Chapter Plans Awareness Month Event

The chapter is planning an ambitious event for Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month
May 15 through June 15, and you can help make it a success!

The purpose of Awareness Month is to educate the public about TS. Throughout the
month, chapters work to raise awareness, increase education, and reduce stigma
associated with TS. Our awareness program this year is the Hudson Valley TS Fun-AThon.
The concept behind the Fun-A-Thon is similar to a walk-a-thon: participants
gather sponsors to pledge money for every hour they play with any toy or game, or
participate in any activity. For children, this might mean time spent in individual play,
board games, organized sports, or playing in their neighborhood. For adults,
participation can include any sort of leisure activity, including a neighborhood party, mah jongg,
game night, card game, tennis, or dance. You can even participate while you’re involved in an
activity of another organization, such as Little League, Boy or Girl Scouting, or a
community program. The rules are the same for adults and children: if you’re having
fun, you’re playing!

While signing up sponsors will raise money for the chapter, the main reason for the
Fun-A-Thon is to make the public aware of Tourette Syndrome and our chapter. The
chapter will distribute media kits and other publicity items to local newspapers and
radio and television stations, and we will provide informational material for participants
to hand out to sponsors.

The Fun-A-Thon is the largest Awareness Month event the chapter has ever conducted,
and to be successful, we need lots of people to get involved by conducting Fun-A-Thon
play activities. Your event can be as simple as you and your child spending time
together, or as involved as organizing a community party. You can hold your event
indoors or outdoors. You can hold it at home, at a playground, at the facility of another
organization, or at a toy store or other business. If someone is having fun, that’s good
enough for us!

If you would like to participate, just let us know what you plan to do by calling Keith
Tilley at (845) 687-9951 or e-mailing redcoat@hvc.rr.com. Your activity can be held
any time between May 15 and June 15. We’ll list the events on the chapter Web site,
and work with a few of them to increase press coverage of the Fun-A-Thon. If you plan
to approach an organization or business to support you, the chapter will provide you
with an introduction package to help start the conversation. A copy of the sponsor
sign-up sheet is available by clicking below.

The Fun-A-Thon is a great opportunity for all of us to work together to educate the
public about TS, so start thinking of an event to run, and give us a call!

Click on the link to get the sign-up sheet..  Print it out and send it with the money you collect after the event to :  NYHV-TSA, PO Box 517, Ardsley, NY, 10502

Click here for Sponsor Sign-Up Sheet.           Click here for Fact Sheet about TS that you can hand out to friends and family.