October is National Rett Awareness Month

Posted on September 2, 2014 by

Hello all!

One of the wonderful book bloggers I’ve had the fortune of meeting over the last few years, Aimee from AimeeKay’s Reviews and Randomness, recently contacted me about a great cause, “Readers for Rett Awareness.” I will let Aimee take it from here, but if you don’t know anything about Rett’s – which I didn’t before hearing from Aimee – I encourage you to read on.

Thanks for reading,

Jenn Q

Aimee from AimeeKay’s Reviews and Randomness and (Rae Z. Ryans) are co-hosting an event together. Readers for Rett Awareness’s goal is to help spread the word about Rett’s Syndrome and introduce the families and girls suffering from this awful disease.

(If you want to find out more about Rett’s itself, please feel free to follow this link, and see what it’s about. To actually meet a sufferer of Rett’s Syndrome click here.)

Details of the event:

Readers for Rett is currently seeking authors, bloggers, Rett families, and small businesses to help us spread the word about Rett Syndrome. We are looking for people interested in opportunities to host families on their blogs and allow them to tell their stories to your readers, hold interviews on their blogs, and spread the word about this disease affecting families and their daughters. We would also like to pair up Rett’s families/girls with sponsors who will offer giveaways to event attendees on their behalf. Bookish related items are best, but anything from gift cards to trinkets is appreciated*.

What is Rett Syndrome?

QUICK FACTS:

Debilitating neurological (movement) disorder that predominantly affects females. (Boys generally die from it because of the genetics involved)
Baby girls are born “normal” but begin to lose acquired skills between the ages of 1-3 years old.
Caused by a single gene mutation that leads to underproduction of an important brain protein.
The leading genetic cause of severe impairment in girls – most cannot speak, walk or use their hands.
Despite their physical disabilities, girls with Rett Syndrome are believed to be functioning mentally at a much higher level than previously thought.
As prevalent as Cystic Fibrosis, ALS and Huntington’s.
Another little girl is born with Rett Syndrome every 90 minutes.
Rett Syndrome is a potentially REVERSIBLE disorder. Research has proven once protein levels are back to normal levels, symptoms subside.

The awareness party will be held on Facebook, so yes, you will need a Facebook account to participate as a sponsor for the event. However, if you don’t have one, but still wish to help spread the word, we can work with that too.

Time and date: We plan to start the event October 3rd @ 10 a.m. CDT. However the length is still up in the air until we find out exactly how many sponsors and families we have to work with. We are planning it for October as that is National Rett Awareness Month. *Sponsors donating prizes will be responsible for shipping costs.

If you are interested in learning more, participating, or helping Readers for Rett spread the word please fill out the Readers For Rett’s Event Form.

We also have buttons to share if you want to set up your own post to help promote this event or show your support for the Rett Awareness cause. Please email us a link to your post once it is live, if you do so; we can give thanks at the event to all who have helped in any way. If you do have a Facebook account/page, please consider changing your profile and header (free images below) in October to help spread the word. Right-Click and save as for Facebook use or feel free to swipe the code for web based use.