Posted: March 25, 2017
There is a very special day at the end of March that should be marked on the calendar of every parent of a child that lives with Cerebral Palsy. The day of March 25th is noteworthy because it’s National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day and everyone should participate. A lot of outsiders have heard of Cerebral Palsy but several know little about the topic. With your involvement on this day, you can make the topic more well known so there are fewer misconceptions that take place. Taking part is easy and we make it even more simple by giving you five ways you can increase awareness on this special day. Ideas ranging from sharing or creating your own inspirational video online to having your child host a bingo game in their classroom at school.
Social Media
Social media is a great way to spread awareness. With all the different social media channels out there you can reach a wide variety of audiences to teach people a thing or two about Cerebral Palsy. You can do this in several ways on your social media sites. One way to do this is by posting a status that states an interesting fact about Cerebral Palsy. Infographics or sharing an inspirational video is also another idea to help get the word out to your friends or followers. There are a ton of videos on YouTube that offer a wide variety of messages. If your son or daughter has Cerebral Palsy, you can even grab your smartphone or camcorder and shoot their story to share. Don’t be afraid of posting on all your different channels. If you have more than one you can share a different item or medium on each one.
Ideas For Inspirational Videos To Share:
RJ Mitte of 'Breaking Bad' on Living with Cerebral Palsy
Ballet Dancer With Cerebral Palsy Is An Inspiration
Heart of a Warrior: Kristen's Inspiring Story
Bake Sale
Having a bake sale at your child’s school is an awesome way to raise money for your favorite Cerebral Palsy organization and help spread the word. Call the school ahead of time and ask for permission along with when the best appropriate time is to set up a booth or table. Grab your children, a couple of friends along with your favorite cupcake or cookie recipes and whip up something delicious. Be sure to incorporate green the official color for Cerebral Palsy awareness into your treats. Tie your goodies with green ribbon and print out a Cerebral Palsy fact to attach to each dessert. When you sell your cookies be sure to price the items low so lots of students and teachers can enjoy and take part in the fundraising efforts. Decorate the booth and lay out some flyers that have information about Cerebral Palsy. That way when students stop to check out your items they can pick up some informational literature.
Bingo
Create your own bingo cards that your child can bring to their class on National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day. Bingo is an excellent tool to teach others about Cerebral Palsy. Gather up some interesting facts or things you think people should know about Cerebral Palsy. Then enter the items on one of the many free bingo card making sites online. Bingo Baker is an easy site to use for this purpose. You can also design your own template using Microsoft Word or if you are feeling extra crafty, draw it out on paper and then scan the item to make extra copies to print out. Allow the winner to take home a prize at the end. The prize can be anything from a small bag of candy to a Cerebral Palsy t-shirt.
Wear Green
An easy way to take part and raise awareness is by wearing green. Ask your family, friends, coworkers and neighbors to participate in on the fun. The more green the better, see who can wear the most of the single color and make a competition out of it. You can wear green from your head all the way down to your toes! Give a first prize out at the end of the day to the winner of the bunch but be sure to give something to everyone who participated. Everyone is a winner who participates in raising awareness for such a great cause.
Class Presentation or Play
Have your son or daughter write their own mini play or presentation to share in front of their class. They can create a slideshow and pass out handouts while they speak about the topic. A play is an entertaining way to show his or her class what it is like living with Cerebral Palsy. One idea for the play is to show what to say and what not to say to someone living with Cerebral Palsy. If their teacher has not given a proper introduction into the disability or the topic, this is a great method of how to teach their classmates on the subject. Not only so they know how to handle dealing with a situation with someone living with Cerebral Palsy but so can they pass the information along further to their family and friends.
Just because National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day is on March 25th, doesn’t mean you have to let that stop you from spreading awareness all year long. The items listed above are a great way you can participate in raising awareness on the holiday or any other day of the year. Get your friends, neighbors and extended family involved too. The more people who join in, the more good can be done!
If your child has Cerebral Palsy or if they were recently diagnosed and you would like more information, contact our care team today. We offer a wide variety of resources and information to help you and your loved one. Call to speak with a representative at 800-692-4453.
