating our 20th anniversary as a nonprofit in 2022. For twenty years, our organization has been serving as a life raft for others navigating their GIST journeys. The LRG, which began as a group of concerned patients and caregivers living with a rare and often misunderstood disease, continues our mission to help our members survive and thrive.
It is the perfect time for us to share the stories. These stories are of those early pioneers who have helped save thousands of lives; the stories of our brave and inspiring members; the advocacy stories of the challenges patients face globally, and the story of this unique patient advocacy organization.
Throughout 2022, we will share stories, videos, and informative webinars to show the world who we are, what this strange sarcoma called GIST is, and what research is being done to find more effective treatments. We will remind GISTers that above all, they are not alone! This celebration will culminate with our biennial Life Fest gathering in New Orleans in July.
Help us celebrate this landmark anniversary!
• Join our community – It is free, and provides you access to many resources including our email support community, GIST Chat (https://forum.gistchat.org/login)
• Join our Patient Registry – Our Data Management & Research staff is available to help provide insights into your GIST.
• Tell your story! – We will be publishing them on our website https://liferaftgroup.org/member-stories/ and in our newsletters (bit.ly/LRGNewsletters). Send stories to Mary Garland, Senior Director of Communications: mgarland@liferaftgroup.org
• Attend our Life Fest 2022 celebration – Gather with other GIST patients and caregivers as well as leading GIST specialists for an informative and fun weekend. (bit.ly/LifeFest2022)
• Celebrate GIST Awareness Day with us on July 13 – Check out what it means to us and what we’ve done in past years (https://liferaftgroup.org/about-gist-awareness-day/) More info to come.
• Volunteer your time – Your gifts, talents, and donation of time are a priceless gift to our community. (https://liferaftgroup.org/volunteer/)
• Become a GIST advocate – Use your voice to raise awareness about GIST.
(https://liferaftgroup.org/advocacy/)
• Donate – There are many ways to donate, like our Give Every Month program (GEMs), so that we can continue the level of services we have provided to our community for the past 20 years. (https://liferaftgroup.org/donate-2/)
