A support group for young women confronting scoliosis is ramping up its efforts to increase people’s knowledge of this challenging medical condition.

The North Carolina chapter of Curvy Girls was founded in 2010 by Vicky Respass, an East Carolina University student.

The group falls under the umbrella of the nationwide Curvy Girls, a national organization with branches in multiple states.

On April 15, supporters of the state chapter distributed information on scoliosis at this year’s first installment of Washington’s Music in the Streets festival.

The group will return to Music in the Streets in May, this time with a craft table at which children may make necklaces and bracelets.

MITS was a conduit that allowed Respass and her cohorts to meet more than 25 people who had scoliosis as well as others whose friends and family had been affected by it.

“We touched a lot of adults who had it,” she said.

Respass said organizers are trying to arrange an awareness walk for June, which is National Scoliosis Awareness Month.

And Curvy Girls N.C. now is government-certified to accept tax-deductible donations, she related.

Curvy Girls has attracted three new members, and will be represented in Dancing with OUR Stars, a local fundraising dance celebration to be staged in August.

Dancing with OUR Stars raises funds for Eagle’s Wings, a Washington food pantry, and other participating nonprofits.

One Curvy Girls prospect on the horizon is to have a parallel support group for parents of teenage girls with scoliosis, said Laura Bortz, Respass’ mother.

“So far, everybody’s meeting together,” Bortz said. “It’s such a raw, emotional factor involved in all of this.”

Fearful of being taunted by their classmates, many teenagers feel the need to hide the fact they have scoliosis, Bortz shared.

Respass isn’t hiding.

In October 2010, she told the Washington Daily News she had endured four surgeries because of her condition, and possibly was facing a fifth.

Respass had to wear a series of back braces to help correct a 67-degree curve in her spine, and had to use a walker during a three-month recovery from one surgery.

None of this prevented Respass from pursuing her goals. A former dance student, she went on to study theater at ECU and, today, walks without the help of a brace.

According to the Mayo Clinic’s website, “Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that occurs most often during the growth spurt just before puberty. While scoliosis can be caused by conditions such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, the cause of most scoliosis is unknown.”

The majority of scoliosis cases aren’t severe, but severe scoliosis can be disabling, the website reads.

Literature provided by Respass notes, “Severe scoliosis is more than just a backache. It can affect the heart, the lungs and other vital organs. As the spine twists and curves the body’s range of motion and physical activity is affected and can cause significant and prolonged pain.”

For more information, e-mail curvygirlsNC@yahoo.com or visit www.curvygirlsscoliosis.com.