Be an Advocate!
Help advocate for an increase in state funding for the EFEPA to legislators, media professionals and more. Our current funding is allocated based on the number of counties, not the population we serve.
What is our Current Funding?
- The total funding for epilepsy support services in Pennsylvania is around $576,315. The EFEPA currently receives 38% of this funding, equaling to around $219,000 a year.
- Our goal is to advocate for the total funding to be increased to $750,000. We also want to be proportionally receiving 57% of the funding for the 57% of the population in PA that we serve. This would increase our amount to around $427,500 a year.
What Can We Do with More Funding?
With additional funds, we would be able to expand our social and mental health programs to allow more people to participate. Programs like Camp Achieve, the Young Adult Retreat, Adult Wellness Weekend, HOBSCOTCH & CDSMP are vital to fighting mental health issues and social isolation.
The additional funding will also go towards supporting additional EFEPA services like seizure recognition & first aid trainings, conferences, support groups, and more. These supportive services help those affected by epilepsy live successful and happy lives.
With additional funds, we are also hoping to re-hire our EFEPA staff members that were unfortunately laid off due to funding limitations.
What Does Advocacy Look Like?
We would really appreciate your help contacting your elected Pennsylvania Representatives and Senators in June and July 2025 to urge them to send a letter of support of the EFEPA to their leadership members and Appropriations Committee members. Find your local contacts at Find Your Legislator. Use the documents below in your advocacy:
Template Outreach Letter/Email to Your Legislator
Template Letter of Support of the EFEPA for Legislators to Send to Leadership (Send to Legislators)
Flyer Outlining our Asks (Send to Legislators)
OR You can easily and quickly contact your legislators here: https://tinyurl.com/EFEPAbudget2025!!!
Advocate for House Bill 1045!
The EFEPA has been working closely with State Representative Carol Kazeem to introduce House Bill 1045 (the amendment to the DOMinate Epilepsy Law) to require Pennsylvania school personnel to receive seizure recognition and first aid training every two years.
Please urge your elected Representatives to Co-Sponsor House Bill 1045! Find your local contacts at Find Your Legislator.
Template Outreach Letter/Email for Co-Sponsorship
If you have any questions or want more information, please contact our Vice President of Programs & Advocacy, Rena Loughlin at rloughlin@efepa.org or (215) 779-8828.