The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E. (HFME)
Fighting for the recognition of M.E., and for patients to be accorded the same basic human
rights as those with similar disabling and potentially fatal neurological diseases such as M.S.
Donate to HFME
Click on the link below, to make a donation to HFME via Paypal.
PayPal accepts all major credit cards as well as payments from bank accounts.
Note that the HFME is in the earliest stages of the process of acquiring an ABN, a licence to fundraise, and tax deductible donation status.
An announcement will be made on this page when these applications are completed and have been formally approved.
Donate 'free' money towards M.E. advocacy/HFME
Please support these initiatives if you are able to. Every bit helps.
The iHerb affilation scheme
If you are a new customer to iHerb, and you put in the 'JOD573' code when you order, you get 5$ off your first order, and 4% of your order total for the next year will be donated to the Nightingale Research Foundation and HFME. (All proceeeds will be split evenly between these two groups.)
iHerb is a US online shop that sells everything from neti pots, to NADH, to ubiquinol and their international postage charges are cheaper than many others by a large margin.
The code is JOD573 and the website is www.iherb.com - note that you must put in this code when you make your purchase in order for a donation to be made!
The VRP affilation scheme
If you are a new customer to VRP, and you put in the 647871 affiliation code when you order, then the HFME will receive 15% of the cost of your order (and all orders you make with them for the next year).
VRP is an online US shop which sells a large variety of vitamins and supplements.
The website is www.vrp.com and the affiliate number is 647871 - note that you must put in this code when you make your purchase in order for a donation to be made!
The Amazon affiliation scheme
If you buy any books (or other Amazon products) using this Amazon link, a small percentage of your order total will be donated towards funding the advocacy efforts of the HFME.
The Nile books affiliation scheme
10% of the purchase price of books sales from the Australian or New Zealand Nile bookshop will be donated twoward HFME advocacy projects. Click on the Australian or New Zealand link as appropriate.
Art sales and donations
30 - 50% of the purchase price on each artwork by Jodi Bassett will be donated towards M.E. research and advocacy. Proceeds will be split evenly between Dr Hyde's Nightingale Foundation and the HFME.
Prices for oil paintings start at $60, and prints at $21 - all prices include FREE postage worldwide.
Click here to go to the gallery.
More affiliation schemes
Click on any of these links to have a percentage of your purchase total donated to HFME.
A note about donating towards M.E. advocacy and research
ME is a comparable illness physically to Multiple Sclerosis and yet ME research receives nowhere near the level of government funding that MS does - this despite the fact that ME is at least as common as MS and can also often be far more physically disabling.
Studying vague and mixed groups of 'fatigue' sufferers is of no benefit to any patient group; particularly as many of those conducting this 'research' are known to have vested interests in certain outcomes. (M.E. and 'CFS' are not the same. The bogus disease category of 'CFS' must be abandoned. See Misdiagnosis and Smoke and mirrors for more information).
M.E. is an infectious neurological illness which affects all races and socio-economic groups and has been diagnosed all over the world with a similar strike rate to multiple sclerosis. Children as young as five can get M.E., as well as adults of all ages. M.E. can be extremely disabling. 25% of M.E. sufferers are severely affected and housebound and bedbound. In some cases Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is fatal. Governments around the world are currently spending $0 a year on M.E. research.
ME is in reality one of the most poorly funded illness today; considering its brutal severity and the vast numbers of patients involved and the number of patient deaths, it is a worldwide disgrace. If you are able to make a small donation - THANK YOU on behalf of everyone who has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
In addition to research, funding Myalgic Encephalomyelitis advocacy groups and campaigns is also very important: if we can win the political war with good advocacy and activism, then much more money for real research will come from that than we'll ever get by just funding it ourselves. Thus funding advocacy is just as important, if not more far important, than funding research.
Other recommended groups and organisations to donate to
The Nightingale Research Foundation
M.E. expert Dr. Byron M. Hyde is Founder and Chairman of The Nightingale Research Foundation (The Nightingale research foundation are the creators of The Clinical and Scientific Basis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis edited by Byron Hyde, M.D. - very possibly the best book on M.E. there is)
'The Nightingale Research Foundation is a charitable foundation located in Ottawa, Canada. The Foundation was incorporated in 1988 to conduct and assist research into the cause and cure of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and to serve as an educational institution for the Canadian public, physicians, nurses, teachers and their professional societies.
Since its inception, the Foundation has provided technical assistance to physicians as well as help and encouragement to thousands of Canadians and Americans who have been disabled by M.E. As part of its mandate, it has provided accurate knowledge of M.E to health care professionals, teachers' federations, labour unions, governments and the courts.
The Nightingale Research Foundation is totally dependent on its book sales and donations in order to continue its work. Research has given us the ability to better understand the causes of M.E., and to locate and minimize the myriad of physiological impairments caused by the disease process. Much more research work needs to be undertaken to discover the cures required to cope with this debilitating disease.
We cannot achieve this without the support from the M.E. community - who, unfortunately, are usually the ones hardest hit financially. To those of you who would like to join in our quest through the purchase of our book and/or donation, please complete the Request Form - no donation is too small.
If corporate Canada or America is looking in, we hope you realize how desperately funds are needed to deal with this ever-growing problem. Your help will go a long way to help those afflicted with a chronic illness that has managed to remain so well-hidden from public awareness. Please complete the Request Form - on behalf of the M.E. community, we are very grateful for any assistance you can provide.'
See http://www.nightingale.ca/index.php?target=support for more information and to make a donation.
(Hands down - donations to the HFMRE aside - this is the best use of any money that you want to put towards M.E. research and advocacy. Dr Byron Hyde M.D. is not just the world's preeminent ME authority, he also has the GUTS that so many other specialists lack to stand up for what is correct instead of what is just popular.)
RiME Campaigning for Research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
This UK group (set up because of intense dissatisfaction with the national ME charities during the last decade) have led a number of independent campaigning efforts and do some truly excellent work in advocating for people with Ramsay's M.E. (as opposed to vague fatigue entities as with many other groups) and are greatly in need of our financial support to continue this work on our behalf.
To read some of RiME's newsletters see the Research into M.E., (RiME) page on this site.
Paul Davis writes: 'RiME doesn't run on a shoe-string budget, it runs at a deficit. We used to send info. but, of late, have had to cut right back due to lack of funding. So, fund RiME or lose it..'
See the RiME website or email rimexx@btinternet.com for more information and to make donations. It would be a real tragedy if this group were to be disbanded due to a lack of funds.
There are approximately 200,000 people in the UK who suffer from M.E. Some do recover. However, approximately 25% of sufferers remain long term ill and severely disabled by the disease. Many are left isolated, housebound or even bedbound by the effects of the illness. The 25% M.E. Group exists to support all who have the severe form of M.E. and those who care for them. This includes people who are housebound, bedbound and wheelchair users. Our Patron is the Countess of Mar. Our medical advisor is Dr. Betty Dowsett.
To read some of the 25% Groups writings see The 25% M.E. Group page on this site.
For more information and to make a donation towards this groups valuable advocacy efforts, see: The 25% M.E. Group page.
The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation
(Strong evidence exists to show that M.E. is a disease which involves the mitochondria - see Muscle Research for more information)
The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation is redefining hope for families affected by mitochondrial diseases – hereditary disorders, now considered as common as childhood cancers.. UMDF offers support to all sufferers of mitochondrial disorders regardless of diagnosis, suspected or confirmed. Our mission is to promote research and education for the diagnosis, treatment and cure of mitochondrial disorders and to provide support to affected individuals and families.
Please help us redefine hope for the thousands of children and adults whose lives are compromised or shortened by the effects of mitochondrial disease. We need your support.
See http://www.umdf.org/about_umdf/donate.aspx for more information and to make a donation.
Other (non-recommended/problematic to some extent) groups
MERGE is a national UK charity funding biomedical research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis* and related illnesses. Our principal aim is to commission and fund high-quality scientific (biomedical) investigation into the causes, consequences and treatment of ME, but we also have a mission to "Energise ME Research". See http://www.meresearch.org.uk/index.html for more information about MERGE and to make a donation.
[*Note that while the term M.E. is used by MERGE, the term 'ME/CFS' is also used unfortunately, and much of the research it funds claims to be studying 'CFS'. While some good studies have undoubtedly been produced by MERGE, most or all studies funded by MERGE use the flawed CDC Fukuda CFS criteria, which has been shown to perform very poorly in selecting a pure M.E. patient population. Many of these studies also unfortunately use descriptions of the illness that bear little similarity to M.E., or to the well-documented history of the distinct neurological disease named M.E., and instead focus on fatigue and the supposedly 'mysterious' and 'baffling' syndrome of 'CFS'.
A important note on the new direction of MERGE/MERUK: Like many M.E. advocates I was shocked to read MERGE/MERUK's recent article where they explained that they no longer have any desire to study pure M.E. patient groups, and instead are going to study 'subgroups of 'ME/CFS' - meaning subgroups of 'CFS' or fatigue. That they only MIGHT include at some point, maybe, some M.E. patients as one 'subgroup.'
This study of mixed fatigued patient groups will help nobody, least of all M.E. patients which are unlikely to even be involved at all, let alone in a meaningful way. M.E. is not a subgroup of 'CFS' nor 'ME/CFS.' Fatigue illnesses are not subgroups of 'CFS' or 'ME/CFS' either, they are diseases in their own right (eg. FM, Lyme, candida, MS and so on).
'CFS' and 'ME/CFS' help nobody.
Considering this change, one wonders by what right they have to continue to retain the use of the term M.E. in any context. If you want to study groups of fatigue illnesses, you are of course free to do so, but you cannot ethically and scientifically claim at the same time that what you are saying relates to M.E.
I (and the rest of the HFME) am shocked that MERGE/MERUK, once one of the few 'good guys' has taken this terrible decision and new direction. The current work of this group and this group itself can no longer be supported in any way by M.E. advocates, tragically. We can only hope that somehow this decision will be reversed and good sense, science and ethics will again prevail.
I am too ill currently to write as I would like to on this topic myself so when I read this discussion of the issue in a political discussion groups I jumped at the idea of including it on my website. The authors were kind enough to agree for me to repost it here, I hope you find it interesting reading. To read their comments see: MERGE, ‘ME/CFS’ and ‘CFS’ ]
Invest in M.E. are an independent UK group (with links worldwide) campaigning for bio-medical research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.), as defined by WHO-ICD-10-G93.3. Their aim is to bring together like-minded individuals and groups to campaign for research and funding to establish better medical understanding of M.E.
For more information and to make a donation towards this groups advocacy efforts, see: http://www.investinme.org/helpus.htm
[An important note on the new direction of IiME: Note that despite their use of the term M.E., IiME have now changed their focus to subgroups of 'CFS' or 'ME/CFS.' Like many M.E. advocates I was shocked to see the new full-of-hope M.E. group IiME slowly turn into yet another 'CFS' and 'ME/CFS' group over time. This study of mixed fatigued patient groups will help nobody, least of all M.E. patients. M.E. is not a subgroup of 'CFS' nor 'ME/CFS.' Fatigue illnesses are not subgroups of 'CFS' or 'ME/CFS' or 'M.E.' either, they are diseases in their own right (eg. FM, Lyme, candida, MS and so on). Those with tick-borne infection and post-viral syndromes and so on, do not represent 'subgroups of M.E.' as IiME now claims. 'CFS' and 'ME/CFS' help nobody. Considering this change, one wonders by what right they have to continue to retain the use of the term M.E. in any context. If you want to study groups of fatigue illnesses, you are of course free to do so, but you cannot ethically and scientifically claim at the same time that what you are saying relates to M.E. I (and the rest of the HFME) am shocked that IiME (like MERGE) once one of the few 'good guys' has taken this terrible decision and new direction. We can only hope that somehow this decision will be reversed and good sense, science and ethics will again prevail. The discussion on MERGE, ‘ME/CFS’ and ‘CFS’ is also very relevant to what has happened to IiME, unfortunately.]
The Alison Hunter Memorial Foundation Medical Research Trust
Following organisation of the 1998, 1999 and 2001 International Clinical and Scientific Meetings for ME/CFS, the Alison Hunter Memorial Foundation's future direction will be fundraising for targeted research projects—research that will make a difference to the lives of people with ME/CFS*.
South Australia has a committed group of researchers working across the areas of endocrinology, immunology, neurology, nuclear medicine, and genetics, with a unique breadth of experience and achievement in ME/CFS.
See http://www.ahmf.org/researchtrust.html for more information and to make a donation.
[*Note that the AHMF does not claim (or aim) to study pure authentic M.E. patients (a homogeneous patient group) or any other distinct patient group but instead a heterogeneous mix of patients with what they refer to as 'ME/CFS' or even 'CFS/Fibromyalgia.' People wishing to donate funds towards research must decide on the value (or utter lack thereof) to M.E. patients (and Fibromyalgia patients etc.) of research conducted on such diverse and mixed patient groups.]
