Spina Bifida Association

of Washington State

Formerly, The Evergreen Spina Bifida Association

Greetings SBAWS Constituents;

In February 2012, I took over the Chair position on the Board of Directors for the Spina Bifida Association of Washington State (SBAWS). I grew up in Federal Way and after graduating from Federal Way High School, I attended college at both Green River Community College and Highline Community College. I have worked since the age of 17 primarily in customer service and office  administration related positions. I currently work part-time at Seattle Children’s Hospital in the Purchasing Division as an Assistant Purchaser.

I have been a member of the SBAWS Board of Directors since June 2009, after having the pleasure of starting the North Seattle Cluster in 2006 with fellow Board member Nicole Williamson and former constituent Alex Bungi who has since moved down to California. In January 2011, I became an Officer on the Board of Directors as Chair-Elect.

SBAWS is committed to serving those living with or those supporting loved ones with Spina Bifida in the state of Washington. We do this by offering assistance in purchasing medical items or repair of medical equipment (not covered by insurance), connecting others with Spina Bifida for support, providing educational grants, sharing access to informational resources available to us, offering assistance in purchasing new desktop or laptop computers, financial assistance for registration to the yearly National Spina Bifida Association Conference, publishing our newsletter “The Evergreen,” and hosting various social events such as our Summer Picnic, Holiday Party, Annual local Summit, including fundraising events such as the Annual Walk n Roll for Spina Bifida.

SBAWS is also dedicated to becoming more visible within our community and educating women of child baring age the need to take folic acid on a daily basis in order to reduce the chances of having a child with Spina Bifida. We accomplish this by having our Executive Director reach out to other organizations and staff at hospitals and clinics, The Easter Seals Society, Planned Parenthood Offices, and various other appropriate groups. Attending the Northwest Women’s show and other public events to hand out our educational material is also part of our strategy.

Our chapter has made great strides the past few years in becoming more and more visible in our community by becoming an affiliated chapter of the National Spina Bifida Association, hiring our first ever Executive Director to help oversee some of our day to day operations, having an active Board of Directors looking for ways we can better serve You, Our Constituents!

But the Board of Directors and the Executive Director cannot do all these things alone, or improve on the level of support we offer without support from our community, and more importantly, our constituency. Over the past few years, many of our constituents have approached board members, or myself, asking how they can help. We are always looking for those who wish to make a difference and have fresh new ideas on how we can increase our level of support to the very community we are a part of and serve. Serving on the Board of Directors does not take very much time, but the time put in can make a huge difference to our chapter and the lives of others by helping to shape the future of SBAWS. The SBAWS Board of Directors meet every other month, with two or three of our meetings occurring as in-person meetings usually after an event such as the Holiday Party, Summit, or the Annual Walk n Roll fundraiser. The other meetings occur via teleconference calls that start at 7pm. Most meetings last approximately 90 minutes or so. In between meetings, the Board of Directors will occasionally take votes via e-mail as well and then record the results of those votes at the next meeting.  

I challenge any of you who have been asking how you can make a difference, to step up and join our Board of Directors and be a part of making a difference. One can also be a part of any of our committees such as, the Walk n Roll Planning Committee, Summit Planning Committee, Development Committee, and others.

I hope you will consider taking me up on my challenge, so that SBAWS can improve the lives of those we serve and further our community outreach.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me either by phone (206) 363-3726, or via e-mail at jlane101@comcast.net

Sincerely,

Jason Lane, Chair

Spina Bifida Association of Washington State

Jason Lane