What is the Sjogren's Foundation (SF) and Team Sjogren's?
The only national non-profit organization dedicated solely to fighting Sjögren's through research, education, and awareness. The SF supports and educates patients and their families, increases public and professional awareness, and provides grants for research into new treatments and finding a cure. With your generous support, they will continue to meet the needs of millions of people with Sjögren's and those who care about them. Click here to visit the SF website.
 Team Sjogren's 2013
Team Sjögren's is a marathon training program to help raise awareness and funds towards research into a cure for Sjögren's. Betty joined the team in 2013 to train for her very first half marathon. The race was in Nashville, and the following day, she hosted a SHOWgrins book signing at Barnes & Noble at Vanderbilt University to continue increasing awareness and raising funds.
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After reading the headlines that tennis pro Venus Williams suffers from Sjogren's, author Betty Collier discovered she had many of the same symptoms. This began her quest to share the journeys of five other remarkable women battling this incurable illness. Her passion for increasing awareness of this silent disease took her beyond the inspirational stories she had written about to the rain soaked streets of Nashville, TN where she ran with Team Sjogren's on April 27, 2013 in the Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon. Betty's generous race sponsors helped her raise over $2,600 to donate to the Sjogren's Foundation as a member of Team Sjogren's that year.
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Team Sjögren’s California was founded in 2010 by Estrella Bibbey, a Sjögren’s patient and young mother. Estrella is also one of the "Fab Five" on the celebrity panel in the book! Betty and her husband, William, joined Estrella and the rest of the team for “Six Miles for Sjögren’s” as part of the Wharf to Wharf 10K Race from Santa Cruz to Capitola, CA on July 28, 2013 to help raise funds for Sjögren’s research. The team has raised over $100,000 for the Sjögren’s Foundation in 4 years.
 Betty and her husband, William, at the Wharf to Wharf 10K Finish Line after running Six Miles for Sjogren's |
 Team Sjogren's California Founder and Director, Estrella Bibbey, and her husband, Jerry, along with Betty and William The funds that Betty and William helped raise for Team Sjogren's California help to support patient services to Sjogren's patients and their families, increase national awareness, as well as provide funding towards cutting-edge research with the hope of improving the lives of Sjogren's patients.
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Betty joined Team Sjogren's in 2013 and has continued supporting Sjogren's Foundation. Click here to read more about her efforts for this year as she pays honor to 4 and in memory of one of her Fab Five.
From Betty's heart: Ten years ago, I introduced my book at the 2013 Sjögren's National Patient Conference. We hosted a Celebrity Panel Book Signing Extravaganza featuring the Fab Five women who shared their inspirational stories of courage, determination, and spirit. These extraordinary women, Cathy Taylor, Estrella Bibbey, Judy Kang, Lynn Petruzzi, and Paula Beth Sosin opened their hearts and shared their motivational stories with the world. Paula is now married (Paula Yelsey), and she and her husband are expecting their first child, a baby boy, in March.
Through the heartwarming stories of these five remarkable women and the intimate details of their journeys, millions will be inspired, encouraged, and motivated to face any crossroad in their lives, whether they have Sjögren's or not.
During that same year, I had the honor of attending the Readers' Favorite Award Ceremony in Miami, FL, where my book received the top award, a gold medal, in the international book award contest. New doors where opened allowing me to share the Fab Five's captivating stories on the international stage.
In honor of four of these remarkable women and in memory of Judy Kang, the one we lost too soon, I am celebrating the 10th anniversary of the book's debut by sponsoring this year's national walk on April 1, 2023. I was a walk participant in Bethesda, MD ten years ago at the national walk, ran a half-marathon with Team Sjögren's in Nashville, TN, and ran a 10K with Team Sjögren's CA in the Santa Cruz to Capitola (CA) Wharf to Wharf Race. All of this happened in 2013; thus I fondly remember that life-changing year I became forever connected to Sjögren's. It's hard to believe ten years have passed.
Read my blog tribute to Judy Kang here. She is the one we lost too soon in 2014.
Did you know that Sjögren's is the second most prevalent rheumatic autoimmune disease affecting roughly four million Americans, yet it remains a relatively unknown disease? Your support of my fundraising efforts will help increase awareness, education and research of this chronic disease that has no cure.
For your donation to the Sjogren's Foundation of $25 or more, I will send you a free autographed copy of my book!
Through the heartwarming stories of these five remarkable women and the intimate details of their journeys, millions will be inspired, encouraged, and motivated to face any crossroad in their lives, whether they have Sjögren's or not.
During that same year, I had the honor of attending the Readers' Favorite Award Ceremony in Miami, FL, where my book received the top award, a gold medal, in the international book award contest. New doors where opened allowing me to share the Fab Five's captivating stories on the international stage.
In honor of four of these remarkable women and in memory of Judy Kang, the one we lost too soon, I am celebrating the 10th anniversary of the book's debut by sponsoring this year's national walk on April 1, 2023. I was a walk participant in Bethesda, MD ten years ago at the national walk, ran a half-marathon with Team Sjögren's in Nashville, TN, and ran a 10K with Team Sjögren's CA in the Santa Cruz to Capitola (CA) Wharf to Wharf Race. All of this happened in 2013; thus I fondly remember that life-changing year I became forever connected to Sjögren's. It's hard to believe ten years have passed.
Read my blog tribute to Judy Kang here. She is the one we lost too soon in 2014.
Did you know that Sjögren's is the second most prevalent rheumatic autoimmune disease affecting roughly four million Americans, yet it remains a relatively unknown disease? Your support of my fundraising efforts will help increase awareness, education and research of this chronic disease that has no cure.
For your donation to the Sjogren's Foundation of $25 or more, I will send you a free autographed copy of my book!
2021
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2021
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Betty and her husband, William, participated in the 2022 national virtual walk.
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Betty and her youngest son, Brandon, participated in the 2023 national virtual walk.
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Details can be viewed here.