Who We Are and What We Do
We are roughly 400 people in Westchester and nearby counties. We are people with Celiac and people interested in Celiac.
We provide support for people with Celiac, both general information about the disease and specifics of living with it. We favor information grounded in the scientific method. We do one-on-one counseling with new members. In the recent past we have done small group meetings with new celiacs in area stores, and more could be organized if there is interest. We have a few large meetings each year, in which the main event is usually a presentation by a leading expert in some area of interest. These meetings are also opportunities for one-on-one discussions. Usually the meetings also feature a few vendors with celiac-specific wares available for purchase. We occasionally have other activities.
We have activities for children. Currently the only regular activity is the annual family picnic. In the past we have had skating parties and other events; future events can be organized if there is interest. Some of our large meetings include separate activities for children. We run the Gluten-Free Traveling Bears, a child-friendly education/awareness activity.
We promote awareness of celiac disease in the medical and food service industries. We helped establish the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University and continue to support it; lately that has been mainly through the Colin Leslie Walk for Celiac Disease. We occasionally do activities in support of other medical professionals and organizations; this has included participation in the International Walk for Celiac Disease. We initiated the Gluten Free Restaurant Awareness Program to help restaurants prepare to serve celiacs; this program grew well beyond the scope of our group and is now run by the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG).
In support of the above we publish a newsletter, with medical abstracts, product reviews, local activities, and more.
We do not sell our membership information to anyone for any purpose.
We are a 501(c)3 organization, run by volunteers.