May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month, a chance for Lyme patients, activists and educators to spread information on how to prevent Lyme and tick-borne diseases. We’ve created a list of several things that you, your family, and friends, can do to help spread awareness.
Create a Fundraiser On LymeDisease.org
By participating in fundraising, you are helping LymeDisease.org advocate for change, raise awareness and fund research that can improve patients’ lives living with Lyme disease. Turn any activity you’re passionate about into a fundraiser and manage it through your personal dashboard. Pledge your birthday, throw a dinner party, or even get your pets involved with a photo shoot. READ MORE
Get Your LymeGear
Through your LymeGear purchase, you will be benefiting LymeDisease.org’s mission — empowering patients through science-based advocacy by providing them with the educational, communications, advocacy, and research tools essential to improve our understanding of Lyme disease and develop effective diagnostic tests and treatments. READ MORE
Arrange a Lyme education event
You can organize a Lyme education event just about anywhere. Some examples include schools, libraries, camps, YMCAs, gyms, doctor’s offices, parks, fire departments, and even the workplace. This is a great way to get everyone involved while raising awareness and educating the public on Lyme disease prevention. READ MORE
Ask your local government to create a proclamation
A proclamation is a way for mayors, council members, and other elected representatives to commend people or make a public announcement. This is a simple process that allows you to educate local officials about how much Lyme disease is affecting their region and create a newsworthy event to raise awareness. READ MORE
Get your Lyme message on TV
Local TV stations want to tell stories that directly impact their viewers. A good way to capture their interest is to demonstrate how local people are at risk from ticks and the diseases they can carry. READ MORE.
Organize a Lymewalk
A Lymewalk can be a good way to get your community involved in raising awareness of Lyme disease and to raise money for Lyme research. READ MORE.
Put up a billboard
LymeDisease.org has worked with patient advocacy groups to put up billboards along highways in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. You can do this, too! Use our Symptom Checklist artwork to save money on design work. READ MORE
Schedule a screening of Under Our Skin
The award-winning documentary “Under Our Skin” and its sequel “Emergence” sparked widespread conversation about Lyme disease. You can keep the discussion going, whether you’re an individual or a group, by setting up a personalized screening of either film. This is a great way to educate others about the disease. READ MORE
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper
Writing a letter to the editor of your local or regional newspaper can be an easy and effective way to reach a large audience with your Lyme awareness message. READ MORE
Write a press release
You can create a press release highlighting a special event and send it to newspapers, TV and radio stations. You can also share it on social media. READ MORE
Help us reach our goal of 20,000 MyLymeData participants
If you have been diagnosed with Lyme disease and live in the United States, you are eligible to join our patient registry. MyLymeData is the largest long-term study ever conducted on Lyme disease, with over 18,000 patients enrolled so far. Gathering the experience of actual Lyme patients provides a more accurate picture to researchers, a key factor in the search for better Lyme treatments and eventually, a cure.
Participants take surveys on their own computers at a time that is convenient for them. If patients are unable to enroll themselves, spouses or other family members can do it on their behalf. If you are ineligible to take part in the study, you can still support us by sharing MyLymeData with everyone you know. By doing so you help raise awareness and encourage action. READ MORE
No act is too small. If you educate even one person, you have done something worthwhile. We hope this list will inspire you to act!
