The Epilepsy Foundation of America …
The Epilepsy Foundation of America is the national voluntary agency dedicated solely to the welfare of the almost 3 million people with epilepsy in the U.S. and their families. The organization works to ensure that people with seizures are able to participate in all life experiences; to improve how people with epilepsy are perceived, accepted and valued in society; and to promote research for a cure.

Typical of the Foundations national programs are its Jeanne A. Carpenter Epilepsy Legal Defense Fund, the H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People with Epilepsy) Mentoring Program, a Public Policy Institute, Seniors and Womens Health Initiatives, the Kids Speak Up advocacy program, a school personnel training program, outreach to youth and to the Hispanic community, employment programs and a research grants program. Services commonly provided in local communities are information and referral, counseling, patient and family advocacy, school and community education, support groups and camps for children. Its Web site offers the most comprehensive, medically approved consumer

information about epilepsy and seizures on the Internet and is the trusted source for millions of people who seek reliable information about epilepsy.

Each year the Foundation also invites research investigators to apply for grants and fellowships to test new ideas and follow new research leads. The applications, more than a hundred in an average year, are ranked according to merit by a blue ribbon panel of research scientists, and funded according to available resources.
Additionally, the Epilepsy Foundation offers a series of training fellowships in basic, clinical and behavioral science to scientists at the start of their careers. These fellowships, awarded to young people at the nation's leading research institutes, have in many cases been the first steps on a lifetime commitment to solving the medical and scientific puzzle of why epilepsy develops and how it can be treated or prevented. Specifically, the Gowers Fellowship is awarded annually to a physician/scientist who is embarking on a career in academic clinical medicine and who wishes to undertake a specific project in epilepsy research.