#34 Days to FASDay - Battle of the States

Let's do something big!!!! 

Laura Nagle and the Kentucky folks have challenged us to a state-by-state Battle of FASD Awareness.... 

Hey Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Advocates,

Want to tip over a boat together? See, we have a problem. You already know what it is: women are hearing some very confusing messages in the media about drinking during pregnancy. Instead of wasting any more time complaining about it, think about what could happen if this TEAM of ours moved fast to the same side of the boat. In May, we did a survey to identify our first collective target and the lucky winner is: Dr Oz! (A great choice, y’all -- when he recommends Chia Seeds, the Chia Seed People run out of stock!)

Our Vision:

Between August 5th – 15th, Dr Oz’s production staff will receive 5,000 emails requesting that he dedicate a segment of his show to this public health issue. (Do you think they’ve ever gotten 5,000 emails about a single topic in ten days before???)

We are not going to argue the science of small amounts of alcohol on the brain. Instead we want Dr Oz to be gripped by our concern that messages about “safe” drinking are being misunderstood, twisted and passed around among women – and therefore, No Alcohol is the only no-risk public health message. We will be compelling, passionate and informative in our short emails. We will give it our best shot and feel satisfied knowing that we did SOMETHING.

I've made it easy for you!!!
 
Here are three different examples of short message you can send to the show. If you can, please personalize it with your particular brand of passion for this issue. If you don’t have time to add a sentence of your own, PLEASE still send one of these templates.

Sample Emails for Dr. Oz

Lately women have been exposed to an alarming number of media messages stating that it’s ok to drink small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy. It worries me that we are creating a generation of young women who believe that they can safely drink while pregnant. Alongside these headlines, women also need to hear the research that unequivocally states that alcohol is a neurotoxin – a poison to their baby’s developing brain. Is there a safe amount of a poison? Each woman gets to make her own decision about that – but it’s unfair to expect her to make that choice without giving her all the information first. I’m asking you to please devote a segment of your show to this timely public health issue. The only no-risk message for all women is No Alcohol During Pregnancy.  For more information, please contact Kathleen Tavenner Mitchell, Vice-President and National Spokesperson of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS): (202) 785-4585 or mitchell@nofas.org

In June, all major news media ran headlines stating that drinking during pregnancy might be safe. Each woman does have the right to make her own choices about her pregnancy. However, it’s unfair to put her in this position without making sure that she has accurate, factual information with which to make her decision. When the media tells a woman that it is safe for her to drink “lightly”, is she also being told that alcohol is a widely documented teratogen, a substance proven to damage or kill cells as they develop in the fetus? Unfortunately a woman has to sift through advice from friends, stories from neighbors and contradictory magazine articles in order to make a decision on behalf of her unborn child. I’m asking you to please devote a segment of your show to this timely public health issue. The only no-risk message for all women is No Alcohol During Pregnancy. For more information, please contact Kathleen Tavenner Mitchell, Vice-President and National Spokesperson of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS): (202) 785-4585 or mitchell@nofas.org

I’d like to bring to your attention an issue that is very important to me – drinking and pregnancy. There is a lot of confusion among young women about what “level” of drinking is safe. Is it fair to tell women that it’s safe to drink when they’re pregnant – and then blame them if their child has problems later on? Biological mothers of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders experience blame, shame and stigma while pregnant women are being advised on national television that drinking during pregnancy is safe. No one can control how a woman interprets the message that “light drinking” is ok. Do the media tell women it’s ok to smoke just a little when they’re pregnant? Consume just a tiny amount of lead? No. Women get very clear guidance on these subjects. With alcohol, women are left to make a weighty decision without hearing the fact that alcohol is one of the most damaging substances to a fetal brain. I’m asking you to please devote a segment of your show to this timely public health issue. The only no-risk message for all women is No Alcohol During Pregnancy. For more information, please contact Kathleen Tavenner Mitchell, Vice-President and National Spokesperson of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS): (202) 785-4585 or mitchell@nofas.org

Here’s the link to the website – I tried it out and it took about 90 seconds to follow the link, type in my info and copy / paste one of these templates. 

You can tip over the boat for babies and their mamas in THREE TINY STEPS:

1. Contact the show yourself. Seriously, it takes 90 seconds – and every email matters. In the drop-box Subject line, choose “I HAVE AN IDEA FOR A SHOW”)  http://www.doctoroz.com/contact
2. Pass this email on to all of your contacts, with your endorsement.
3. Click on our survey – it only has one question: Where Are You From? https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HelloDrOz

We want to credit every member of our FASD Team. We’ll post the State-By-State results on our website for FASD Day – and we’ll figure out something snazzy to do for the winning state.

(Let me warn you –
Kentucky is gonna be hard to beat!)

Little things add up to big things. Just look at what Bonnie, Teresa and Brian did in starting the original idea!!!! Thank you for being a part of this.

With joy and gratitude,

Laura in KY

Please visit Kentucky's Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders website at www.kyfasd.org

and find us on facebook: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Kentucky

Online Manual - www.fasday.com

Seminar - Or try our easy, effective, exciting 1½ hour program that walks you

 through the morning of Sept.9: http://www.come-over.to/FASDAY/ABCDEFG/ 

(material from 2002 has excellent ideas)

Click Here For Our Past 60 Links for a Great Fetal Alcohol Awareness Day!

Follow us through the next 60 days and plan your local or personal project to build awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder - Each One Can Reach One!

Click Here For Our Past 60 Links for a Great Fetal Alcohol Awareness Day!

Follow us through the next 60 days and plan your local or personal project to build awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder - Each One Can Reach One!

Need family support visit www.toolboxparent.com

Need ideas for adults living with challenges of FASD visit www.braidedcord.net

Need information on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders visit www.betterendings.org

Interested in service dog for FASD visit www.thechancerchronicles.com

#35 Days To FASDay - Invocation

FASDay Invocation & Poem

(This beautiful and inclusive prayer was written and delivered by Sister Eileen Power at the Toronto observance, and has been updated. It’s freely available for anyone in the world who wants to use it. If you use it, please credit Sister Eileen Power, and mention that she is a teaching sister of the Congregation of Notre Dame in Toronto.)

by Sr. Eileen Power, CND

O Great Spirit, Creator of the Universe, we gather on the ninth minute of the ninth hour of the ninth day of the ninth month in the (first year of the New Millennium).
Our connection with our whole world is made visible in a special way today.
People in every time zone gather, as we gather, to change our world.
By our coming together and our working together, we will make the world better.
Accept our prayers with all who are praising you this very moment and with all who will gather today.
As we begin (this millennium), we are filled with hope,
O Ever-Creating God,
that in the circle of life,
in the cosmos, in the womb,
in our hearts,
your hope goes round,
your strength goes round,
your power goes round,
your love goes round and
our hearts and spirits are joined in a new birth.

We gather to intensify our awareness of the fragile beauty of life from the first moment of conception, of the privilege of the nine months of pregnancy, and of our resolve to help all children and adults with fetal substance disorders to lead happier and more fulfilling lives.

All of our words, gestures and hopes of today:
Our silence and our bells,
Our dance and our reflection,
Our words and our drums,
Our children and our knots,
Our lullabies and our resolve,
All of our words, gestures and hopes of today,
Are powerful reminders that life is your gift to us.
May the drumming of our hearts, echoing the drum of the heartbeat of the universe, be the sound of your tender love.
May the knot of our connections be ever firm. And may this special moment on this special day continue to mark the beginning of change, for mothers, for fathers, for all children and for those yet-to-be, and for all of us who join in spirit today around this unique planet, so beautiful, so fragile, so large and yet so small. Together, we are family.

“The Integrity of Hope” (optional)

This is a warm and positive way to end your event, particularly if it is read by a birth mother or person living with FASDs.

The Integrity of Hope

by Michael Kami, 1993

Just as the gentle flutter of a butterfly's wing

Can change the path of a hurricane

So the gentle beat of a child's heart

Can change the destiny of the world.

Children are our future and our hope.

Only they determine humanity's progress.

We must protect all children.

We must feed all children.

We must educate all children.

We must love all children.

They are we and we are they,

In a joint journey to a better future!

#36 Days To FASDay - Need proclamation copy?

Did you get a proclamation from a city, county or state leader?

Here's an example of State Verbage -
but city proclamations are great too!


Office of the Governor

PROCLAMATION
*FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY*

WHEREAS, healthy children are the most important resource in the great State of (your city or state); and
WHEREAS, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the leading cause of mental retardation in (your city or state), the United States, and all of western civilization; and
WHEREAS, as many as 1 in every 100 individuals in these United States may be adversely affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol; and
WHEREAS, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Effects are a root cause of numerous social disorders, including learning disabilities, juvenile delinquency, school drop-outs, homelessness, unemployment, mental illness, and crime; and
WHEREAS, economists estimate that each individual with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Effects will cost the U.S. taxpayer nearly two million dollars in his or her lifetime; and
WHEREAS, people around the world will be observing International FAS Day on September 9, 20___, in order that on the ninth day of the ninth month of the year, the world will remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should abstain from alcohol,
NOW, THEREFORE, I, (governor’s name), Governor of the State of (your state), do hereby proclaim September 9, 20___ as
*FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY*
in (your state), to promote awareness of the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol, to increase compassion for those individuals so affected, to minimize further effects, to ensure healthier communities across (your state) in the future.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of (your state)
______________________________ (Governor’s name)
GOVERNOR

DONE at the Capitol in (state capital) on this _______ day of _____________ in the year of Our Lord Two Thousand and ___

ATTEST: ______________________________ (Name of Secretary of State) Secretary of State

#37 Days To FASDay - Send invitations

SEND INVITATIONS TO YOUR EVENT!

The Invitation can be simple to do.
This can be e-mailed, and personalized as much as possible -- e.g., add a note in your own handwriting.


Here is the link to E-Vite or post it on your FACEBOOK in events and add your friends

(Your letterhead and date)

Dear Friend,

In one “Magic Minute,” on September 9, at 9:09 a.m., you can help us begin to change the world.
Please join us for a breakfast video premiere on September 9, at 8:45 a.m., at (location) as we connect with others around the world who will be observing the second annual International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day.

Researchers now believe that as many as 1 in 100 North Americans are struggling with brain damage caused when their mothers consumed alcohol in pregnancy. This means that right here in (city, town, or region) of the (check number of babies born locally each year) 0000 babies born annually, about 00 will never reach the intellectual potential they possessed when they were conceived.

These children will be at high risk of mental retardation or learning disabilities, school drop-out, juvenile delinquency, alcohol or drug addiction, trouble with the law, incarceration, homelessness, and poverty. Nearly 100% will be diagnosed with mental illness during their lifetimes. Research indicates that each person living with fetal alcohol damage will cost the taxpayers about $2 million in his or her lifetime.

Our FAS Day program will begin with the reading of the civic/(state?) FAS Day proclamation, and then we will join numerous communities in this time zone, in the “Minute of Reflection.” On the ninth minute of the ninth hour of the ninth day of the ninth month of the first year in this new Millennium, we will ask the world to remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should not consume alcohol. We also ask the world to remember those individuals who are struggling with the effects of maternal drinking before they were born.

We feel privileged to offer the premiere of the new (either: all-Canadian video, Different Directions: Understanding Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, (24 mins.) (OR) "FAS: Everybody's Baby" (35 mins) distributed by Fasstar Enterprises and John Kellerman, a young man with FAS.

It will be followed by (keynote speaker or panel).

By learning more about FAS, you can help us to make a difference.

Please RSVP (name and number) before (date), and indicate how many people in your group will be attending.

Yours truly,
(Your name and position)

#38 Days To FASDay - FASDay Guide

Easy FASDAY Guide
ABCs

A. Agenda for the FAS Day Breakfast Premiere

We have mapped out a simple, informal breakfast premiere for any size group, which begins at 8:45 a.m. on September 9, and lasts between 1 ½ - 2 hours. It includes some of the suggestions in the longer “How-to-do FAS Day Manual,” which you can find on the Internet at www.fasday.com 

Your event should begin promptly at 8:50 a.m.,
so we suggest you invite your guests for 8:45.

Suggested agenda:
8:50 a.m. Opening Remarks
8:55 a.m. Reading of local FAS Day proclamation
9:00 a.m. Reading of ecumenical Invocation (optional)
9:09 a.m. “Minute of Reflection.”

Your group may want to participate in the International Bell Concordance, linking up with others who will be ringing bells, chimes and carillons nine times at 9:09 a.m. in time zones around the world. Or you may want a poem, prayer, song, or just a minute of simple silence.

9:10 a.m. Refreshments.

Participants serve themselves a drink and a snack at an informal buffet table, then...
9:20 a.m. Video Premiere.
Sit down to watch the new video. (Popcorn optional.)

Following video: brief washroom break.

9:50 a.m. Presentation.

Informal speaker or speakers plus (optional) brief musical entertainment – such as a local children’s choir or local musician – OR panel discussion.

Download these Presentation Notes prepared by Teresa Kellerman.

10:30 a.m. Poem. Program closes with reading of a brief poem, “The Integrity of Hope,” by Michael Kami, possibly by a birth mother or survivor of FAS. (Optional)

B. Buying the Videos

• To obtain the 24-min. Canadian video, Different Directions: Understanding Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, check in with Pat Spadetto of Ontario’s North for the Children, $50 includes shipping and handling. The video will be provided free to all Ontario CAPC and Aboriginal Head Start sites. This honest and inspiring video looks at two children with FAS -- one five-year-old girl, and one young adult man -- and their remarkable mothers, one a birth mother, and one an adoptive mom. Pat can be reached by email: tbfnorth@onlink.net or by phone: Kirkland Lake (705) 567-5926, fax (705) 567-2466.
• The 35-min. U.S. video is available for only $20 (US Dollars) plus $5 S&H. This video now comes with a free set of handouts and a free 8½ x 11 color glossy poster "101 Reasons" as seen here: http://come-over.to/FAS/littleone.htm. The video can be ordered here: http://come-over.to/FAS/store/fasvideo.htm.
• For a double whammy, why not show BOTH videos?
• If you want to join up online with international FAS Day activists, visit www.fasworld.com and join the FASDAY mail list.

c. CHECKLIST (download here)

#39 Days To FASDay - USA FASDay Resolution - Yeah!

August 1, 2012 the Senate approved, by unanimous consent....

On August 1, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 536) recognizing September 9, 2012, as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day.
The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) includes several findings:

• The term “fetal alcohol spectrum disorders” includes a broader range of conditions than the term “fetal alcohol syndrome” and has replaced the term “fetal alcohol syndrome” as the umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother consumed alcohol during her pregnancy;

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are the leading cause of cognitive disability in Western civilization, including the United States, and are 100 percent preventable;

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are a major cause of numerous social disorders, including learning disabilities, school failure, juvenile delinquency, homelessness, unemployment, mental illness, and crime;

• In February 1999, a small group of parents with children who suffer from fetal alcohol spectrum disorders united to promote awareness of the devastating consequences of alcohol consumption during pregnancy by establishing International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day; and

• On the ninth day of the ninth month of each year since 1999, communities around the world have observed International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day.

The resolution calls upon people in the United States to “observe National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day” with ceremonies and events that “promote awareness of the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol; increase compassion for individuals affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol; minimize the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol; and ensure healthier communities across the United States.”

#40 Days To FASDay - Press Releases - Get Latest Data

Begin to Prepare Your Media Release Ideas for International FASDay - Get your media strategy started 

Don't forget your other public places to share

(Jeff Noble has some great ideas) at 

• blogs 
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• twitter
• Google plus
• community events calendar 
• church bulletins
• school and association newsletters 

Suggested Media Release for Canada (should fit on single page):

For Immediate ReleaseContact:
(contact person’s name)
(contact person’s phone number)
(use actual date)
(contact person’s e-mail address)
(Name of your organization)

Fights FAS: International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Day Video Premiere, Sept. 9
“Our house was in turmoil from the time he got up until the time he fell asleep, probably about ten o’clock – and then I would crawl into bed, totally exhausted, and cry myself to sleep every night because I felt like such a failure,” says Guelph’s Chris Margetson, parent of a son with FAS, in a compelling new Ontario-produced video.
The 25-minute video, “Different Directions: Understanding Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,” will be offered, along with an informal breakfast, when (Name of your organization) marks International FAS Awareness Day on September 9 at 8:45 a.m., at (location), and observes the worldwide “Minute of Reflection” at 9:09 a.m.
“We’ll be joining parents and professionals around the world in building awareness about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,” says (name and position of spokesperson). “On this second annual FAS Awareness Day, people from Nunavut to New Zealand will participate. On the ninth minute of the ninth hour of the ninth month, we ask the world to remember that during the nine months of pregnancy, a woman should not drink alcohol.”
(name of your city or town) will be among many Canadian communities to use FAS Day to launch the new video, produced by Ontario’s North for the Children and Toronto’s Breaking the Cycle with the assistance of Health Canada.
The video focuses on two children with FAS and their mothers: 5-year-old Brenda, and her adoptive mother, Kim Meawasige, both of aboriginal ancestry; and young adult Joe and his birth mother Chris Margetson, of non-native background. Both Meawasige and Margetson work with FAS professionally, and bring to their work compassionate understanding of the struggle faced daily by children with FAS – and their families.
In one of the more touching moments in the video, Meawasige, adoptive mother of four children with FAS/FAE, bursts into tears. “Knowing how many kids are lost, either killed or living on the street with FAS and FAE, it scares me...One of the reasons I adopted (my children) is because I know that ...no matter how weird our family is, we’re family and we’ll be there for them.”
Following the screening of the video, (what else is on your program?) All are welcome. For more information, call (contact name and number).

Suggested Media Release for U.S. (should fit on single page):

For Immediate Release
Contact:
(contact person’s name)
(contact person’s phone number)
(use actual date)
(contact person’s e-mail address)
(Name of your organization)

Fights FAS: International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Day Video Premiere, Sept. 9

The 35-minute video, "FAS: Everybody's Baby" (that focuses on teenagers who struggle with the effects of alcohol in their lives) will be offered, along with an informal breakfast, when (Name of your organization) marks International FAS Awareness Day on September 9 at 8:45 a.m., at (location), and observes the worldwide “Minute of Reflection” at 9:09 a.m.
“We’ll be joining parents and professionals around the world in building awareness about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,” says (name and position of spokesperson). “On this second annual FAS Awareness Day, people from Alaska to New Zealand will participate. On the ninth minute of the ninth hour of the ninth month, we ask the world to remember that during the nine months of pregnancy, a woman should not drink alcohol.”
(name of your city or town) will be among many U.S.communities to use FAS Day to launch the new video, produced by the U.S. Dept.of Education.
Promoting zero tolerance for alcohol, tobacco, and drugs during pregnancy, the video is particularly aimed at problem teenagers who are at risk for both unplanned pregnancy and substance abuse. The film concludes with a reflection from adolescents on what parenting is all about, how it begins in the womb, and the responsibilities of the mother and father. “It’s an excellent film for teenagers,” says Teresa Kellerman of Tucson’s FAS Community Resource Centre, “and it will make an impact on viewers of all ages.”
Following the screening of the video, (what else is on your program?) All are welcome. For more information, call (contact name and number).