Hello, and Happy October!
Fall is in full swing, and with Halloween just around the corner, I know everyone is feeling the celebratory spirit! Costumes and candy, pumpkins and decorations, all help define the month of October, and they are certainly causes for excitement.
However, with kindness in mind (and it’s always on my mind), October also exemplifies some great causes that deserve our attention. October is a month of awareness for many causes, but for this post, I focus on two in particular: Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Blindness Awareness Month. I signify both of these months, not simply because it’s October, but also because they amplify causes dear to my heart.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
In October of 2015, my grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer. At just twelve-years-old, I didn’t understand the greater implications of this diagnosis, but rather just one overwhelming emotion: fear.
With it being October, though, I quickly felt immense support. I remember wearing pink to school and connecting with all of the other kids who had similar experiences. I remember seeing the ribbons on trees and doors. I remember my grandma’s pink scarf and the smiles plus encouraging words mere strangers would give her when she wore it. I also learned a lot more about breast cancer and what it actually means since my school took the time to give educational guidance on the illness to honor Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Eventually, for twelve-year-old me, October came to an end, and the pink ribbons and outward push for breast cancer awareness quieted down. I never forgot the overwhelming support of my community though. The love and kindness overwhelmed my sense of fear, and I owe a lot of that not just to general kindness, but also to how October—as Breast Cancer Awareness month—helps remind us to show extra care to breast cancer patients and survivors.
My grandma beat her cancer, and for that I am so grateful. Not everyone is so lucky though, which is why awareness and education are so key. The National Breast Cancer Foundation attributes the 44% drop in the death rate for breast cancer to celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness month since raised awareness has helped push many to take action, both with early screenings and detection, and with key advances in research and treatment.
I strongly encourage you to look through the National Breast Cancer Foundation. They have some great educational resources about breast cancer to help you understand just why October and awareness are so important.
If you have the means, they also have the option to donate, and this month only you can designate exactly what aspect of their organization you want to donate to depending on what you’re most passionate about. Your options include “Greatest Need,” “Screening,” “Support Services,” and “Education.” I donated $11 to “Screening,” and it is my hope that those who can follow suit to support the cause that means the most to them.
Blindness Awareness Month
Of course, October isn’t just a month for Breast Cancer Awareness—it is also an emblem for so many more causes. One cause in particular, World Blindness Awareness Month, is also a cause I am passionate about.
Upon entering college, I joined the Theta Alpha chapter of Delta Gamma Fraternity (a sorority), and through my membership, I have had the honor of serving my sorority’s national philanthropy: Service for Sight, founded in 1936 to support a member with visual impairments. Service for Sight provides access and advocacy for people living with blindness or low vision and supports them as they gain the tools they need to live unencumbered lives and have inclusive experiences.
Through my time in Delta Gamma, I have grown especially attached to Service for Sight. I know it is a cause not many people are necessarily aware of, but it is also deeply important since so much of life is made easier by our ability to see. Loss of sight, which can happen to anyone, intrinsically affects quality of life, and it is Delta Gamma’s (and my) mission to help bridge the gap that visual impairment creates regarding that quality of life.
A big part of bridging that gap starts with awareness, which is why October being World Blindness Awareness Month is so important. The month strives to educate people on vision loss, eye diseases, research, and treatments through sharing information or first-hand stories. The month includes World Sight Day (the second Thursday of October), which draws attention to the cause, and White Cane Day (October 15th), founded by Lyndon B. Johnson to raise awareness regarding those who use white canes. It is White Cane Day because people with visual impairments who need to use a cane for mobility always use white canes since it helps signify their needs to pedestrians and motorists around them.
For more information, please follow the above links or give this World Health Organization Blindness and Vision Impairment page a look. Each site has great information regarding what visual impairments actually entail.
Our philanthropy monetarily supports the five schools for children who are blind or visually impaired that the Delta Gamma Foundation has founded. These schools include:
- Blind Children’s Center, Los Angeles
- Foundation for Blind Children, Phoenix
- Anchor Center for Blind Children, Denver
- Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired, Kansas City
- Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments, St. Louis
My sorority chapter specifically aids the Blind Children’s Center in Los Angeles through additional service events such as creating textile toys for touch or packing gift bags for teachers.
I have also helped my chapter support plenty of local organizations/communities, such as guide dog organizations or partner organizations that also devote their mission to the idea of Service for Sight. This support includes making dog toys, baking dog treats, creating informational flyers for awareness, or simply decorating cards.
All of these little service events are actually activities you can do at home. If that sounds appealing , here is an infographic detailing how to create dog toys at home:
This details one way of making dog toys, and there are many, many ways to do so. You could also look at this DIY Dog Toy video for another method.
For donating, I suggest looking into the OC Guide Dogs or OC Animal Care.
Kindness, Always
October may include Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Blindness Awareness Month, but it is also ADHD Awareness Month, Health Literacy Month, and so much more. You never know when a certain month may be highlighting a cause dear to you, so whenever you remember you can always give it a quick search. If nothing else, even learning a simple fact from your search—like that 8 million Americans are affected by visual impairments—makes a world of difference by increasing awareness. At the end of the day, that’s what awareness months are all about.
More than anything, please remember , while having an “awareness month” is certainly a great motivation for showing kindness towards a specific cause, we obviously do not need a certain “month” to give back to our communities. Kindness is a constant need for all people, and whatever you do to spread kindness is sure to make an impact. Yes, in October that may mean wearing a pink ribbon or posting for White Cane Day. But it can also mean including everyone in trick-or-treating or handing out pumpkin flavored treats to community members.
However you show kindness, we want to hear about it, so please feel free to use our Moments of Kindness Survey. Our top stories will get a special shoutout on a blog post, so definitely submit!
As always, thank you for reading! With the close of this post, I leave you with the reminder to always think with kindness. A mentality of kindness can help shape some real great community moments, and it is an important life-long skill. You will also feel great after every kind act!
With kindness and warmth (and thoughts of pumpkin cookies),
Maddie
Websites used:
Delta Gamma, Service for Sight
