When Phyllis Burk was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease nearly 50 years ago, it wasn’t as simple as looking up information online – smartphones and internet searches didn’t exist.

She turned to her local libraries in Ohio, only to find very little information available. Following her gastroenterologist’s advice, Phyllis and her husband, Mel, contacted the National Foundation of Ileitis and Colitis, which at the time was just getting started with its New York chapter.

“Our doctor also put us in touch with another couple, Marty and Debbie Elrad, who he knew was interested in starting the organization in Cleveland and together in 1978 we formed the chapter in our living rooms,” Burk told the Cleveland Jewish News. “It was strictly a volunteer organization for a long time.”

Their first meeting

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