Please
read the information below to obtain a comprehensive understanding of
what our organization is about. Questions should be directed
to Steve Mallory,
smallory@strokenetwork.org
History:
Our on-line stroke
support community initially began in 1995 on AOL as regularly scheduled
chat sessions for Stroke Support, which was made up of about 30 stroke
survivors and stroke caregivers. Little did I know that this small
group would eventually become the start of the membership for the
non-profit website that is now known as The Stroke Network.
What happened is that I emailed the management at AOL and made them
aware of the need for a stroke support chat room. They agreed
wholeheartedly! Up to this point, stroke support on AOL just consisted
of a small message board forum. I hosted the monthly chat session,
which quickly became bi-monthly and then weekly. I was the Stroke
Support chat host for over three years.
During our chat meetings we discussed serious and common issues
relating to stroke, plus we enjoyed our social interactions. One night,
one of our discussions was about having a place where stroke survivors
and stroke caregivers could go to on the Internet for support and, more
importantly, to gather information about stroke. Back in those days,
1996, the web was relatively new and there was extremely little
information about stroke. We wanted to get ourselves organized and
thought that possibly a web page might prove to be the focal point that
we needed.
I volunteered to get things organized and figured out how to make and
publish a web page. The web page was known on AOL as Stroke Support
& Information. It was actually an AOL personal website. The
problem with this is that the domain name was owned by AOL. So, to
break free of AOL and to become an independently owned website, we
renamed our site to The Stroke Network with its current domain name of
strokenetwork.org, in January 2000.
Our website has the
privilege of being the very first
on-line stroke support site on the Internet!
Also, I knew we would
need funding to keep our doors open for many years so I found a lawyer
that would help make us a legitimate organization. We were incorporated
in September 2001 and we received approval as a 501(c )3 non-profit
charity in March of 2002.
The Stroke Network was
amongst the first on-line 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, as
well.
I had created a website that had evolved from just one web page to over
nine networked websites
with over 100 pages, making it what is today, The Stroke Network. There
were no other on-line stroke support groups until I published my web
page. We started with just three volunteer staff members. Today, we are
managed by 45 unpaid volunteer staff members and 13 volunteers on our
board of directors.
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Mission
Statement:
Our mission is to
provide on-line support to survivors of stroke and stroke caregivers.
We also want to educate you about stroke and to provide as many
resources and other types of information as we can.
We want to bring
support to the stroke survivors and other members of the stroke family
that want to use the Internet as a medium for bringing a support group
right into your home. We are aware that not everybody has the luxury of
having a Stroke or Caregiver Support Group close to them or at a time
that is convenient nor does everybody have the transportation to travel
when you want.
Our hope is that we
can provide on-line assistance to the stroke survivor and their loved
ones and help them transition from a life of being able-bodied to one
of living with the disabilities that stroke can cause.
If you have
a computer and are on-line we hope that we can help you.
10 good reasons why you might want to register:
1. Do you have a local
stroke support group in your area?
2. Do you want or need
stroke support 24/7?
3. Do you live in an
inconvenient location from the stroke support group?
4. Do you have to
arrange transportation special in order to make it to the group
meetings?
5. Are the meetings
held at an inconvenient time?
6. Are you embarrassed
to speak in a group setting?
7. Can you talk?
8. Did your stroke
adversely affect your speech making it difficult to communicate with
others?
9. Do you have aphasia
and have difficulty with communication?
10. Do you need to
communicate with others at your own speed?
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Web
Site Network Structure:
The Stroke Network,
Inc. consists of several sites which make up a network of sites, thus
the organization. We are making these sites available in hopes that we
can provide the best stroke support and Information available on the
Internet.
We recognize that
stroke resources are necessary also, especially immediately after a
stroke. You can read our information about stroke and also find all the
support that you need, survivors and caregivers, right here on our
network.
The
Stroke Network
-
http://www.strokenetwork.org/
Homepage,
landing site for our network of websites.
About Us -
http://www.strokenetwork.net/
History,
Mission, Policies, FAQ, Guestbook, Information for - Donating,
Contacting Us,
Fundraisers, Accreditations, Our Location, Site Search, etc.
Network
of Websites
On-line Stroke
Support Community - http://www.strokeboard.net/
Message
Board - Forums, Blogs and Gallery for Stroke survivor and stroke
caregiver
support.
Chat Room -
http://www.strokechat.net/
Daily
Chat Sessions Twice per Day.
Information
Resources - http://www.strokenet.info/
Links,
Explanation of Brainstem Stroke, Information about Central Pain
Syndrome,
Newsletter Archive, Financial Help, Bookshop, Newsfeed, and an archive
of
stroke related articles.
Stroke Caregivers
- http://www.strokecaregiver.org/
Handbook
Written for New Stroke Caregivers by Experienced Stroke Caregivers.
Stroke Education
- http://www.strokeeducation.info/
Causes,
Types, Rehabilitation, Recovery and A - Z Glossary of definitions of
stroke
terminology.
Stroke Awareness
- http://www.strokeawareness.org/
Warning
signs, Tests and Diagnostics, Stroke Recognition, Statistics,
Prevention and
Reduction and our Stroke Awareness Quilts.
StrokeNet Blog
- http://www.strokenetblog.net/
Blogs
Written about Stroke.
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Outreach Projects
Our organization has
planned and completed several local and International community
Outreach Projects. It is our goal to reach out to the
community and to provide whatever we can and in as many ways as
possible. The following are a list of our community outreach
projects:
 |
Caregiver Handbook
 |
Purpose - To assist the new stroke
caregiver. |
 |
How - Written by members of our
organization. |
 |
Example - click
here |
|
 |
Stroke Awareness Quilts
 |
Purpose - To raise awareness about
stroke. |
 |
How - Fabricated by members of our
organization. |
 |
Example -
click here |
|
 |
Computer Therapy
 |
Purpose - To help stroke survivors and
caregivers, who are still in the rehab hospital, become familiar with
on-line stroke support. |
 |
How - Donated several computers to a local
hospital. |
 |
Example - click here |
|
 |
Helping Hand
 |
Purpose - To assist one handed stroke
survivors open kitchen items. |
 |
How - Donated 100 units to a local
hospital. |
|
 |
Presentation Table
 |
Purpose - To educate the public about the
benefits of on-line stroke support. |
 |
How - By having a presentation table at
several conferences. |
|
 |
Speaking Engagements
 |
Purpose - To educate local stroke support
groups about the option of on-line stroke support.
|
 |
How - Spoke at several hospitals at their
stroke support meetings. |
|
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Accreditations
Rated as a top 5 stroke information web site by:

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Stroke Awareness
Our organization takes
the responsibility to educate our society about stroke very
seriously. We want to raise stroke awareness and provide
educational information about stroke. To do this we have
developed a web site that is dedicated to stroke awareness and another
website that contains educational information about stroke. ;
 |
Stroke Awareness
|
 |
On-line Store
|
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Location:
The Stroke Network has no boundaries and has
members on-line from all over the world. Every continent is
represented. We are truly an International
organization. No matter where you live we are there for
you! Stroke is not just located in one region but rather it
draws no borders and affects anyone, no matter where you
live. Nobody will be excluded from The Stroke Network, north,
south, east or west...black, white, brown, red or any color. Anyone in
cyberspace that is in the stroke family is welcome here. We are all
brothers and sisters of stroke.
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Contact Information:
Our headquarters is
located in Maryland. Our mailing address is:
The Stroke Network,
Inc.
PO Box 492 Abingdon, MD 21009
Steve Mallory
Founder, President & CEO
smallory@strokenetwork.org
http://www.stevemallory.org/
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Copyright of The Stroke Network
All rights reserved.
Original date 3/1/96 Revised 11/24/08
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