The Lyme Disease Association and Time for Lyme Appoint Manning Selvage & Lee for Public Relations Support

The New Jersey-based national Lyme Disease Association, Inc. and Connecticut-based Time for Lyme, Inc. have selected Manning Selvage & Lee (MS&L) to provide public relations counsel and support.

MS&L Boston will support both organizations to help increase awareness and understanding of the short and long-term impact of Lyme disease. The agency’s Washington, D.C. office will help support activities around upcoming Lyme disease legislation, which will provide funding for a myriad of Lyme disease needs, including research, education and treatment.

"Lyme disease is a multi-dimensional disease with many issues, and it was immediately clear that MS&L is a multi-dimensional agency with the right set of capabilities to help us,” said Diane Blanchard, co-president, Time for Lyme.

Pat Smith, president of the Lyme Disease Foundation, added, “MS&L provided in-depth insight and ideas regarding how we could address some of our communications needs in a very short period of time, and showed creativity in addressing those needs in financially efficient ways."

The two non-profits are also working together to raise funds for the first Lyme disease research center in the U.S. at Columbia University in New York. MS&L will help provide visibility for several events planned to raise the remaining funds.

"Both of these organizations are driven by a deep passion to prevent more Lyme disease infections and help people who have been diagnosed with it and affected by it," said Monique da Silva, managing director of MS&L's Boston office. “We are excited about helping them raise awareness of this difficult to diagnose disease and help them meet their ambitious goals.”

About The Lyme Disease Association
The Lyme Disease Association (LDA), an organization which expanded its focus nationally about 5 years ago, is dedicated to Lyme disease education, prevention, and raising research dollars. About ninety-six cents of every dollar raised by the Lyme Disease Association has been used on programs. In its search for a cure for chronic Lyme, the LDA has funded dozens of research projects coast to coast, some of which are featured in peer-reviewed journals, such as Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science . Along with an affiliate, Time for Lyme in Connecticut, the Lyme Disease Association is providing the funds to open with Columbia University, an endowed Lyme disease research center at Columbia. For more information, please visit www.lymediseaseassociation.org.

About Time for Lyme, Inc.
Time For Lyme, Inc. (TFL), formerly The Greenwich Lyme Disease Task Force, is a 501(c)(3), all volunteer, non profit organization, and an affiliate of the national Lyme Disease Association (LDA). TFL is active in numerous Lyme and Tick-borne community, state, and national issues. Its focus has grown to address the desperate need for research into tick-borne illness and the need for increased education and prevention programs. Time For Lyme promotes education about tick-borne illness, including detection, prevention, and advocacy for students and families. Its efforts include educational programs delivered at community seminars, health fairs and professionally recorded programs made available for use throughout the country and beyond. For more information, please visit www.timeforlyme.org.

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