January Awareness
I've written about only two causes so there's enough room to communicate the importance of each without offically turning this into a novel. Paring it down to just a few was difficult since there are so many that deserve attention, but I think these two especially could use some heightened visibility:
National Blood Donor Month:
We hear it a constantly--or at least I did, growing up in the military as I did: "Give Blood!" It was stressed even more when I went off to "college," i.e., a military academy, which ran a blood drive at least twice a year. Every cadet was required to at least show up, and encouraged to donate if at all possible. It wasn't until I reached the real Army, though, that I understood the true necessity of giving blood. Once part of an Army at war, I experienced first-hand the unfortunate reality that many of our brothers and sisters in arms would require the lifeblood that others had generously donated in order to fight for their very lives. Though the war as we know it is winding down, there are still many troops in harm's way that we don't hear about regularly in the press. But just because we don't hear about it doesn't mean the need is any less pressing. [If you have any doubt as to the difference it can make, I encourage you to read this story.]
Of course, soldiers aren't the only ones in need of these donations. Patients with cancer, or other conditions like Sickle Cell Anemia, often require multiple donations throughout the course of their treatment or even their lives. Catastrophic injuries (comparable to what a soldier might suffer in combat) happen every day in our own towns and cities. A sobering statistic from the American Red Cross is that every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. Even more sobering: in order to keep up with this, more than 41,000 blood donations are needed every day.
So if you have a chance to donate sometime soon, know that it will be both greatly needed and appreciated. If, like me, you frustratingly can't give blood because the guidelines or a medical condition prevent it, don't be discouraged--there are other ways to help. (I lived in Italy in the 1980s, when Mad Cow Disease appeared on the scene, and because there is no way to test for it, anyone in certain European zones during that timeline is prohibited from donating blood. Maybe that's why I'm so crazy...moo). You can always donate financially, of course, or organize a drive if you feel so inclined, or you might be able to look at bone marrow donation (their guidelines are slightly different) to be put on the list and potentially be a match for someone in need.
Most people are aware that the American Red Cross is on the front lines when it comes to blood donation, but I'd also like to highlight the Armed Services Blood Program who is doing great things to help those in need. They have some great resources and information in general.
National Braille Literacy Month:
Reading about Braille Literacy Month took me straight back to some of the most formative months that I ever spent in high school. I had a huge term project to complete; originally I planned to take sign language, but without extra cash to pay for the classes, I switched gears and asked my friend, who happened to be blind, if he would teach me Braille. Or, less eloquently, if he could teach me how to use that "type-y thing" he carried around everywhere. He was in my AP History class, and about the most intelligent person I knew; he held study groups in which he rattled off the text book from his brain while I paged frantically through my notes and tried to keep up. I knew that the "type-y thing," or screenless computer (because a screen is pointless if you can't see it) was how he took notes and wrote papers, but that was about as far as my ignorance preceeded me.
My friend quickly opened me up to a whole new world. I learned what a vualuable resource audio books were. My friend showed me how textbooks could be translated and printed in braille, or transferred digtally to the Braille computer, and how in even the best schools like my own, there can be quite a lag in getting the appropriate resources to the students who need them. For almost two months, my friend sat with me in the Braille resource room during study hall, patiently teaching me the alphabet, brilliantly coming up with word after word that I could type with only the letters I'd learned so far, and eventually testing me with "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" in Braille. I was blown away when I realized how much longer it would take to further learn the shorthand version of writing instead of spelling out every word in the alphabet that I'd just spent weeks trying to memorize. My eyes were opened (figuratively) to every room number with a series of dots below that before meant nothing to me, and I began to understand, if only a very little, what my friend and the other blind students had to do on a daily basis to do the things I took for granted, like get to the right classroom in time, find the right page in a textbook, turn in a paper, etc.
My friend quickly opened me up to a whole new world. I learned what a vualuable resource audio books were. My friend showed me how textbooks could be translated and printed in braille, or transferred digtally to the Braille computer, and how in even the best schools like my own, there can be quite a lag in getting the appropriate resources to the students who need them. For almost two months, my friend sat with me in the Braille resource room during study hall, patiently teaching me the alphabet, brilliantly coming up with word after word that I could type with only the letters I'd learned so far, and eventually testing me with "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" in Braille. I was blown away when I realized how much longer it would take to further learn the shorthand version of writing instead of spelling out every word in the alphabet that I'd just spent weeks trying to memorize. My eyes were opened (figuratively) to every room number with a series of dots below that before meant nothing to me, and I began to understand, if only a very little, what my friend and the other blind students had to do on a daily basis to do the things I took for granted, like get to the right classroom in time, find the right page in a textbook, turn in a paper, etc.
Many blind people, like my good friend, are lucky to have the resources to both learn at the same speed as other students and express their brilliance to world at large. But many aren't as lucky. Some school districts don't have the resources or the funding to provide enough of what their students need--even the best school districts--because Braille books cost 2-3 times more than regular school materials to manufacture. And in countries without all the privileges we experience here in the United States, the prospects for blind people are almost nonexistent. Many are forced to remain uneducated and are never able to realize their potential because they are seen as burdens, outcasts, or simply impossible to educate.
One great organization, The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, uses its donations to run a Braille Library, send Braille books to those in need (a donation of $10 buys one Braille book for a blind child), or enroll individuals in their yearly "Free Braille Books" program.
You can also check out some really neat Braille technology at the American Braille Press, located in Boston. It's truly fascinating.
These remaining three causes are of note this month, too; click on them to learn more:
- National Bath Safety Month (always an important reminder).
- Thyroid Awareness Month (Because if you're like me, you forget that it exists and that it needs love, too. I just got mine checked for the first time last week).
- And, because I would never forgive myself if I didn't make you aware, I must alert you to the fact that today is National Chocolate Cake Day. You're welcome. Buy some, make some--whatever you do, just make sure you eat some!
Happy [almost not] January!
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