Why join TLC?

Why you should become a member of TLC - 

Why TLC is worth the money (in my opinion) - 

TLC is a Not-for-Profit Organization - not just a website listing
information - so their goal is somewhat different than the individual
people hosting websites.

Although all the people who host websites are incredibly awesome people
to put their time and effort into what they do! 

TLC is very different and does a lot of things the individual people
simply can not do - but the main difference is their focus on OUTREACH -
searching for TTMers as opposed to waiting for them to find your website
--(very important because most people do NOT have access to computers). 

For their actual 'mission' statement see the main page on their website.
www.trich.org.

Just some examples:   

** they also are exhibiting at Conferences for Doctors - therefore
trying to help educate and inform the medical community about our
disease - which helps reach OUT to patients who may come to these
doctors not knowing what they have, and also which could help create
interest in research and finding a cure (and don't we all know, help us
get the 'right' diagnosis at least); 

** they try to get publicity via the media - newspapers, television,
etc., to inform the community at large, and reach OUT to people who may
not know that they have the disease and think they are alone; 

** they have formed the Scientifc Advisory Board of Doctors which helps
reach OUT to the larger medical community (to help educate them, and
also which may create interest in reserach and finding a cure); 

** host and organize the Retreats and Symposiums etc to help educate and
provide services to the TTM commuity; 

** and much more - getting too much to type. 


I am not an 'employee' or even a volunteer for TLC. Just someone who
only found out about TLC and Trich through a newspaper article that
mentioned them. So I will be a member for hte rest of my life. 

So I guess, if you found out about Trichotillomania by typing "I pull
out my hair" in your search engine, you may feel loyal to another
website for first providing you the information about your disease, and
feel like the membership fee is a waste. (And a lot of those websites
are hosted by people who found out about their Trich through TLC.) 

TLC is actually 'mailing' you a huge packet which costs money to do - so
they can not do that for free. But you are not just paying for hte
'packet of information". You are helping pay for all of hte above
services - which are helping us as a group, and helping people find out
sooner that they have TTM. And even then, part of the reason TLC has to
charge for the packet is because TLC is so small, because TTM is so
unkown. So it is a double-edged sword. So many of us do not even know we
have Trich - but TLC can not reach out to those people without support. 

Yes, if TLC was as large and funded as something like The American Heart
Association, etc., you would probably be able to call them up and get a
brochure and printed informaton for free. (Gee, we just need each of the
8 million people in the U.S. who have Trich to send TLC $1.00). 

And as someoneone who did NOT find out until 37, I can guarantee that my
life would have been better if I at least found out what I had when I
was younger! But in that sense of your membership actually supporting
all the services of hte organization, it is a donation-type membership,
and simply your choice if you want to or not. 

Incidentally, TLC (and the Doctors) were very supportive and encouraging
- of myself and others, typing up our notes from the retreat sessions
and emialing them to whoever we wanted to. 

So a lot of the things I have posted here, have come from the Retreat.
Some of them, the Doctor checked my notes for accuracy, and let one of
the other websites post them. Some of the Doctors emailed me their own
notes. 

They really do want as many people as possible to have the most
information possible. 

______________________________
x
x