A LOT is happening let me tell you. I'm really excited about everything that's going on and at the end of this post I'm going to give you 3 ways to get involved!
Did you know that April is Autism Awareness Month? April 2nd, 2013 will be the 6th annual World Autism Awareness Day! Autism organizations and families around the world celebrate by fundraising and awareness events. Famous buildings and monuments around the world will be lit blue for autism this year. 1 in 88 children are affected by autism (1 in 54 boys). It is a disorder that is affecting many lives not only in our country, but in places all over the world...including Uganda.
I've been chatting with an amazing woman who started a center for understanding autism in Uganda. She's been telling me all about their plans for Autism Awareness Month and will hopefully be sending me an email telling me how it goes, complete with pictures, so I can tell you all about it here in the States! I am THRILLED that there are already people in Uganda that are working hard to raise awareness of this issue and hopefully dispel the cultural myths about autism by providing the facts. Keep checking back here and be on the look out for a super fun post about the center in Uganda sometime in the near future! :)
Why else should you be excited about the month of April? Well...
Did you know that there is an easy way for you to help alleviate global poverty and help ensure a livelihood for poor communities? Buy fair trade!
Most of you probably know that I am involved in Sooners for Fair Trade at the University of Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner!) and I absolutely love it! We are a campus group that's all about raising awareness of fair trade products. When you buy something that's fair trade certified you're supporting people who live in poverty and giving them the chance to work in good conditions and receive fair pay for their work. Coffee, chocolate, jewelry, purses, journals, shoes. All these products can be purchased as fair trade.
For the month of April, an awesome fair trade fashion company, Mata Traders, has chosen us, Sooners for Fair Trade, as their charity of the month! This means that a portion of their profits go to us as a group! Anything purchased from Mata Traders with the code: SOONERS will end up benefitting Sooners for Fair Trade. How cool! We are so excited and honored that they chose us. They seriously have some awesome products! I especially love their dresses and earrings and plan on purchasing some things myself in the month of April:)
So, there it is! Some really exciting things going on in April that you can get excited about too! And, as promised, three really great ways to get involved and make an impact:
1) Raise awareness of autism and give support to the individuals/families affected by it. Change your cover photo on facebook like I did and wear blue on April 2nd! You can also visit www.autismspeaks.org to learn more about the disorder and order an autism speaks tshirt to raise awareness.
2) Buy something fun, ethical, and fashionable items from Mata Traders using the code: SOONERS
www.matatraders.com (Remember to wait until April!!)
3) PRAY. Ask God for the word to be spread about autism in Uganda so that people there would learn the truth about it. That families of children with autism there would not be ashamed anymore and would strive to help their child succeed!
Also, pray for Sooners for Fair Trade as we take on some really huge projects this year. That we could be successful and influential in making fair trade products widely used.
Thanks for reading and for getting excited with me! Just 5 days until April!
-Natalie
Want to know even more?? Thought so. Check out these videos & links:
Light it up blue for autism video:
"Like" Sooners for Fair Trade on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/SoonersForFairTrade?ref=ts&fref=ts
