Throughout the month of May, buildings and monuments across Canada will be lighting up in the HD colours – blue (for Huntington disease) and purple (for Juvenile Huntington disease) –to raise awareness.
This movement is made possible by volunteers like Melissa Kozak, who worked tirelessly to canvas Canadian sites to #LightItUp4HD. Melissa helped to coordinate the campaign by reaching out to past volunteers and sites to participate again in 2018, as well as new sites to gain more participants.
Melissa is recently on maternity leave so had extra time on her hands and wanted to volunteer with the HD cause from home. “I’ve been reaching out to a variety of Canadian landmarks and the response we’ve gotten from across the country has been really inspiring,” says Melissa. “I can’t wait to see these landmarks lit up over the course of the month of May.”
For Melissa, lighting it up is about more than just raising awareness for HD. It is about connecting the HD communities from around the world for the whole month.
“I’m so excited to be part of Light It Up for HD this year,” says Melissa. “I love the idea of Light It Up because it’s something that has the ability to unite all of us affected across the country and even across the world. I can be looking at a monument that’s been lit up in Toronto, and know that my sister is looking at another monument that’s been lit up in Vancouver.”
Click here to see all of the sites participating in #LightItUp4HD this month thanks to Melissa’s hard work.
Click here to see everything we’re doing to celebrate Huntington disease Awareness Month.