From the moment The FPIES Foundation announced the day in August to the official proclamation released on Global FPIES Day itself, the FPIES community has been making a great impact for the first Global FPIES Day! Immediately, our community set out to raise awareness in families’ hometowns and host fundraisers, assisting the Foundation in building awareness and support to empower families and the medical community on this special day and all year round!
Global Day was established by The Foundation as a day specifically set aside for FPIES, a day to hone in on specific awareness, education and outreach objectives. An “FPIES: Be The Voice” awareness ribbon was developed for The Foundation and Global Day by an FPIES family. The unified colors of teal and orange hold great significance. Teal represents Food Allergy Awareness and Orange signifies strength and advocacy, mirrored in the Foundation logo.
On the days leading up to Global Day, the sharing of the “Be the Voice” Ribbon Frames was astounding! In all, this Facebook album reflects the faces of 220+kids (and advocates supporting them!) from around the globe! Additionally, over the week our social media pages increased in followers, and our FB posts reached over 21,000 viewers!
Awareness was built through your “Share Your 14”efforts in your community, by sharing what Global Day means to your family, and by creating the “Be the Voice” Ribbon frames! Fundraisers raised awareness and funds from events such as: T-fund Global T-shirt sales, Jamberry Nails, Etsy shops, and HP Threads custom designs. Jersey Mikes in James City, North Carolina, set the tone for establishing local awareness! The Cafe Press-FPIES Foundation storefront and Bravelet sales demonstrated the FPIES community’s commitment to spreading awareness, fashionably!
We were thrilled to see kids getting in the action! There was Vivian and her custom glitter tattoo (made to her request!), and the magnitude of photo shares of kids raising awareness in Global day t-shirts. We “met” siblings creating unique Global Day flags, and were so moved by the actions of countless others! It is so powerful to see such a community of budding advocates! Great work, kids!
Our partners at Sarah’s FPIES Clubhouse hosted events all month long, leading up to the big day! From naming the Awareness Heroes (be sure to stop by The Clubhouse and meet Super Sally and Flying Freddy!), to mazes and coloring events created just for the day, the Clubhouse was the place to be for kids in action!
We were excited to see several families sharing their stories in news stories, as well as online and print publications:
- “I want you to Know about Why My Son Can’t Eat“, published on the Leaky Boob.com.
- “Local Couple Seeks to Raise Awareness on Invisible Allergy” published on the Beaumont New
- Cohen’s Story, appearing on WOAY Newswatch
The work doesn’t stop here! The Foundation has been following the guidelines set out to establish the day as an officially recognized National Health Observance Day. Please continue to follow our website’s “News & Events” and social media postings, as we work with Advocacy representatives assisting this community in achieving this goal. There are always ways for all families and communities to pitch in– keep posted to learn how you can help throughout this process and beyond!
This post was written by the Executive Board of The FPIES Foundation.
