Mark your calendars! March is Epilepsy Awareness Month and Purple Day is March 26th, a day dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy around the world.
Epilepsy Awareness Month is all about bringing epilepsy awareness to your community. How can you get involved? Here are some ideas: wear purple to show your support, fundraise for your local epilepsy organization, or start a discussion with others around you to help educate them about epilepsy. See below for some more ideas about how you can get involved.
Bring Purple Day to Your School
Epilepsy Awareness Month is all about spreading awareness and educating others about epilepsy to help end the stigma surrounding the condition. What better way to celebrate than by helping educate your children’s peers about epilepsy?
Epilepsy Toronto’s Children and Youth Services Department have developed a full lesson plan, including an educational video and learning activities, that your child can bring to their classroom for Purple Day on March 26th. All you have to do is contact your child’s educator and provide them with the digital resources.
Email Your Teacher: Purple Day Classroom Kit Email Template for Parents
And we can come to you! Epilepsy Toronto and Teaching Awareness Through Puppetry provide fun, age-appropriate presentations about all things epilepsy for your child’s school or classroom. All you have to do is complete a presentation request form below:
You Can Make a Difference
Epilepsy awareness starts with you. Here are a few resources you can share with your networks either through social media, your workplace, or in your community.
March Awareness Campaign #EndEpilepsyStigma
This Epilepsy Awareness Month, we’re excited to kick off a city-wide campaign in collaboration with Outedge Media to raise awareness and combat epilepsy stigma.
Stay on the lookout for our ads on billboards and digital spaces throughout Toronto! If you come across one, snap a photo, tag us on social media @epilepsytoronto, and use the hashtag #EndEpilepsyStigma to join the conversation and help spread awareness.
For more information about this campaign and inspiring stories of resilience in the face of epilepsy, visit: epilepsytoronto.org/endepilepsystigma/ Together, let’s work towards ending the stigma surrounding epilepsy.
Show Us Your Purple Day Plans
- Wearing purple;
- Sharing epilepsy resources at your workplace;
- Making Purple Day signs and decorating your windows or front door;
- Fundraising by selling purple cupcakes, jewelry, artwork or some other purple creation, or;
- Making or sharing an educational video on your social media.
Look up, Toronto! Once again, the CN Tower will be shining bright in PURPLE on March 26 to mark Purple Day for Epilepsy! It’s one more way we’re raising awareness and showing support for everyone living with epilepsy in our city. The lighting will begin at sunset, and will be fully visible once the sky fully darkens, approximately 30 minutes later. Check out their webcam at: https://www.cntower.ca/
Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to capture a photo of the CN Tower shining in purple and share it with everyone. Share your photos using the hashtag #PurpleDayTO and help us spread awareness far and wide.
The Story of Purple Day
Purple Day, March 26th, was started in 2008 by a little girl in Nova Scotia called Cassidy who wanted her friends to know what it really meant for her to live with epilepsy. A child’s dream of sharing her story has turned into a recognized, global movement to raise awareness for epilepsy on March 26th. Visit www.purpleday.org to get more information about her initiative. March 26th is now official Purple Day in Canada thanks to the passage of a federal private members bill supported by all parties in Parliament last year. This year people from all parts of Canada will be wearing purple and working to educate the community about epilepsy: a condition that affects 1 in 100 Canadians but is still very misunderstood by the public. Individuals and groups in our community are working with Epilepsy Toronto to plan events that will help bring better public awareness about the facts and realities of epilepsy. You can show your support by wearing purple on March 26th, and encouraging others to do the same.
