Public Service Announcement/National Awareness Campaign

The Quarterback and an Ad Campaign

It is very often because of personal experience that someone becomes an activist. Such is the case for Rich Gannon. A Pro-Bowl quarterback, Rich is no stranger to pain, but watching his baby daughter Danielle suffer was a different kind of pain altogether. His family's quest for a cause for Danielle's illness made Rich realize that there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of other families also searching, often in vain, for a clue if not a cure. And so Rich decided to make himself available in any way he could to help advance celiac awareness. "We wanted people to know that celiac disease is a real problem, but that there is no need to suffer with it," says Gannon.

At about this time, a Connecticut celiac named Manny Strumpf wrote an editorial for a celiac support group newsletter, stressing the need for a "celebrity" spokesperson to bring national attention and more heightened awareness to celiac disease. The Gannons saw the article; Rich realized that this was the opportunity he was looking for and offered himself as spokesman.

Meanwhile, Pam King, the Center for Celiac Research's director of operations, had been talking with Ellen Mechanic-Schlossman, the founder of Friends of Celiac Disease Research, Inc. (Friends), about working together to promote awareness. Ellen, the mother of an eight-year-old boy with celiac disease, started the Wisconsin-based non-profit charitable organization to assist people with celiac disease by supporting research and education. When Pam told Ellen that Rich Gannon was willing to be celiac's national spokesman and had agreed to film a public service advertisement (PSA) for television, Friends offered to fund the PSA. Thus a national awareness campaign was born.

Ad Campaign Launched

The campaign was officially launched at a news conference at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The Gannons flew to Baltimore to join Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Alessio Fasano, medical director of the Center for Celiac Research, Ellen Mechanic-Schlossman, and Ann Whelan (publisher of the newsletter Gluten-Free Living) at the podium. The highlight of the event was the public service announcement (PSA), which was screened for the first time. However, the icing on the cake, so to speak, was the opportunity to sample "Danielle's Decadent Chocolate Cake," a gluten-free confection baked by Gluten-Free Pantry, a Connecticut-based company which manufactures and markets gluten-free products. Danielle Gannon is the cake's namesake, her photograph graces the cake box, and a portion of the sales of the cake mix will be donated to the CFCR.

The PSA was designed to raise awareness of celiac disease. In the 30-second PSA, Rich says:

"Protein is an important source of nutrition to a professional quarterback. Hi, I'm Rich Gannon of the Oakland Raiders. However, to suffers of celiac disease, a protein called gluten can be extremely harmful. I know because my daughter, Danielle, has celiac disease. Eating many common foods will destroy her intestines. One in 200 Americans has celiac but most don't even know it. There is no cure for the disease, but the University of Maryland School of Medicine is leading the nation in celiac research.

For more information, please call 1-800-492-5538 or visit the website at www.celiaccenter.org."

Callers to the 1-800 number will receive information about the Center for Celiac Research and Friends of Celiac Disease Research. If you would to receive the information packet, e-mail Pam King at pking@peds.umaryland.edu or call 1-800-492-5538.

The PSA is available for local distribution. If you would like to obtain a tape to take to your local television stations, please contact Pam King at pking@peds.umaryland.edu.

Hope for the Future

CFCR researchers are optimistic about what the future holds for celiac sufferers. While today's only treatment is a gluten-free diet, there are three future possibilities - genetically engineered gluten-free grains, a vaccine to prevent the immune system from attacking the intestines, and isolating the genes that cause celiac disease. "I feel confident that within 10 years we will find a cure for celiac disease," says Dr. Fasano.

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