Today is Purple Day® and is Epilepsy Ireland's biggest fundraising day of the year. We are appealing to the public to please make a vital donation to help support our work.
Epilepsy is a very common condition and there are over 45,000 people living with epilepsy in Ireland and Epilepsy Ireland is the national organisation supporting and representing people with epilepsy and their families. Our vision is to achieve a society where no person's life is limited by epilepsy and we work towards that vision by:
- providing support and information to people with epilepsy and their families along their journeys with epilepsy, no matter the stage
- providing training and education programmes about epilepsy - not only to people with epilepsy and their families, but to wider communities as well
- by leading awareness campaigns about epilepsy to educate the public about epilepsy, and advocating for positive policy changes to help improve the lives of people living with epilepsy
- by investing in Irish epilepsy, aimed at better understanding the condition and to develop potential treatments
All this work is outlined in further detail across our website but we have outlined some brief examples of this work below:
- Our support and information services receive approximately 20,000 contacts per year, showing it is a service that is depended upon by people with epilepsy and their families
- Each year, we train approximately 3,000 professionals in epilepsy awareness and the administration of Buccal Midazolam (i.e, to teachers supporting a child with epilepsy in the classroom)
- This year, eligibility to the Free Travel scheme will be expanded, thanks to a longstanding campaign from Epilepsy Ireland - allowing those who are medically unfit to drive for at least a year to avail of a free travel pass
- We have invested over €1.5million in various epilepsy research projects over the last decade - with our latest investment being supporting a project aiming to develop resources for women with epilepsy from preconception to postpartum.
Epilepsy Ireland’s services are vital to people in living with epilepsy across Ireland. However, the cost of providing these services is well in excess of the state funding we receive. You can learn more about this by visiting our 'Use of Funds' section of our website.
This is why we need your vital donations for Purple Day®. Any donation, no matter the size, will help continue our journey towards a society where no person's life is limited by epilepsy.
Thank you in advance for your support!
About Purple Day®
Purple Day® is an international grassroots campaign founded by Canadian woman, Cassidy Megan. The day sees people across the world encouraged to wear purple in the name of epilepsy awareness and well-known buildings across the globe also light up purple in recognition of the estimated 50 million people living with epilepsy across the globe. Purple Day® is a Registered Trademark of The Anita Kaufmann Foundation.
For more on Purple Day®, visit Purpledayeveryday.org.