ADVOCACY DAY 2012 - FAMILY ACT & ADOPTION TAX CREDIT

As most of you know, I went to Advocacy Day on April 25th in Washington DC as a Resolve Advocate Volunteer. It was a great turnout, so many Advocates attended. This day was a way of speaking out loud about Infertility the disease. One in Eight couples will experience infertility and most of the time yes it is someone you know, someone you love, someone close to you or just a stranger. Whoever it is, all couples should be given that chance to build their families. As we know these days many things get in the way of even thinking of going down the road of treatment but sometimes it is the only way. Infertility is a financial and emotion burden on couples. The Advocates attended to be heard and to make a difference which I think we all succeeded! Advocacy Day in one word was AWESOME! I finally was able to meet the Resolve staff that I have communicated with over the past year, Barbara Collura, Rebecca Flick, Tanya Coogan, Aretha Lee and Dawn Gannon. I must say it was an honor. The entire Resolve staff was wonderful, helpful in trying to make everyone feel confident and comfortable! By the end of the day they were so exhausted from all the hard work they put into this event. I applaud them all for their great efforts. Whether you were a first time Advocate or a previous attendee we were all there for the same reason. We all walked in to a new experience. We were excited, nervous, psyched, emotional and ready to go voice our words to make them hear our personal stories. We needed them to be connected to us in order to try to gain that support to co-sponsor the Family Act and make the Adoption Tax Credit permanent. When you have a group that is touched by IVF or Adoption it is a passion to believe that your words will be heard! The room at the training was filled with so much passion, even the quiet ones broke out of their shells and went out and kicked butt! My new friend & my roommate Amanda Brown of My Fertility Awareness from Florida found her voice, not cracking or nervous anymore, feeling more comfortable and letting the words just flow. She was the only one representing Florida but was in good hands with Margaret from Resolve. She started out a nervous wreck but I guess my little pep talk worked – I told her we were all hear for the same reason and once she met others the words would just flow and they did! She rocked it! So proud of her and all the men & women that turned out for this great event! I then had to give myself a silent pep talk to believe in myself and gain my confidence. It wasn’t long before I felt more comfortable. We were all there for the same thing. We broke the ice with a smile, an introduction, a handshake, a business card exchange or a book exchange. I introduced myself to Krissi McVicker, author of Ordinary Miracles who I interacted with on Twitter before the day. Then maybe a hug or two exchanged – lots of compliments and kind words because we are all awesome in our own ways. Connecticut had two advocates, Tracy Barclay who was a previous attendee and me. She helped show me the ropes. We worked great as a team and I enjoyed spending my day with her.

Barbara Collura, has the passion, inspiration and determination that made all the advocates have a great sense of confidence. Her speech got us ready to win and succeed for the day. She is a wonderful person and does a great job. I was also quite surprised and honored to hear my name mentioned during her speech. It touched me and I had to thank her! Then Risa Levine, how she shared her personal story which left many in tears, especially me. I had to turn away, look down, and breathe to be sure not to lose it. To look around the room and see how many she touched with her story. She also pumped us up for the day that was ahead. Again, I made it my business to introduce myself to her and to tell her what an inspiring speech. We had all these great people speaking now it was time for us to make them proud! I think we all succeeded at that. At Senator Richard Blumenthal’s office we met up outside the hallway with Izzy Klein from Podesta Group and another advocate Janet Voight from Maryland. We then entered the office and met with the staffer. Some words that come to mind from the meeting were, “You educated me and took away the misconceptions that I had about this bill, thank you.” That was something that we all came back to tell. At the meeting we had stories of successful IVF treatments and a successful Adoption story. We all contributed and think did our job educating the staffer and made him think.

At Representative Christopher Murphy’s office I thought I would be alone on my meeting but with much surprise Bob Siggins joined me. I was already prepared to fly solo on this one but felt more relieved yet more nervous at the same time. The staffer there was interested and had friends that had gone through treatments so had an understanding. I told him my personal story and educated him on Infertility along with the adoption tax credit. At the end of the meeting you always hope for the yes, we support this, but even to get them thinking is a step in the right direction. He promised to discuss this with Representative Murphy so I hope he did. After leaving the office, Mr. Siggins who accompanied me at the meeting said I did great, so that was good. We then made it back to the debriefing room.

Every Advocate showed their strength told their stories and nailed it – there were smiles that filled the rooms as the day came to a close. At the debriefing reception was where we shared our stories, took cool pictures, did videos with Michelle Brock of Ifcrossroads blog grabbed some drinks and snacks. Took some pictures with others Keiko Zoll of The Infertility Voice. Some went to other meetings like me and others stayed to relax, take their shoes off, put their feet up and reflect on the day. We all spoke our minds for what we experienced and for what we believe in. So Advocacy Day was a complete success in my mind! So glad to have met so many great men & women! For more information on sending letters to your Senator’s visit RESOLVE help us make a difference! Every couple deserves a child! Help Build Their Families!