22 Ways to Raise Awareness for Rett Syndrome
Rett Syndrome is a rare disease that currently has no cure. Scientists around the world are working hard to find one, and research has been very promising. There might be cure in our lifetime and it will have ramifications for a multitude of disorders including: Autism, Parkinson’s, Schizophrenia, Cancer, Bi-Polar disorders and many more.
We are asking for your help to raise awareness for Rett Syndrome. Since October is Rett Awareness Month and the Colorado Governor issued a Proclamation (Yay, in 2018 and 2020), this is the perfect chance to be pro-active! We have created a simple list of 22 ideas to help you create awareness throughout October and year round!
Light your house in purple during October and ask your local newspaper to write an article about it. You can conveniently order light bulbs online.
Wear a purple shirt or a purple scarf and tell people why.
Spread awareness all year around with apparel. We offer apparel a few times throughout the year. If we do, it will be announced in our blog.
Shop with benefits on Amazon Smiles: Shop on Amazon Smile instead of Amazon (same items, same costs to you). If you select RMRA as your charity of choice on Amazon Smiles, Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to RMRA!
Become a RMRA committee member or board member: We have several committees that are looking for additional members – the Development Committee and Family Support & Engagement Committee. For more information on committee responsibilities contact Jessica Lindsley.
Become a corporate sponsor: Own a company? We would love to talk to you about becoming a corporate sponsor! Contact us.
Ask if your employer matches charitable gifts – it’s an easy way to double, and in some cases triple, your donation. Besides, RMRA is a 501(c)(3) organization, so all donations are tax deductible.
Write blog posts for RMRETT.org. We are looking for blogs about how families, siblings, caregivers handle Rett Syndrome. No need to be a talented copywriter, we’ll polish your text. Story telling is very powerful! Check out past blogs here. If you are interested, email our marketing team.
Help every time you go grocery shopping: King Soopers is donating percentage of your shopping amount spent as long as you use a specific card. Read how it works in our blog Support RMRA with the King Soopers Community Rewards Program.
Engage the community with a fundraiser at a restaurant: Groupraise makes it easy to organize a fundraiser at a local restaurant. Go to this website, chose a date and select one of your favorite local restaurants. Wait for confirmation and then invite your family & friends and announce it on social media for additional exposure.
Have a Charity Party at your house: Maybe a spaghetti dinner, a pancake breakfast, a barbecue in your backyard or a wine tasting? The options are endless! Just ask everyone to wear purple and give a short explanation about Rett syndrome. Then take an image and share on Facebook with tagging RMRA (by entering @RockyMountainRettAssociation) and using the hashtags #Cure4Rett, #OverpowerRett. See image below!
Grow a Garden of Hope! Connect with a school/store/bank/salon in your community. Customers sign a GP2C flower for a $1 donation! All funds raised support Rett Syndrome research. (Source: Girl Power2Cure)
Get a group together in a community setting: Organize a picnic, a happy hour at a bar or meet at a community center. No clean up necessary! At the party explain Rett Syndrome and point to a donation jar.
Set up a community event with a purpose: How about a Walk, a Ride, Run? Maybe organize a dance? Or maybe a golf tournament? Think about your hobby and how you can make it beneficial with the idea “Do what you love to help someone else.”
Ask for a donation instead of a gift: Have a birthday coming up and your house is already full of “stuff”? Or maybe your company is looking for a cause? Include a sentence or two about Rett Syndrome and ask for donations to RMRA instead of a gift!
Organize a Charity Sale: Do you like baking? Then maybe a bake sale is a great idea! Or your kids would love a have a lemonade stand. Add a banner explaining Rett Syndrome and explain that you are raising funds for Rett Syndrome. Check out the image of Anna C. offering a lemonade stand to support her sister Maddie in Colorado Springs.
Host an online event: No time to host an event? Start an online event through ColoradoGives.org or Facebook
Help run an ARC collection drive: ARC has created fundraising opportunities where organizations can collect items for ARC and then ARC will give a monetary donation to RMRA.
Support RMRA by liking, commenting and sharing our social media posts and events to raise awareness. Like our Facebook page, Twitter page, Risers4Rett Facebook page or Risers 4 Rett Instagram page. Subscribe to our RMRA Youtube Channel and our Risers 4 Rett Youtube Channel, watch our videos and comment or share them.
Change your profile on social media thanks to Rettsyndrome.org.
Write #OVERPOWERRETT on your arm, post a selfie, and tag Rettsyndrome.org. See examples here.
Encourage the next generation to do good – ask your kids to donation drive in their class. Being generous and kind is a valuable lesson. Check out the picture of Luke, who did a penny drive in his Kindergarten class! Or check out Anna’s Lemonade Stand success.
If you have more ideas how to raise awareness for Rett Syndrome, we would love to hear them! Email our marketing team – thank you.
