PRLog -
May 9, 2015 - OTTAWA, Ontario -- National Buildings and Landmarks Will Turn Blue, Green & Purple on May 12 to Honour Three Invisible Disabilities:
Local Residents are Invited to Join in this Unique International Competition.
The 2nd
annual good-natured, world wide competition is going to colour the
nightscape on May 12th, 2015. Charitable organizations from each
country are competing to see how many public buildings, monuments, and
even private homes can be lit up and recorded by photos. Anyone with a
camera or a blue, purple, or green lightbulb can participate.Ottawa, Ontario, May 9, 2015 — The National ME/FM Action Network http://www.mefmaction.com/
(http://www.mefmaction.com/)
is proud to be spearheading Canada’s entry in the
2nd Annual International May 12th Light Up the Night Challenge
event. This is designed to bring awareness to three disabilities which
have devastated the lives of 1.4 million Canadians, yet remain
invisible.
Niagara Falls, the CN Tower, Charlottetown City Hall,
Ottawa’s City Hall Heritage Building, Calgary’s Langevin Bridge,
Montreal Olympic Stadium, BC Place, Hamilton’s Farmer’s Market and
Toronto City Hall are a few of Canada’s public contributions to this
event, but anyone with a porch light or a window is encouraged to
participate.
Light Up the Nigh
t is dedicated to three illnesses which go under the blanket category of Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND):
● Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
● Fibromyalgia (FM)
● Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)
The
numbers are staggering. A 2010 survey by Statistics Canada estimated
that 411,000 Canadians have been diagnosed with ME/CFS, 439,000 with FM
and 800,000 with MCS. The number of Canadians with one or more of the
three conditions is equivalent to the number of Canadians with heart
disease, and is greater than the number of Canadians with breast cancer,
MS and AIDS combined! Put another way, the number of Canadians with one
or more of ME/CFS, FM or MCS is greater than the entire population of
Manitoba. And yet these conditions are out of sight and out of mind.
The
illnesses have a profound impact on a person's ability to function.
Many people end up housebound and some end up bedbound. The effects of
people's lives and the lives of those around them are enormous. The
effects on the economy are enormous as well. Imagine if every person in
Manitoba was struck down by an illness that reduced their functional
capacity. The province's GDP ($56 Billion in 2011) would plummet by
billions of dollars.
ME/CFS/FM/MCS have a long history of
misunderstanding and bureaucratic sleight of hand, but the scientific
evidence is mounting. The latest research findings were presented at the
11th biennial IASCF/ME conference (
http://www.mefmaction.com/index.php?option=com_content&am...), held in San Francisco in March 2014 and co-hosted by Stanford University.
You can contact the National ME/FM Action Network’s national office for more information.
Light
Up the Night on May 12th, 2015, is a fun way to lend support and boost
the morale of those with these diseases. It is also a way to remind
those in authority, that the invisibly disabled are there and still need
the support which they have been promised.
Here is how everyone can participate:
The
challenge is to get as many buildings as possible in your country to
light up with one of the 3 colours used on May 12th - blue, purple or
green *. There are public buildings/places like City Halls and Niagara
Falls. But individual homes are needed as well.
Bragging rights will be awarded to the country with the most photos in each of these categories:
1. Number of Public Buildings/Places
2. Number of Private Residences
All
pictures must be emailed by May 31st to be included. When sending the
photo, include information about where the photo was taken (i.e. town,
region, country) The May 12th team will count and post the photos as
they come in and post the final results as soon as possible after the
31st.
To enter, photos should be taken and sent to
info@may12th.org.
This challenge is in honour of the 23
rd anniversary of May 12
th International Awareness Day. May 12
th
has been designated as International Awareness Day for Chronic
Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND) since 1992. The diseases
included in CIND include Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome (CFS), Fibromyalgia (FM), and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
(MCS).
May 12th was chosen as it is the birthday of Florence Nightingale. She was believed to have suffered from ME.
There are numerous events planned for May 12
th. For a full list, please see www.bit.ly/May12th2015 .
*Blue is the official colour of ME & CFS; Purple for FM; Green for MCS
About ME/FM Action Network:
The
NATIONAL ME/FM ACTION NETWORK became a Canadian charitable organization
on June 18, 1993 dedicated to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also known as
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FM) through support,
education and research.