On the evening of August 25th  we will honor a very special young woman – one who has accomplished much for young adults nationally.  Our honoree, Jamie Schanbaum, granddaughter of Dallasite Gene Schanbaum,   college student, survivor of meningitis, and subsequent amputee has become a leading advocate for legislation to make the meningitis vaccine mandatory.   Diseases like Jamie’s and many others diseases are faced by young and old every day at Hadassah Hospital ..read more

Meningitis survivor Jamie Schanbaum lost both her legs and all 10 fingers to meningitis, a disease that can be easily prevented with a vaccine. Read more about her story ..read more

Texas meningitis survivor and activist Jamie Schanbaum to be honored at Dallas Hadassah events Aug. 25 ..read more

In this month, the community has an annual recognition of the importance of vaccination and what perfect timing because IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL! Well, not for me but for millions of other students across our country. Now more than ever, it is an important time for students to get vaccinated primarily because when we're in school, we're in close contact with many people.  Students are sneezing, coughing, sharing drinks and so much more when it comes to sharing germs.  Honestly, every year when I would get to my desk, I would look at it and say to myself, "This is the place where I'll lear ..read more

In March 2018, CoMO members came together in Singapore to attend the 7th CoMO Global Conference. 42 delegates from 27 organisations flew in from around the world to attend the two day conference, which focused on identifying ways that both our members and regions can be empowered. Since 2009 Patsy Schanbaum, President of The J.A.M.I.E. Group has had the honor of serving as America’s Regional Leader an area that covers North America to South America The jam packed weekend saw: Tailored workshops on fundraising and regional development Presentations on Vaccine Updates and Fundraising Strateg ..read more

Hello Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or even good Evening!!   Thanks for checking in back with me! Life can be truly amazing – filled with ups and downs, hurdles where you least expect it, and when we’re lucky, we make it out without a scratch.  I recently did an interview with a news correspondent from San Antonio, and they were able to broadcast the interview all over the country.  I looked at my email and Boom! There was a good handful of emails sending me Thank You’s for all the good work, and sharing heart breaking stories of their loved ones that didn’t survive.  I don ..read more

On April 24th it’s World Meningitis Day! It’s an important day to bring awareness of meningitis as a global effort.  People all over the world are sharing stories of their experience, loved ones they’ve lost, and how we can learn from our experience to spread awareness of the preventable disease.  To some meningitis is only known as a vaccine that is suggested at their doctors office or sometimes it’s mandatory for students to receive it.  A lot of the time, people are unaware of this disease and what it could lead to.  I was that person.  As an adolescent, I remember ..read more

Wow!  What an amazing summer it has been!  A lot of traveling and sharing my story across the country.  It all began in New York where I attended the National Meningitis Association(NMA) Gala on GlaxoSmithKline’s behalf.  I’ve been many times before, and always love going back to see familiar faces.  When I got sick with meningitis back in 2008, NMA reached out to me and my family, and I am so glad that they did because I was able to realize that I was not alone.  Through the NMA, I was able to meet so many other survivors and also parents without their survivors ..read more

Another exciting month has gone by, and I definitely need to share it!   Every year in Austin, the city welcomes the international festival for interactive media, film, and music known as South by Southwest and this year I was a part of it! I have been attending the festival ever since I was 21 and now on my seventh year, I was able to share my story with people from all of the world.  It took place on the first Friday of the festival. I was presenting with Moncef Slaoui from London part of GSK's chairman of vaccines, proctored by Sree Sreenivasan, chief digital officer of The M ..read more

February has been a good month for The J.A.M.I.E. Group and different efforts in meningitis advocacy. On February 13th, our nonprofit held a fundraiser at Austin Beerworks and raised over $12,000 ($2k over our goal!) for meningitis awareness and prevention.  It was a huge success!  As we pulled up to the brewery, it was midday and it was already packed! ABW provided a tent for us, and we provided a bunch of items to bid on.  A special thanks to all of the Austin local business that donated towards our cause, especially Austin Beerworks.  The success of the event wouldn’t ha ..read more