Epilepsy Foundation

National organization working to ensure that people with seizures are able to participate in life experiences, we seek to cure epilepsy through research, education, advocacy and service.

Why do we exist?

The Epilepsy Foundation (formerly the Epilepsy Foundation of America)® is the national organization that works to prevent, control and cure epilepsy through research, education, advocacy and service and to enable people with seizure disorders to share fully in all life experiences. Our current strategic goals include broadening and strengthening of research; providing individuals and families with easy access to reliable information; assuring access to appropriate medical care for those affected by seizures; and to remove all legislative, legal, regulatory and public policy barriers to participation in all life experiences. We strive to eradicate myth, stigma and ignorance concerning epilepsy in all segments of society.

Our national office is in Landover, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. At a national level we offer research and research training grants and fellowships to scientists working to find the answers to epilepsy. Our research and scientific programs and materials are reviewed by a distinguished board of volunteer physicians, scientists and other health care professionals. We support national public education, legal and government advocacy, a national library, toll free information services, media campaigns, and a broad array of educational materials. During November (Epilepsy Month) our whole organization makes a special effort to focus national attention on epilepsy and to raise awareness of a disorder affecting more than two and a half million people.

What have you accomplished?

Our National Campaign for Women's Health, the public awareness side of the Women and Epilepsy Initiative, launched a major new public service announcement for television, expanded outreach to the media and distributed educational materials.

A new first aid curriculum was developed that local Epilepsy Foundations will be using to make schools safer for children.

The internet-based Gene Discovery Project invites people with a family history of epilepsy to enter information into a confidential database, to speed genetic research.

We are the content expert and the primary source for contemporary information for people with epilepsy, along with their families and friends, caregivers and medical professionals. This information is disseminated through our website (www.epilepsyfoundation.org) and more traditional means of communication, such as information and referral service (1-800-332-1000).

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