The Arthritis Foundation (AF) works to improve lives through leadership in the prevention, control, and cure of arthritis and related diseases.
Established in 1948, AF is a volunteer-driven, national nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for over 120 types of arthritis including:
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- juvenile arthritis;
- osteoporosis;
- lupus;
- osteoarthritis;
- gout;
- ankylosing spondylitis;
- fibromylagia;
- tendonitis/bursitis;
- scleroderma; and
- carpal tunnel syndrome.
The Northern California Chapter is located in San Francisco and serves 16 counties--from the Oregon border to Carmel--including:
- Del Norte;
- Humboldt;
- Sonoma;
- Lake;
- Napa;
- Solano;
- Marin;
- Contra Costa;
- Alameda;
- Mendocino;
- San Francisco;
- San Mateo;
- Santa Clara;
- San Benito;
- Santa Cruz; and
- Monterey.
Arthritis refers to more than 120 different diseases - many of which include joint and organ inflammation - whose common denominators are chronic pain and loss of mobility.
Over 50 million people have doctor diagnosed arthritis in the US. Arthritis is the #1 cause of disability in the US. Of those individuals, women with arthritis outnumber men three to one. Locally, 2 million people have some form of arthritis. Arthritis affects people of all ages, including 300,000 children - more than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and sickle cell anemia combined. Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis is one of the most common chronic illnesses of children and California has the most cases out of any state in the US with 38,000 cases.
Arthritis limits the activities and work of 21 million Americans. In 2009, the cost to the US economy of arthritis was $128 billion - $46 billion in direct medical expense and $82 billion in lost productivity.
The need is great and AF needs great people to volunteer to make a difference in the lives of people living with these diseases. Please join us!
