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Virtual Friends for Life Orlando 2020 FAQs

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Welcome to our Virtual Friends for Life Orlando 2020 (VFFLO) frequently asked questions page.  See below for information that will hopefully answer your questions, and we have even more information on our VFFLO First Timers page.

Use our Online Registration Form on our website, https://na.eventscloud.com/fflorlando2020, to register for the free virtual conference.

IMPORTANT:  If you already registered for our in-person event, you do not need to register again for the Virtual FFL conference. You are already included!

Everyone that registered will receive an email with instructions on refunds. If you did not, please email us at [email protected]. We need to know which option you are selecting by May 15, 2020. If we do not receive notice of which option you are electing, you will be issued a full refund of your registration fee.

If you reserved a room at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, Disney’s Online booking site is available for modifying and canceling reservations 24/7. Should you need assistance while booking your reservation, please contact Group Reservations by calling 407-939-4686 during business hours – Monday - Friday.

This year's Friends for Life Orlando is entirely virtual, and entirely free, thanks to the very generous support of our sponsors.  You will need to have access to a computer or tablet that you can watch the sessions on, and an Internet connection.

If you have already registered and would like a refund, please reach out to [email protected].  You can also convert the full cost of your registration to a charitable gift to Children with Diabetes. 100% of the registration cost will be converted to a charitable gift, and will be tax deductible.

The confirmation email verifies what you paid for. You should have received the email (subject: Registration Confirmation for FFL Orlando 2020) right after you completed the registration process.

And unlike previous years, everything will be mailed ahead of time for FFL Orlando, beginning in mid-June. We'll be providing a "Box of FFL" for the first 500 families/participants who have registered. This way, you'll have some of the special goodies from FFL sent directly to your home.

(The Box of FFL is only available to the first 500 families to register and can only be sent out to US addresses.)

Registration includes:

Participation in all virtual sessions (and we're offering a full slate of options!)

Your own, personal "Box of FFL," containing:

  • One conference t-shirt per person
  • One printed "Friends for Life Orlando 2020" program, with descriptions of our faculty, staff, sponsors, and stories from our FFL family
  • Green and orange wristbands for your family
  • Your conference name badges, lanyards ... and stickers!
  • Giveaways and goodies from our generous sponsors

The "Box of FFL" is limited to U.S. addresses only and will be sent to the first 500 registrants. As of May 2020, we have met the limit for the Box of FFL But we'll have ways to purchase CWD swag from our Cafepress store in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Please send a note to [email protected] by May 31, 2020 if you don’t want a Box of FFL sent to you.

All sessions at Virtual Friends for Life Orlando 2020 will be held using Zoom. Some will be meeting format (everyone is visible), some will be webinar format (only the speaker is visible). We will send an email with instructions on how to access the live site to all registered users a couple days before the conference begins. You will need to be registered to receive those instructions.

The Green bands are for anyone with diabetes, Orange bands are for the ones without diabetes, and Yellow bands are for anyone with Celiac or who eat gluten-free. You can read the entire story behind how the colors originated. In a nutshell, when we are in a large conference venue – or in this case, the world – we can see at a glance who is part of our amazing FFL tribe.

The same types of activities that we normally have in person... but the sessions will be shorter. Our youth program leaders are working on the schedule now. Many of them are teachers, and are newly-familiar with distance learning because of the world situation. They bring lots of great skills and energy to the table - errrrr… to the computer! 

Friends for Life® is for your entire family. Kids who don't have diabetes, whether they have a sibling or parent with type 1, participate in their age group sessions. There's much to learn and share for them too.

Since Friends for Life Orlando 2020 is fully virtual, it's up to you to wear whatever feels most comfortable. We'd suggest your favorite FFL t-shirt from a past conference, or your 2020 shirt from the Box of FFL! (And if you'd like to order from our Cafepress store, you can do that, too!)

There are a couple of events where nicer dress is a good idea, despite our digital plans. The theme for Thursday’s Family and Friends Banquet is Summertime FFL. Think about what you’d wear to a summer backyard party – that will be perfect!

There will definitely be a Teen Dance on Saturday night. Stay tuned for more details on the theme!

Focus groups are offered on Wednesday only. These are small group discussions or presentations, hosted by the sponsors of the conference or an academic institution. It is their opportunity to interact with you on a more personal level, to get your ideas and insights, present some of their new concepts, and perhaps get your feedback on new products they are developing.

The groups are small - some have only a few people and others have up to 40. But they are not large like the regular conference sessions on Thursday or Friday which may have several hundred people in each. You do not need to sign up for focus groups unless specifically requested by the company leading the session.  All of the focus groups, like the regular sessions, will. be offered virtually.

For the FFL Orlando 2020 event, you will need to register for live sessions ahead of time.  Be sure to download Zoom and register for any sessions that you'd like to attend!  Information for each session will be on the conference page.

Most of the webinar style sessions will be recorded and available to view after the conference. Sessions held in meeting format, with discussions, will not be recorded. Watch the CWD web site for how to find the recorded sessions.

Unless otherwise noted, they may, although we strongly encourage kids to be in their age-appropriate sessions. The material presented in adult sessions is on an adult level. Often, some of these same topics are discussed with the children within the context of some of their other learning activities - and the material is at an age-appropriate level for their group. Be aware that some adult and parents sessions include topics that are not appropriate for kids.

At our in-person conferences, we must be very strict about kids staying within their particular age groups. We have elementary group (ages 6-8), a young tween group (ages 9-10), and older tween group (ages 11-12), a young teen group (ages 13-15) an older teen group (ages 16-17). Those who are 18 are part of the young adult group, not teens. We request that for the virtual FFL, everyone continue to honor these guidelines.

For the Virtual FFL, we need far fewer volunteers than for conferences held in Orlando. Please consider helping next year – back at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort! We will post a volunteer application next Fall.

Yes, we have a private Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/FriendsForLifeOrlando. You must ask to be admitted to the group. If your Facebook profile doesn't immediately convey that you are part of the type 1 diabetes community, please email Jeff Hitchcock ([email protected]) and ask him to approve your request to join the group.

Need more?

Have you looked through the FAQ and you still have a question?  Email us!  Click the button below.

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