Partners in Project Green shares Days of Awareness each month to spread awareness and start conversations. These days may have a social, historical, or sustainable significance. Below is a small sampling of important days to acknowledge or remember.
World Alzheimer’s Month
Each year, Septembers marks World Alzheimer’s Month to raise awareness, educate, and demystify Alzheimer’s Disease, a neurocognitive disease that destroys brain cells causing thinking ability and memory to deteriorate over time. To help prevent the onset of this disease, it is important to understand the associated risks including physical inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, air pollution, infrequent social contact, poor education, obesity, and depression. Since Alzheimer’s disease is irreversible, the best prevention is a proactive one. Show your support by prioritizing your health and encouraging others to do the same!
Labour Day- September 4
Although many think of Labour Day as the last long weekend of Summer or the start of the school year, this day celebrates worker rights and the labour union movement. It is observed in both Canada and the United States on the first Monday of September and is a public statutory holiday across the country. To celebrate, march in solidarity at Toronto and York Region Council’s Labour Day Parade and advocate for diversity, fair treatment, and healthy conditions in all workplaces.
Terry Fox Run- September 17
The Terry Fox Run is an annual fall tradition in Canada that raises money for cancer research. Terry Fox was an eighteen-year-old boy from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia that was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma just above the knee and underwent a leg amputation changing his life forever. In his battle to combat cancer, he set off on an ambitious marathon across the country with an artificial leg to raise funds for cancer research. He made it 5,373 km before his cancer unfortunately spread to his lungs and eventually ended his life. Before his death, he raised $1 from every Canadian and the Terry Fox Run to date has now raised over $850 million for cancer research. To show you support, host, or participate in a run, volunteer, or sponsor a team/participant.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation- September 30
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours Indigenous children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, including their families and communities. To commemorate this tragic and painful history, show your support by wearing an orange t-shirt on September 30th as a symbol of the culture, freedom, and self-esteem that was stripped away from Indigenous children for generations. #EveryChildMatters
