Benefits to membership

We encourage everyone to become a member as we need your support to continue to grow and thrive. Polios are the largest handicapped group in the United States, yet we have been virtually forgotten by the medical field and the public. Polio is not "over" as long as we polios are still alive and suffering from the late effects of this disease! Help us to continue to function, and to raise the awareness of post polio syndrome by remaining a member and paying your dues promptly. The camaraderie, support and information that we receive from one another is invaluable.

Newsletters are mailed out nine times a year. Our 14-page Resource List grew out of our own members’ need to identify polio-savvy medical professionals in the Bay Area. We have held two Bay Area polio conferences, in 2000 and 2003, and are in the process of planning a third one. These conferences help not only to raise awareness among polios and the general public but also to educate medical professionals on the late effects of polio, thus enabling us to receive better care. Due to this heightened awareness, we have been instrumental in getting a polio clinic set up at Kaiser Vallejo. We also have the largest collection of polio memorabilia in the U.S., and are the only support group to have this historical collection.

Benefits include:

• Meetings monthly (Jan.-June and Sept.-Nov.), in Martinez.
• Members receive a newsletter monthly, January-June and September-November.
• Annual list of Bay Area postpolio clinics and medical practitioners familiar with postpolio syndrome, and other helpful resources.
• Access to a lending library of polio material (audio-tapes, videos, books, newsletters, and other polio-related materials).

Non-profit status

We are a California public benefit nonprofit 501©(3) corporation, federal tax ID No. 68-0253385. Donations SFBAPS are tax deductible. Our fiscal and membership year runs from July 1 to June 30.

Membership form and dues

• Please fill out this membership form and mail to:
  SFBAPS, P.O. Box 5104, Concord, CA 94524-5104.
• Annual dues are $15.00 or whatever you can afford, and are due in July of each year. (Any new member who joins after March 1 has their payment applied to the following fiscal year’s dues, but the membership is effective immediately and a newsletter will be mailed to address on record when published.)
• If extenuating circumstances make payment a hardship for you, check the space indicated on this form and you will not be denied membership.
• Dues payments and donations are tax deductible. SFBAPS’ Tax-Exempt Federal l.D. Number is 68-0253385.

If you know someone who may be interested in our group, please give them a copy of the form to complete and return to SFBAPS, or bring them along to one of our meetings. Polio survivors, family, friends, and interested medical professionals are always welcome at our meetings and each is eligible to become a member of SFBAPS.