Awareness Day 2023

Thursday June 22nd is Rare Chromosome & Gene Disorder Awareness Day.

It’s a day to celebrate, educate and inform… So many people haven’t heard about chromosome & gene disorders……yet!

We also want to reach out to those who need help or might not have heard of rare chromosome and gene disorders or Unique and we want to celebrate all the unique children and adults and their amazing achievements. Help us shine bright together for all those living with and affected by rare chromosome and gene disorders. Here’s a few things you can do for #Rarechromoday…

Take on your own ‘Unique23’ challenge….

During June 2023, in the lead up to awareness day, we’re asking you to take on a special challenge and it’s one for all abilities. Just use the theme 23 for 23! You could push a wheelchair a mile a day for 23 days, turn the TV off for an hour a day for 23 days, run a mile a day, wear blue and yellow, stay silent for 23 minutes a day, whatever you’re able to do. Ask people to sponsor you and when they do, tell them about Unique and rare chromosome disorders.

If you’d like to take part, just email us on info@rarechromo.org with the subject Unique23

Here are a few ideas for your ‘Unique23’….

Donate your change: Why not fill up a small jar with your change?
Guess the number of sweets in a jar: fill a jar with sweeties (count them first!) and ask your family, friends or work colleagues to make a donation to guess the number and win the sweets!
Hold a Dress-Down Day/Silly Sock Day/Wear Something colourful (or something odd!) day: A simple way to raise funds at work or school… just donate a small sum to take part.
Hold a Games night – either virtual or in person: play your favourite games with family and friends – something that works just as well on Zoom/Teams etc as it does in-person.
Be a Superhero for the day: Have a party for the kids and get them dressing up as a superhero….or if you have a favourite, you could dress up too!
Gardening/Lawn mowing/odd jobs: Help a friend or neighbour out by offering to mow their lawn or tidy up their garden in return for a donation.
Lucky dip: Seek donations to take part in a lucky dip for small presents provided by your work colleagues.
Sponsored silence: This one might not be so easy for some! Get sponsored to stay silent for a long period of time for charity.
Sponsored ‘No TV’: give up television for an hour/a day or even an hour a day for a week.
Quiz Night: Devise a quiz that’ll challenge your friends and ask for a donation to enter.

Do some baking with Unique’s Big Blue Baking Kit

Cake sales are always a big hit and our Baking Kit is sure to help yours be a huge success…..

Big Blue Bake Sale Kit and Poster

https://www.rarechromo.org/files/Bakesalekit.pdf

To download details about the Baking Kit, plus a poster to use for your bake sale, just click here. To give your cake sale and stylish and totally ‘unique’ feel, we’ve also designed a selection of cupcake flags and cupcake toppers.

Click here for the Cupcake flags (with instructions for use) or Click here for the Cupcake toppers

Click here to order edible rice paper toppers from www.mycupcaketoppers.co.uk/products/unique

Wear something Unique and donate a £1/$1

Show you care by wearing blue & yellow on June 22nd and click here to make a donation

TELL TELL TELL! Sharing your experience can be so rewarding for you and your family and helps others to realise they are not alone. Why not use this opportunity to post something on social media to help raise awareness?

Need some help with Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? Just email Arti on arti@rarechromo.org today!

We can only go on supporting families, providing information and raising awareness with your help! If you need some help, please email craig@rarechromo.org ….. he’ll be pleased to hear from you.

Wear that you care!

Our awareness wristbands and discreet pin badges are available from our online shop.

Click here or visit www.unique-chromo-shop.myshopify.com/

Other ways to get involved could include:
•Snap a photo of your child and share on all your social media accounts using #uniquenotalone #rarechromo #rarechromoday

•Share a video telling people about chromosome disorders, your affected family member and how Unique helps with information, networking and support

If you’re happy to share a snippet of your life with the general public via Unique’s website and social media, please email a photo and few words to Arti at arti@rarechromo.org. Sharing stories in this way really helps to raise awareness of the realities of Unique families.

Whatever you do – have fun! Your contribution, however small you think it is, is absolutely vital.

Martina speaks about her daughter, Lucy, and shares their story about how Unique offers hope to families by showing them that they are never alone.

For more information about Unique, please email info@rarechromo.org