WLSFA Surgery Grants Awarded

July 15, 2015

The Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America (WLSFA) announced the most recent recipients of surgery grants at their annual fundraiser. The 2014-2015 grant cycle provided funds for four surgery grants. Grant recipients were Tiffany Torres, Vickie Funderburk, Mark Clements and Serena Debesa.

"Fifty-nine percent of individual health plans still don’t cover bariatric surgery." - WLSFA

Founded in 2010, WLSFA is a non-profit organization that raises funds to provide surgery grants for patients who cannot otherwise afford bariatric surgery, whether due to no insurance coverage, or had surgery denied by insurance.

Their mission is: Ending Obesity by empowering people to move from surviving to thriving through weight loss surgery, education and support. Performing charitable services and supporting research to find solutions to enhance the quality of life of the morbidly obese community. Raising awareness and funds for surgery.

"The greatest source of hope and help comes from the compassion of people who themselves were hostage to the disease of morbid obesity"~ Antonia Namnath, WLSFA Founder

In addition to the annual fundraiser, WLSFA local chapters hold events throughout the year to help patients in their immediate area. Since its founding, WLSFA, has awarded 17 surgery grants.

The East Coast Meet & Greet provided funds for grant recipient Tiffany Torres. Donations from industry partners provided funds for grant recipients Vickie Funderburk and Mark Clements. And for the first time, the Florida Chapter Grant was awarded to Serena Debesa.

The WLSFA grant application process is open June 1 - December 31. More information about How to Apply for a Grant can be found the WLSFA website.

Watch the stories of WLSFA surgery grant recipients:

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah (aka Sarahlicious) has been an active member of ObesityHelp since 2003. Her specific areas of interests are Lipedema, Lymphedema, Obesity, and Health Insurance advocacy. Sarah writes about her life experiences at Born2lbFat. She is a member of the Board of Directors of both the Obesity Action Coalition and the Lymphedema Advocacy Group. Sarah has a Masters in Health Law.

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