City Hall to Turn Blue For Autism Awareness
Hamilton landmark City Hall will be turning blue on April 1 to mark World Autism Awareness Day and the start of Autism Awareness Month.
They will be joined in “turning blue” by some of the world’s most famous buildings such as the Empire State Building in New York City and the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada.
Computer generated photo of a blue tinted City Hall
-
The Mayor of Hamilton, Charles Gosling said:
The Corporation of Hamilton is honoured to support the start of Autism Awareness Month. City Hall, together with hundreds of iconic buildings around the world, will be lit by blue lights to help raise awareness of and support for the issues affecting autism families. The lights of City Hall will be turned on at 7:30pm on Thursday April 1 and will stay lit for the entire month.
Earlier in the day, at 12.30 p.m., City Hall will be the location for an official proclamation by Acting Health Minister Zane DeSilva declaring April 1 as World Autism Awareness Day. The event will also feature a performance by the steels drums of the Bermuda School of Music. Members of Bermuda Autism Support and Education and their families will also be greeting commuters with Johnny Barnes that morning.
[Note: The event is being marked in Bermuda on April 1 this year because of the Good Friday holiday on April 2.]
Ideas for Light It Blue events on and offline include:
- Change your Facebook profile picture to the Light It Up Blue logo and tag at least 10 of your friends.
- You can click here to send an auto-tweet about Light it up blue
- Post on your blog about how you are “lighting it up blue” to raise autism awareness.
- Add the Light It Up Blue logo to your e-mail signature … and type your e-mails in blue!
- Wear blue clothing and ask co-workers and friends to wear blue too.
Jenny Purvey, President of Bermuda Autism Support and Education, said:
We are delighted that Autism Speaks has reached out to Bermuda and that the Corporation of Hamilton has responded so positively in helping to raise awareness of this critical health issue. We would like to encourage other members of the community to ‘go blue’ during April to show their support too.
The April 1 proclamation endorses a United Nations General Assembly’s 2007 resolution declaring World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) to be celebrated on April 2 every year. This UN Resolution is one of the few official disease or disorder-specific UN Days and aims to bring the world’s attention to autism, a pervasive and complex brain disorder that affects tens of millions around the world.
Autism inhibits a person’s ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by extreme behavioural challenges. Autism spectrum disorders are diagnosed in one in 91 children according to recent statistics by American Academy of Pediatric Journal. The prevalence of autism has increased tenfold in the last decade and more children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined.
For more details visit Bermudaautism.org or contact Jenny Purvey, President at 534-4376 or basebda@yahoo.com, or click the banner below.
-
Thank you to those who have giving permission for the City Hall in Hamilton, Bermuda to be flooded with BLUE lights for the month of April to
support the families of the Autistic children not only in Bermuda but worldwide.
As a Great-Aunt of a Bermudian autistic child, I have seen the pain,
the frustration, the financial upset, etc., of such a family and without
community support these families could not survive.
Each and every day is a mountain to climb not only for the parents, siblings but for the autistic child also.
May the light of hope shine on all.