May is HD awareness month

The HD community can retain the momentum, and
sustain and enhance our offerings.
We intend to continue to offer new services to
reach out and support more people through
programs like Staying Strong and Family
Days. We have broadened and deepened the
level of Individual and Family Services we
offer and we’ve strategically increased our
investment in research.

In recent years, the Society was able to aside
some money to fund research and to support
families in the event of a rainy day. Over the
past four years, up to our last fiscal year,
Society revenue has increased by over 61%.
The current economic environment might
bring a little rain into our lives but we must
keep focused on the section of the journey
before us today. At the 2/3 mark in our fiscal
year, it looks like together we will be close to
making our 2008/09 budget.

We are looking forward to the upcoming
year with great anticipation. Plans are
still on the drawing board but we will be
celebrating our 35th year as a Society with
memorable events and promotions. Our
generous anonymous donor is helping to
commemorate our milestone by giving an
additional 35% for every gift we receive over
$2.2 million!

Under the leadership of Michael Hayden
and Blair Leavitt at UBC, the international
HD community is coming to Vancouver from
September 12 to 15th for the World Congress
on Huntington Disease. It will be an exciting
and uplifting event designed to bring families
and scientists together as one in the fight
against HD. It’s a chance to see the richness
and diversity of the extended HD family from
around the world, including the international
movement of family organizations. It’s also
an opportunity to see Canadian leadership in
action.

This reminds me that we are not alone.
We are part of a world class international
coalition. People, like our anonymous
donor, are with us and are cheering us on.
They are impressed and are encouraging
us to continue to climb higher to make our
collective dream a reality.

As a fellow traveler, I say thank you for your
continued support along the way and for
being part of a wonderful success story.

May is Huntington

Disease Awareness Month

By: Katie Dance, Communications Officer
Spring has arrived bringing not only warm
weather and green grass, but also the arrival
of Huntington Disease Awareness Month.
The Huntington Society of Canada has
a Public Service Announcement (PSA)
campaign to mark Awareness Month, and the
campaign continues this year to help raise
awareness of this little known disease.
The campaign entitled “What Will I Be When
I Grow Up” juxtaposes the image of a young
child in a school classroom in front of a
blackboard that carries a message about
what her future holds when she grows up
and manifests Huntington disease (HD)
symptoms. The campaign is hard hitting, and
grabs the attention and makes an impact on
the general public, who generally do not have
any knowledge about Huntington disease.
As with all of our previous Public Awareness
Campaigns, this new campaign is not
intended for the Huntington community. Our
campaign is aimed at the general public who
know very little about HD, or have never even
heard of it before. Although the Huntington
community will see it in the media from
time to time, it is not targeted to people who
understand the disease. Our community
already knows what it is like to live with this
disease.

The PSA campaign appears in newspapers
and on radio stations across the country.
Keep an eye on the media during the month
of May not only for our PSA, but for stories
that may be appearing in local media.
To access the PSA (both print and radio)
please visit the HSC website
www.huntingtonsociety.ca.

It is never too late to start thinking about how
you are going to create awareness in your
community. You don’t have to be a member of
a chapter executive or an area representative
or even a regular Huntington Society of
Canada (HSC) volunteer to help us with the
vital tasks associated with May Awareness
2009!

There are many ways to take awareness
about Huntington disease to the public.
Creating dialogue about life with HD and
what HSC is doing about it will mobilize new
segments of communities from awareness
to action. These actions include giving the
critically needed gifts of the time and funds
to make a permanent difference in the lives
of those living with HD.

While events happen across the country
throughout the year, May gives volunteers
and Chapters an extra opportunity to
raise awareness. Please check out the
calendar of events on the HSC website www.
huntingtonsociety.ca for events happening in
your community.

Events across the country
in May
GEMS Walk- Toronto, ON
HD Quad Adventure- Winnipeg, MB
Peterborough Huntington for a Cure Relay
Walk- Peterborough, ON
Calgary Walk-a-Thon- Calgary, AB
Ottawa Run Weekend/Marathon- Ottawa, ON
Russell Historical Walk- Russell, ON