National Microtia Awareness Day is November 9th!

National Microtia Awareness Day is just 1 week away, November 9th!

We look forward to helping raise awareness with so many of you all over the world, even though our awareness day is a National Day here in the United States. Everyone is welcome to join together just like so many did last year, everywhere.

Here are some ideas for helping raise awareness on National Microtia Awareness Day, November 9th, 2017:

1. Many parents, teachers, and children plan to help raise awareness at their schools. You can briefly talk about differences (including Microtia and Atresia), talk about hearing loss and hearing devices, and just spread kindness on this day. Everyone has something going on and it makes everyone happy to feel included, or to have someone just say “Hi” to you instead of staring or being mean in one manner or another. Be sure to include your school’s principal and staff on what you would like to do on our National Microtia Awareness Day so your efforts can be embraced fully.

2. Many plan to bring in treats for the class like awareness cup cakes, cookies, etc…

3. Many will be wearing our official National Microtia Awareness Day t-shirts, helping raise awareness on November 9th about Microtia and Atresia. Thank you to those of you who ordered our t-shirts last year and to those of you who ordered them this year!

4. On Facebook, many can participate in spreading awareness through social media by simply changing your profile picture to our awareness ribbon logo or your cover to our National Day logo. (see attached below). We also have a Microtia Awareness frame that you can all use through FB. Just search for Microtia Awareness in the frame search tab and it should come up. If not, I have posted about an easy way to create the frame on your own with the already created awareness overlay so you can place it over your favorite photo and have the same frame. (see previous posts on our page). We look forward to seeing so many pictures posted of all of you in your shirts or wearing blue with our blue ribbons so we can all enjoy seeing how special our day is and the impact it has on the public (world) for so many of us who have loved ones born with Microtia and Atresia. Let’s join together and make a difference with Ear Community!

5. Many plan to read a little from maybe the Wonder book (for the movie that will be releasing on November 17th), read from one of the Microtia and Atresia books that can be found on Ear Community’s website, or you can play this clip to the class or for little kids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUCWQB8Tii0&t=346s (the clip starts about 2 minutes in and only takes a few moments). You can even read from your favorite book about hearing loss or ask the teacher to read to the class and touch on accepting differences.

6. Here is a picture of a bunny born with only one ear so children realize that animals and people can be born without one or both ears. The kids can enjoy passing this picture around if they would like or just show it to them. (see attached). We have a veterinarian in our support group (here with me in Colorado near CSU in Forth Collins) who called me one day and told me that she knows what Microtia and Atresia is since she has had some animal patients affected by this, but she also let me know she had a daughter born with Microtia and Atresia and she knew exactly what her daughter had and loved finding our organization.

7. Many networks, organizations, and medical device companies will also be blogging about our National Microtia Awareness Day on social media in hopes of helping raise awareness about Microtia and Atresia, helping support our Ear Community Organization, and to help educate everyone about missing and underdeveloped ears, hearing loss, and facial challenges in hopes that everyone will learn a bit more and be kinder and just say “hi” in public.

8. There is also a large movement taking place during the month of November with the movie “Wonder” releasing on November 17th. I think many of us are excited to see “Wonder” and hope that it will touch the hearts of children and adults everywhere, helping promote kindness. Among other challenges that Auggie has in this movie, he also happens to have Microtia. Microtia is mentioned in the Wonder book and we are the proud organization to have established National Microtia Awareness Day for our children and adults to have and not feel alone. Please choose kindness. It makes everyone happier.

Thank you so much and we are so very excited!!!
Melissa Tumblin
and
our entire Board of Directors and support group admins for
Ear Community
www.EarCommunity.org