About the National Lupus Advocacy Summit
Lupus is one of the cruelest, most mysterious diseases on earth, yet research on lupus remains underfunded relative to its scope and devastation. The National Lupus Advocacy Summit is an empowering event that includes meeting with our nation’s leaders to discuss the Foundation’s legislative priorities and issues impacting people with lupus. The event provides an amazing opportunity for lupus activists to join together and urge Congress to put lupus at the front of the national health care agenda and to provide lupus research with the much-needed funding and give lupus the recognition that it deserves.
Why is the Advocacy Summit so important? The federal government and industry are the largest sources of funding for lupus research, and increased funding for lupus research is desperately needed. Strong lupus activists like you made these increases possible!
It’s important that all of our voices are heard and we tell Congress to increase funding for lupus research and education initiatives so we can find better treatments and get the answers we need to solve the cruel mystery of lupus.
Who is a lupus activist? You are! A lupus activist is anyone who is passionate about educating elected officials about the impact of lupus on the individual, families, friends or caregivers.
Watch our videos from previous summits and learn more about what it is like to be a part of this empowering and energizing event.
The first day of the Summit is devoted to training on basic advocacy principles as well as a thorough review of the Foundation’s current legislative priorities. The training includes panel discussions followed by role play that demonstrate best practices for effective meetings on Capitol Hill. The second day is spent on Capitol Hill meeting with members of Congress and their staff discussing the Foundation’s priority legislative issues and to raise awareness of the disease.