RV4TheCause Taking Educational Programs on the Road to Reach Professional Advisors So They Can Better Serve the 120 Million Americans Living with Chronic Illnesses

PARAMUS, N.J., March 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Martin M. Shenkman, P.C. and RV4TheCause is taking its second major professional seminar tour on the road March 24 - April 10 presenting "Estate, Financial and Tax Planning for People Living with Chronic Illness." RV4TheCause is a national charitable initiative whose mission is to educate professional advisors on helping clients living with chronic illnesses like Multiple Sclerosis, COPD and Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, ALS. Professional programs will be presented in: Princeton NJ, Washington DC, Chapel Hill NC, Jacksonville FL and Tampa FL. A national webinar will be broadcast on March 31, 1:30 EST (hosted by Leimberg Information Services, Inc.) https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/511935478

RV4TheCause was launched by attorney Martin M. Shenkman, with offices in Paramus, NJ and New York City, and his wife Patti, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2006. Their charity educates attorneys, accountants, financial planners and insurance professionals serving the 120 million Americans affected by many different chronic illnesses. Shenkman, who has more than 25 years experience in his field, is a noted attorney, CPA and author who has devoted his career to helping those living with chronic diseases in coping with financial, tax, insurance, estate and other issues.

From personal experience in working with colleagues, Shenkman realized the importance of assisting fellow professionals and providing them with the resources to better serve their clients and help them minimize tax, legal and financial difficulties chronic illness can create.

Martin M. Shenkman is a member of, and holds designations from, the following organizations that encourage the educational and charitable endeavors of RV4TheCause: National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), American Institute of CPAs Personal Financial Planning division (AICPA-PFP), and National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC).

RV4TheCause is an educational program that features Martin, his wife Patti, and their Norfolk Terrier, Elvis (a licensed therapy dog).  It applies the unique approach of providing educational programming while traveling the country in an Airstream Trailer. Their RV eases the difficulties of travel caused by MS.  On the road, Shenkman and his family team will speak at pre-arranged seminars for professional advisors, and some for consumers, on planning for living with a serious illness or disability.

"While we've always considered Airstreams to be good investments, to see the Shenkmans using their travel trailer for such a worthy cause is inspiring.  We hope that their Airstream helps to attract attention to RV4TheCause, while allowing Mrs. Shenkman to travel in greater comfort.  We wish them much success!" states Bob Wheeler, President & CEO, Airstream.

The seminars and webinars are provided at no cost to attending professionals courtesy of the firms hosting each program, and each host welcomes media inquiries:

March 24 - Princeton NJ. Hosts: Guy McPhail, Traust Sollus Wealth Management (609)779-6700 and David Neufeld Esq. (609) 919-0919. http://www.rv4thecause.org/seminar-schedule/?id=32

March 25 – Bethesda MD. Host: Barry Korb, Lighthouse Financial Planning, LLC (301) 996-7044. http://www.rv4thecause.org/seminar-schedule/?id=38

March 28 - Chapel Hill NC. Host: James R. Miller, Woodward Financial Advisors (919) 929-2495. http://www.rv4thecause.org/seminar-schedule/?id=33

March 31 Webinar, 1:30-2:30 pm EST. Host: Stephan Leimberg of Leimberg Information Services, Inc. ("LISI") https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/511935478

March 31 – Jacksonville FL. Host: Carolyn McClanahan, Life Planning Partners, Inc.  (904) 448-5158. http://www.rv4thecause.org/seminar-schedule/?id=35

April 5 – Tampa FL. Hosts: Christine Brown, FPA (813) 855-1017 and Holly P. Thomas, LLC (813) 489-1700. http://www.rv4thecause.org/seminar-schedule/?id=37

Continuing professional education credits will be granted, if approved, as a courtesy of Lorman Education Services, a national professional education company based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. http://www.lorman.com/search/?search_term=shenkman

Consumer webinars will be conducted to inform those living with chronic illness and their loved ones about planning options. 5 webinars will be conducted from 5 different Good Sam affiliated RV parks on the trip. https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/404676406 . Good Sam, as a one-stop resource for all RV needs, is promoting these consumer webinars. www.goodsamclub.com  

Mark and Dawn Polk, of RV Education 101, based in Harrells, NC will be filming RV4TheCause's story and disseminating information about the webinars on their web TV show "Mark's RV Garage." www.RVconsumer.com

RV4TheCause also has another complementary mission: to help spread the word about the work of prominent national charities – the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the COPD Foundation, and the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps – who help those living with chronic and other diseases directly.

"Marty has found a unique way in RV4TheCause to bring his expertise right to the doorstep of financial advisors in order to assist them with the practical tools they need in being more effective resources for their clients with chronic illness," says Joyce Nelson, President and CEO of the National MS Society. "As awareness for the challenges of MS and the importance of charitable giving are among those crucial tools, RV4TheCause means a great deal to the Society and we are most appreciative to Marty to be a beneficiary of his journey."

"The creativity and dedication that helped Marty build a reputation as an expert in estate and financial planning for people living with chronic disease are also evident in his efforts to raise funding and awareness for our mission to find a cure for Parkinson's disease," said Todd Sherer, acting CEO of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. "We are grateful that he's chosen us as a beneficiary of RV4TheCause and can't wait to see where the journey takes him."

"Marty's commitment to helping people affected by serious illness is extraordinary," said John Reid, President and CEO of the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps. "We are delighted to be a beneficiary of the RV4TheCause project and look forward to a long and successful friendship as we all work together to bring the joy of camp to many more kids who are sick."

"The COPD Foundation is pleased to join the partnership with RV4TheCause," says John Walsh, president of the COPD Foundation. "Finding a cure is a common goal for our organization and we're grateful for this opportunity to create more awareness and interest for COPD."

ABOUT THE NATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY

MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn't. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS.  Last year alone, through our national office and 50-state network of chapters, we devoted over $161 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives. To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested more than $37 million to support 325 new and ongoing research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS now.  Join the movement at www.nationalMSsociety.org.

ABOUT THE MICHAEL J. FOX FOUNDATION

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to ensuring the development of better treatments, and ultimately a cure, for Parkinson's disease through an aggressively funded research agenda. MJFF has funded almost $196 million in research to date.  For more information visit www.michaeljfox.org.

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION OF HOLE IN THE WALL CAMPS

The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps leads a global family of camps for children with serious medical conditions. Founded by Paul Newman over two decades ago with the idea that no child should have to compromise their childhood because of a serious illness, today the Association oversees fourteen camps in seven countries, six new camps and programs in various stages of development, and seven Global Partnership Initiatives in Africa and Asia.  To date, the camps and programs have served more than 200,000 children affected by over 150 medical conditions. For more information, visit www.holeinthewallcamps.org.

ABOUT THE COPD FOUNDATION

COPD is an umbrella term for a group of lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory asthma, and bronchiectasis. The COPD Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), was established to speed innovations to make treatments more effective and affordable, to undertake initiatives that result in expanded services for COPDers and to improve the lives of individuals affected by COPD and related lung diseases. The COPDF's activities focus on achieving these results through research, education and advocacy programs that will lead to prevention, and someday, a cure for this disease. http://www.copdfoundation.org/

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SOURCE Martin M. Shenkman, P.C.