breast+cancer+ribbon2When I woke up this morning I had no idea how many “October is (insert name here) Awareness Month” messages I would be receiving. I was amazed by the diversity of all of these messages, ironically October is also Diversity Awareness month. In the past I have read many articles that referred to October as the “Month” month and it wasn’t until I did the research that I truly understood what was meant by that statement. In fact there are more organizations and causes that claim, some even being signed into Public Law, October as their big push for fund raising and awareness campaigns than any other month. Each organization has different reasons for choosing October as their month which can be a bit confusing for all of us. Especially when one very important cause, Breast Cancer Awareness, has pretty much dominated the scene since it’s inception in 1984. If anything the work of Susan G. Komen for the cure, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and countless others should serve as an inspiration for other grassroots movements to make a difference.

It was the deluge of well intentioned invitations to join these many causes that made want to start my research. I wondered to myself, how many other causes share this month with the Granddaddy(or should I say Grandmama) of them all Breast Cancer Awareness? Researching this quandary became a huge and somewhat overwhelming task. I found that there are so many different causes that claim October as their awareness month that I’m not completely sure I could find them all.  But I thought that I’d give you some of the ones that stood out amongst the plethora of “month” months.

National Breast Cancer Awareness: The Susan G. Komen Foundation

Lupus Awareness: Lupus Foundation of America (In 2008 the LFA and affiliates designated May as Lupus Awareness Month to include special events into the observance)

Spina Bifida Awareness :Spina Bifida Association

Liver Awareness : American Liver Association

Celiac Sprue Awareness: Celiac Sprue Association

Healthy Lung Month: American Lung Association

Down Syndrome Awareness: National Down Syndrome Socitey

Brain Injury Awareness: Brain Injury Association of America

Domestic Violence Awareness Month: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Energy Awareness: Federal Energy Management Program

Cyber Security Awareness: National Cyber Security Alliance

Jazz Awareness: Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered History Month: GLBTHistoryMonth.com

Hispanic Heritage Month: HispanicHeritageMonth.gov