Benefits of NOSSA Membership

Benefits of NOSSA Membership

• Promote the acceptance of short stature in society by your membership in NOSSA.

• Join Together to support short statured people and unite to oppose all forms of heightism.

• Support in times of trouble with our legal assistance program.

• Social networking through our social events.

• Attend our life changing seminars.

• Unite to oppose the use of cosmetic human growth hormone for short but otherwise healthy kids.

• Unite to assist children and young adults struggling with heightism.

• Join our media watch-dog group to monitor heightism in the media and address it.

• Support responsible heightism related research.

• Join in on the heightism discussions.

• Attend our annual convention.

• E-mail and telephone support when needed.

• Opportunity to vote on group issues and serve as a leader in the organization.

• Annual College Scholarship award.

• Special discounts on approved products and services from generous friends of the organization.

• Emergency Assistance program for members in need of food, shelter, or crisis intervention.

• Job Referall Assistance.

• Free Copy of the outstanding book, Beyond Measure by Ellen Frankel.

• You will bring more attention to the specific needs of short statured adults with your membership in NOSSA.

We are a group of dedicated people committed to helping each other and to spreading the message that there is absolutely nothing "wrong" with being short.

To join NOSSA go to http://www.nossaonline.org/joinus.html

NOSSA Forums

Have something to say about the issue of heightism? Log on to
http://forums.nossaonline.org

Standing Tall Against Discrimination Podcast

The Standing Tall Against Discrimination podcast series will resume within the next month or two. We plan on having discussions with several special guests. Our episode on self-esteem will be released next. In the meantime, please visit http://mattfromnossa.libsyn.com and check out past episodes as well as David Beach's Low Down podcast!

Bravo to Chris Hamre & Ellen Frankel for their testimony!

Bravo to NOSSA Vice-President Chris Hamre & Advisor Ellen Frankel for their participation in today's hearing in Boston, Massachusetts on behalf of Byron Rushing's height/weight bill. Great job! Special Thanks to Representative Byron Rushing and his staff and to all the members of NAAFA!

Chris Hamre To Testify Before Committee on Labor & Workforce Development

NOSSA Vice-President Christopher Hamre will testify before the Massachusetts Committee on Labor & Workforce Development in support of H. 1844, a bill to eliminate height and weight discrimination. The event will take place Tuesday March 25, 2008 in Boston.

NOSSA Annual Convention

The First Annual NOSSA Convention of the members is set for this Fall in New Jersey. The convention will consist of the Board of Directors/Membership meeting and dinner/social event. Each attendee may purchase their own dinner. Other than that, no other costs are involved for attendance. Only NOSSA members and special guests approved by the Board may attend this event. Attendees must pre-register for this event. To register, send an e-mail to membership@nossaonline.org For the latest info on the convention, please visit http://nossaonline.org/meetingevents/annualconvention.html

Height/Weight Bill in Mass. Take Action Now!!!

Now is the opportunity to fight for a bill in Massachussets which will make it illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of height and weight. On March 25, 2008, the Committee on labor and workforce development will be voting on this bill. Contact the members and tell them that you support this bill. For contact information go to http://forums.nossaonline.org/showthread.php?t=142

New Blog from NOSSA Chairman

NOSSA Chairman Matthew Campisi now has his own blog at www.matthewcampisi.com If you have a free moment, please check it out...

The results of allowing prejudice to fester

Clearwater, FL Meeting Sunday March 9th

Next Sunday March 9, 2008 NOSSA will be hosting a meeting in Clearwater, Florida from 1:30PM-4:30PM (EST). Details below. Contact us here for more information.

Clearwater Main Public Library - meeting room a/b
100 North Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, Florida 33755
1:30PM-4:30PM (EST)

No fees of any kind and this will be open to the public. You do NOT have to be a NOSSA member to attend.

NOSSA Introduces, The Low Down Podcast with David Beach

The Low Down with host David Beach - Fun, informative, and intriguing show from Pasadena, California.For more information visit http://lowdownpodcast.blogspot.com Listen at http://mattfromnossa.libsyn.com

NOSSA Set To Announce Info On Annual Convention

NOSSA - National Organization Of Short Statured Adults will soon be announcing details on the 2008 Annual Convention of the membership. "We are all very excited about hosting our first annual convention this year." states Matthew Campisi, NOSSA President. The convention is for members and special guests of NOSSA and is expected to be held in the Fall. Contact NOSSA here for more information.

Standing Tall Against Discrimination Podcast - Episode 8 - Self-Esteem Released

NOSSA has released Standing Tall Against Discrimination, Episode 8 - A discussion about self-esteem. How to accept and love yourself, just as you are. Special guest: Diane Sardanopoli (Licensed Mental Health Counselor). To listen go to
http://mattfromnossa.libsyn.com

MA Height and Weight bill--hearing and legislative briefing

Hello All:

Thank you for your ongoing support and advocacy for H. 1844, An Act to Eliminate Discrimination on the Basis of Weight and Height, in Massachusetts sponsored by Rep. Byron Rushing.

I am writing to let you know that we have a hearing date for the bill: March 25, 2008.Please contact me individually if you are interested in testifying before the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development and/or organizing others to testify and speak to legislators following the hearing.

In addition, we would like to organize an informational briefing for legislators and staff about what the bill will do and the need for the legal protections it seeks to provide prior to the hearing. Ideally, we would like a panel of 4-5 experts to speak about the legal aspects of the bill, what is being done in other jurisdictions, related medical and scientific data, and employment discrimination experienced by individuals based upon height and/or weight. We would like to hold this briefing at the MA State House the week of March 10. We can arrange a specific date based upon the availability of those willing to attend.

Please contact me if you would like to continue to work with us on this important legislation!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Fay

Fay Sliger
Deputy Chief of Staff
Second Assistant Majority Leader
Representative Byron Rushing
State House Room 481
Boston, MA 02133
p-617.722.2180
f-617.722.2881

In the closet with heightism

Martin Luther King Jr.

Racism, the belief that one race is supreme and all others are inately inferior will never be completly eradicated. Neither will heightism.

I understand how some african-americans or other groups could take offense to our comparing our struggles with theirs, in that we were never enslaved or subject to mass genocide because of heightism prejudice.

But we still face prejudice and discrimination and what makes it worse for us is that few people are willing to acknowledge it. Whereas it is generally acknowledged that others have faced and still do face "real" discrimination and something ought to be done to stop it.

I would personally prefer to live in a world were no human being ever had to endure the pain of prejudice and discrimination of any kind. I don't think it helps our cause to point out who suffers more. We should simply acknowledge that we all face different degrees of this awful human behavior. I believe that we should ultimately work towards eliminating ALL prejudice regardless of who it is directed at. To not do so is the height of hypocrisy and foolishness.

- Matthew Campisi
President
NOSSA - National Organization Of Short Statured Adults

NOSSA Appoints New Secretary to Board

The Board of Directors of NOSSA - National Organization Of Short Statured Adults has appointed Brian Peterson to serve as Secretary (Special Trustee). Brian is committed to helping short statured people. We want to welcome Brian to the Board and we Thank him for his willingness to serve.

NOSSA Forums

NOSSA Forums will be located at
http://forums.nossaonline.org Please stop by, register, and contribute to the ongoing discussions. This will be a great way for you to share your thoughts about the issues faced by short statured people.

Chris Hamre Awarded Activist of the Year 2008

NOSSA Vice-President Christopher Hamre has been awarded the heightism activist of the year award for 2008.Mr. Hamre's tireless efforts to address heightism deserve special recognition and praise. Way to go Chris! Previous winners have included Steven Goldsmith in 2006 for his www.shortsupport.org website and Representative Byron Rushing in 2007 for his proposed height/weight legislation in Massachussets.

2008

Hi everyone!

Well, another year has come and gone and now we are in 2008. It was a good year for NOSSA in 2007. But we must now turn our attention to the new year and press forward with our efforts to combat this heightism prejudice and support our fellow short statured brothers and sisters. We will be launching the new messageboard on or around January 21, 2008 at http://forums.nossaonline.org The forum will be a great way for our members and general public to contribute to the on-going heightism discussion. We will also be hosting a heightism seminar on March 9, 2008 in Clearwater, Florida. For more information on attending please click here. The podcasts will resume soon and we will be tackling new topics and featuring some very special guests. Click here for the podcast link. We hope to end our year with a bang at our first annual convention in New York. For more info on this click here. There has never been a better time than right now to join our group and take a firm stand against heightism. To join us go to http://www.nossaonline.org/joinus.html