Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) October 19, 2005 -- The Internal Revenue Service officially granted expedited approval of 501(c)(3) non-profit status on September 5, 2005 for the Fungal Disease Resource Center (FDRC). Colorado-based FDRC was formed earlier this year to increase awareness and generate support for a fast-growing segment of the U.S. population: victims faced with health and other issues after indoor exposures to what’s been tagged “toxic mold” in media and around courtrooms nationwide.

Jonathan Lee Wright, FDRC founder and president, applauds the quick IRS response to the group’s application. “I asked for expedited processing, based on the fact that mold-related health issues have already been identified by researchers as an emerging epidemic in the U.S.,” says Wright. “The Internal Revenue Service fast-forwarded this non-profit designation. That’s an exemplary response - one that agencies at local, state and federal levels might do well to imitate.”
    
Citing recent hurricane and flooding disasters that have swept the Gulf Coast and southern states in recent months, Wright says FDRC’s mission is timely - and in need of major-grantor support.
 
“The illnesses - including severe neurological system damage - from toxins produced by amplified molds in water-damaged buildings are real, and have been repeatedly documented by researchers, regardless of what people usually hear,” insists Wright.  “We receive mail every day now from victims of mold-related illnesses. Their backgrounds are diverse, but their stories are heartbreakingly similar - every time. This epidemic has no socio-economic barriers. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do for a living or what your race, color or creed; once it impacts your life, you can lose everything - health, home and livelihood.”
    
Wright says early diagnosis and treatment for mold-related illnesses is critical to stopping the growing numbers of sufferers, but that controversy surrounding what is already known -- by so many victims -- is getting in the way of medical research and timely education for primary care providers.
 
 “One of FDRC’s first priorities is grass-roots public education,” reports Wright, an adventure sports photographer still recovering from a chronic, indoor mold-related illness. “We already have the ears of important legislators and certain segments of the scientific research and medical communities - now all we need is the funding to rigorously mount a far-reaching and effective public awareness campaign. We’re now actively seeking substantial tax-deductible contributions to move more quickly - and closer to FDRC’s ultimate goal of direct aid to victims.”
 

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