September 17, 2010
California First Lady Maria Shriver will be the recipient of For Grace's Inaugural "Patron of Women's Rights" Award to be presented at our 3rd Annual Women In Pain Conference. Please read the First Lady's letter to attendees (.pdf).

Los Angeles, CA—September 17, 2010
Spiced with celebrities, laughter and live performance, For Grace will be hosting its 3rd Annual Women In Pain Conference at the California Endowment's Center for Healthy Communities. This year's theme is "Raising the Curtain on Pain" and will focus on Integrative Medicine and Creative Art Therapies. 5 CEUs for RNs are available for a full-day attendance. Please link here for more information and to register (registration is REQUIRED for all attendess.) Conference press release

Sacramento, CA—September 2010
We extend a heart-felt thank you to Senator Gloria Romero, our SCR 110 author. This resolution proclaims September as Pain Awareness Month and September 17th (to coincide with our 3rd Annual WIP Conference) as Women In Pain Awareness Day in California. SCR 110 is co-authored by Senators Liu, Oropeza and Pavley along with Assemblymembers Huffman, Saldana and Yamada. GREAT support!

North Hollywood, CA—July 31, 2010
Thrilled to announce that a FOX Los Angeles news segment that For Grace championed earned an Emmy nomination in the Medical catagory. Please link to view this in-depth piece titled "Misdiagnosing Pain." The ceremony was held on July 31st at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood, California.

Los Angeles, CA—May 10, 2010
Presentation about 3rd Annual Women In Pain Conference

Sacramento, CA—April 20, 2010
Testimony in Support (Read the press release: Patients, Physicians Urge Passage of AB 1826 [.pdf].)

Los Angeles, CA—March 3, 2010
Invited Speaker

Sacramento, CA—August 2010
It is with heavy hearts we report that For Grace's "fail first" bill failed to get off the California Senate Appropriation Committee's "suspense" file on August 12th, effectively killing it for this year's session. Despite an amazing coalition of support, AB 1826 fell victim to a crushing budget deficit in the Golden State as well as a tenacious opposition waged by the health insurance lobby. But with any good and just cause, this is only the beginning. On August 17th, we'll be meeting with the Women's Legislative Caucus and will soon sit down with our Bill's author, Assembly Member Jared Huffman, to devise a strategy for next year's session to abolish the harmful impact of step therapy on California's six million pain sufferers. THANK YOU for your tremendous support - looking forward to fighting on!

January 2010
If you were unable to attend the 2nd Annual Women In Pain Conference in September, For Grace broadcast the event globally via a worldwide webcast. Indeed, no woman in pain was left behind! Please link here to view our edited version on For Grace's YouTube channel!.

January 4, 2010—Present
Our founder, Cynthia Toussaint, penned a piece that is published on California First Lady Maria Shriver's Women's Conference website. Highlighted is Toussaint's partial CRPS remission (her first in 25 years) and how she brought herself to this place of better wellness. "How My Illness Brought Me Grace" is featured in the popular "Our Kitchen Table" section. Touted as "The Nation's Premier Forum for Women", the website's blog is bringing Toussaint's inspiring message of finding one's own healing power to the world of women in pain.

Late 2010
Cynthia Toussaint is writing her memoir, Battle for Grace, with national best-selling author, Linden Gross. The book, scheduled for release in early 2011, chronicles her 28-year battle against pain and the healthcare system. At its core, it's a beautiful love story that celebrates the triumph of the human spirit. Also, her agents are negotiating a movie deal. Please check back as details unfold...

Burbank, CA—October 30th, 2009
Guests of the Los Angeles County Office of Women's Health

Long Beach, CA—October 27th, 2009
Guest of Dr. Jane Goodall, PhD, CBE, Founder - The Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace

San Francisco, CA—October 24, 2009
"The Challenges and Obstacles for Individuals with Pain" panelist

California Science Center, Los Angeles CA—September 18, 2009
For Grace and Healthy African American Families collaborated to host an innovative conference. Our theme this year was "Diversity: No Woman In Pain Left Behind" and we staged the event at the California Science Center in September to co-incide with National Pain Awareness Month. We had upwards of 500 attendees and webcast live the event to the world so all could be enlightened and educated! Please link here for details about the conference, including media coverage and a webcast archive.

September 2009
We're excited to announce that September 2009 is officially Pain Awareness Month in the Golden State. ACR 72 was authored by Assembly Member Jared Huffman and we extend a heartfelt thank you to him and his extraordinary staff! Please link here to view the legislation's fact sheet.

Los Angeles, CA—July 31, 2009
Loretta Jones from Healthy African American Families, Irma Resendez from Familia Unida, and Cynthia Toussaint from For Grace co-hosted a media conference call on Friday, July 31, 2009, to request an investigation by California Attorney General Jerry Brown into discrimination by health insurance companies regarding unethical prescription practices that negatively impact minority pain patients. See their letter to AG Brown. And catch the AP article that was syndicated in 30+ papers and network websites.

Los Angeles, CA—June 8, 2009
Speaking engagement

California State Capitol—April 21, 2009
Governor's Press Conference Room

Sacramento, CA—April 21, 2009
Testimony in support

Los Angeles, CA—March 11, 2009
"Barriers to Pain Care" testimony

Sacramento, CA—February 27, 2009
For Grace and Healthy African-American Families (HAAF) are co-sponsoring a California bill, AB 602, that if signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger will abolish the unethical "fail first" prescription practice by health insurance plans and companies. The bill is authored by Assemblyman Curren Price. AB 602 was heard on April 21st in the Assembly Health committee and it passed 14-2. Now on to the Senate! We're enjoying sheparding the bill to the Gov's desk and please link to our national ABC News coverage here.

Downey, CA—February 24, 2009
"Pain: Gender Matters" diversity lecture

Winter 2009
Hope you're already aware of PainPathways, the official magazine of the World Institute of Pain. We're honored that our work at For Grace shaped the content of this Special Edition: Women & Pain winter issue. Our leadership interviewed for a number of articles as well as provided women in pain contacts who proved to be ideal contributors. We at For Grace are thrilled with this ongoing consulting collaboration and encourage all to read this excellent resource that brings information and inspiration to people with pain.

January & February 2009
Ms. Toussaint is featured in an excellent article titled "Drug-Free Remedies for Chronic Pain" in the January & February issue of AARP The Magazine. Written by a woman in pain, Loolwa Khazzoom, this in-depth article explores the many alternative/complementary therapies that have been scientifically-proven to relieve chronic pain.

November 2008
Please use this link to view the informative segment that aired live November 6th on ABC World News NOW's "Healthy Life" program. Hosted by Dr. Marie Savard in New York, Cynthia interviewed via satellite for this segment titled "Dancer's Career Ended by Chronic Pain."

Ongoing
Please check out For Grace's on-line scrapbook compliments of Flickr. We continue to spotlight significant events, women in pain stories, leadership profiles - and more! Link here to view.

April 2008—Present
For Grace is a contributing consultant for ABCNews.com as they're covering many stories about pain and its management. Our first collaboration ran on April 9, 2008 entitled, "Healing Meals: Foods That Might Fight Pain." "Killer Jobs: 10 Painful Professions" ran on May 19, 2008. Our third entitled, "When Your Pain Has No Name" (November 5, 2008) was picked up by ABC World News NOW. Our fourth collaboration entitled "Death Highlights Painful Condition" was a top story that ran on December 11, 2008. And "Patients Irate With Insurers 'Fail First' Policy", that ran on April 22, 2009, was also a top story. In October 2009, For Grace consulted for and was featured in "Chronic Fatigue Patients: No Longer Fakes?" Please watch for many more stories to come.

October 2005—Currently Airing
For Grace founder Cynthia Toussaint's journey with CRPS is the focus of a segment that is airing on Discovery Health's Mystery Diagnosis show (picked up by The Learning Channel and Home & Health Worldwide.) Told from four different perspectives, this segment provides an in-depth look into the CRPS experience.

Ongoing
Please visit our YouTube site to view For Grace's most recent videos about conditions that impact women in pain. Also, we continue to add pain-related videos as they become available through YouTube and other organizations. Click here to view: youtube.com/ForGrace

February 2008—Present
Ms. Toussaint is an ongoing contributor on Loolwa Khazzoom's "Dancing With Pain" blog. Please see Cynthia's posts entitled "Abandonment Issues", "Healing Dance and "Gender Bias Downunder."

Ongoing
Need that special item to empower women in pain in your community? Please visit For Grace’s WIP Awareness shop at http://www.cafepress.com/forgrace to peruse an assortment of quality items to do just the trick! (Note: no proceeds from sales go to For Grace as prices cover cost only.)