The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation is committed to increasing funding for mitochondrial disease research now - to alleviate the suffering of thousands who have this debilitating and often fatal disease and to develop better understanding of and treatments for the many common illnesses and chronic conditions associated with it.  Formed in 1996, the UMDF has already achieved tremendous success in funding new research, improving awareness and understanding of mitochondrial disease and providing support to affected individuals and families.  But further action and support are still needed to ensure that mitochondrial disease research becomes the funding priority it should be.

To expedite this action and ensure Congress, the medical community and the general public understand the importance of mitochondrial disease research, we must call on our volunteers who operate local UMDF chapters, groups and ambassador programs in the United States and abroad.  To assist you in your advocacy, we are pleased to present a tool kit which provides guidelines for working with elected officials and for engaging the media.  Included are fact sheets, talking points, sample letters and sample media materials to give you everything you need to begin your advocacy campaign.

You are our best advocate.  It is critical that we tell the UMDF story and your individual stories to a much broader audience.  Our messages must be consistent and clear in order to make mitochondrial disease more readily recognizable and to create a sense of urgency among policy makers and the medical community.

Materials have been developed for you to download and to help you convey important, easy to understand information about the disease and the need for additional research.  Advocacy Toolkit - please use these materials to help in your conversations and written correspondence with elected officials, their staffs and the media.  The first several documents (About UMDF, Mitochondrial Disease Fact Sheet, Mitochondrial Disease Links and Frequently Asked Questions) have been developed for you to be able to use for your own background, but also as hand outs when dealing with the media and elected officials and their staffs.  We have also included links to help you find your elected representatives in the U.S. House of Senate - How to Contact your Elected Official.

Your advocacy efforts will help the UMDF achieve our goal of more federal dollars dedicated to mitochondrial disease research.  Thank you for your support!