Here are some of the ways people are fulfilling their pledge to do at least one thing to help raise awareness of lupus during Lupus Awareness Month 2010. Are you in the band? Join us! How are you helping to raise awareness of lupus? Tell us how and we will share it with others. Return to the Lupus Awareness Month page.   Employees of Human Genome Sciences - Rockville, Maryland The employees of Human Genome Sciences participated in the Lupus Foundation of America, DC / MD / VA Chapter Walk for Lupus Now® and raised $33,166 from 132 participants. For each of the 512 persons who made a donation to support the team, a paper butterfly was placed on the walk at HGS. The butterflies were arranged to form a giant butterfly that prominently promoted awareness of lupus at the company's Rockville, Maryland headquarters. Click on the photo to see a larger image. Jennifer – Sumner, Washington Being recently diagnosed with SLE, I am sharing LFA's posts on my Facebook profile to promote awareness for my friends & family since they are going through a lot with me in learning about the illness. I'm also encouraging everyone to get on & order your purple bracelets! Marti - Billings, Montana I recently did a spot on my local TV station to promote Lupus Awareness Month. Jennifer – Ramsey, Minnesota To raise awareness for Lupus I am doing the Walk for Lupus Now! I am sending links to get sponsors and raise awareness about Lupus. Lupus runs in my family so it hits close to my heart. I myself have Lupus and so does my aunt. I am walking for Lupus to help find a cure so my daughter doesn't suffer the way I have. The Minneapolis Walk is going to be amazing! Lake Calhoun and a cure for Lupus.....Here we come! Laurel – Englewood, Kentucky I have been posting updates online and letting people know that it is Lupus Awareness Month and how it affects someone they know - ME. LFA, Piedmont Chapter, Charlotte, North Carolina On May 21, 2010 thousands of people throughout the Charlotte area will "sport" a Lupus T-shirt OR the color PURPLE in order to spread awareness of lupus. Cheryl – Leander, Texas I'm re posting the daily tips from the LFA Facebook site. I'm also constantly posting any information I can get together or find on research, medications and anything to raise awareness!!! Stacey – Saint Petersburg, Florida I wear my lupus bracelet every day. I have a blog about lupus at lupuslantern.blogspot.com to help raise awareness and I post articles and information on Facebook & Twitter about lupus. Rebecca Coleman, Edmond, Oklahoma Each member of the Santa Fe Symphonic Band wore a purple wrist band that says "Someone you know has lupus" during the spring band concert. Read the story in the story in the Edmond Sun newspaper. Heidi – Hamburg, Pennsylvania I am telling everyone at work all about the disease, I was not feeling well for the past few years, and was finally diagnosed with Lupus in early 2009. Now that I know what it is, I tell everyone about it, and people were always saying to me "you look ok", but you are not ok. They wouldn't believe me when I would say I am supposed to take it easy, I was a type of person when I couldn't’t say NO, but now I am trying to show them if once in a while I don’t say no, things will get worse. This don't only affect me, but can affect others. Since then my whole family has some form of autoimmune, and the whole community needs to be informed and local doctors, and congress people. We need to push forward a cure, and maybe find out where maybe this disease may have come from for the future of us and others! :) Cynthia, River Rouge, Michigan I have kept my illness a private matter but I have realized that for my sake and my family's sake, this is not the best thing for me. I have decided that in order to get better treatment and to get people to recognize that this is a serious disease, I have to talk openly to anyone who is willing to listen how Lupus affects my daily living. I will ask my family/friends to become a fan of LFA on Facebook/Myspace and will sign the Band Together for Lupus petition. I will post pictures of butterflies as my profile picture weekly and wear my purple band. Marlene – Charlotte, North Carolina I wear my Lupus purple band and tell folks about the Lupus Foundation when they ask about the band. I have e-mailed all of my friends and encouraged them to help spread the word about the Foundation as well. Kingwood-Oxford School Fashion Club - West Hartford, Connecticut Students conducted a benefit fashion show and donated the proceeds to the Connecticut Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America. Read the online story in the West Hartford News. Lorna – Janesville, Wisconsin I have submitted a fundraiser page on LFA of Wisconsin Chapter. I am in process of putting together a "Strides for Lupus Walk at a distance in Janesville, Wisconsin at Rotary Gardens. I am spreading awareness on Facebook page. I am the face of Lupus. I have Discoid and Systemic...I am thankful for everyday he gives me to spread awareness of Lupus...Here is my URL for fundraiser. www.fundraiser.com/lornaspoden is LFA of Wisconsin Chapter...and the Lionheart is lspoden_lupusfoundat49500 where I am trying to raise money for fundraising to help promote awareness and a cure.... Kim – Fleetwood, Pennsylvania I am wearing both of my lupus bands all month and have also written to the "Live Like You Were Dying" segment of my radio station to try and have them share my story on the radio. Kathy – Abilene, Texas I am copy and pasting everything I get on my facebook wall from the LFA, on to my wall so at least the people I know can be aware of the fight. It's not much, but it's something. Samantha – Somewhere in Maine I have been all over the net emailing TV, radio, and newspapers for awareness. Post about it on Facebook and MySpace. I called local hospitals to try and get them to do an awareness or educational seminar because there isn’t a chapter or support group in this state. Anne – Phoenix, Arizona I am raising awareness of lupus by posting information on websites and face book. Alice – Kelso, Washington We did it! In just 5 days 5,000 people pledged their commitment to raise awareness of lupus on Facebook. Let’s continue the momentum. Help us reach 10,000 signatures in 2 weeks! Stephanie – Gloucester, Virginia Explaining to others that my sister, who is in the final stage of Lupus, counts on their support for research. I help others to understand the illness and the research involved could be the last chance of hope for her. We, our family, will also now be active with the walks for Lupus now that our area is included. Last year for the walk I printed several of the walk flyers with my sister's story attached. It was amazing how much awareness it brought and we were able to achieve far above our goal in donations! I keep up on the great strides of Lupus research so that I can be well informed when I share with others. I believe that LFA and current research is going to make a huge difference for the lives of those enduring Lupus. I will do whatever it takes to make anyone I come in contact with aware of Lupus. My journey of supporting my sister and others with Lupus will always continue throughout my life...even when my sister passes on. Unfortunately, I am also going through testing for Lupus or any other auto immune since I have all the symptoms since the birth of my last child three years ago. It scares me but I am a believer in hope! Patti – Calhoun, Georgia I speak at various organizations informing them about Lupus/LFA awareness. Educating "non-lupus" patients is my goal. The whole - "you don't look sick" is hard for some people to understand so I hope with my informational talks, the public will be more informed. Lupus Love – Somewhere Out There I am purchasing the book Lupus Love that explains Lupus to young children who may have a parent or an adult with Lupus and by doing this I am helping researchers find a cure because they donate part of the sales to lupus research. Wow I think we should all do that as well. Lyee – Crystal, Minnesota I'm posting the Lupus Awareness Month daily facts on my Facebook page. Jean – Mount Vernon, Ohio I participated in the Walk for Lupus Now in Cols Ohio. This was my first walk and I'm happy to say we raised nearly $500.00 for lupus research! I am sending this petition to all my friends on Facebook and Yahoo to raise awareness. Anne – Renfew, United Kingdom I am posting this on facebook. Have joined another lupus site, esp lupus uk, send donations and raise awareness in whatever way i am able Melissa – Charleston, West Virginia I have posted weekly Facebook statuses with various lupus facts. In addition, after my daily morning meeting with my co-workers at the medical rehab unit at the hospital, I have shared lupus facts with them. I have also given out lupus bracelets to friends and co-workers. Carolyn – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I created Team Ziggy and we are walking in the Walk for LUPUS NOW in Pittsburgh. Gina Priore and myself raised close to $1,700.00 all by ourselves then have gotten friend to walk with us and show support. We have gone door to door explaining about LUPUS and asking for a donation. We also printed t-shirts for Team ZIGGY and if you gave us $100.00 or more donation we would advertised on the back of our T-shirts. HTTP://DONATE.LUPUS.ORG/GOTO/TEAM.ZIGGY Roxy – Oakland, California A friend of mine posted this link on her Facebook. I am 22 years old and was diagnosed with Lupus last year. I read about Lupus whenever I have the chance and my goal is to learn more about it to share facts and increase awareness in my community. As my friend did, I will let others know about Lupus through various ways such as opening up about my life living with Lupus and posting facts/links onto my websites/social media. Thank you for all your efforts worldwide to find a cure and raise awareness. It is much appreciated. Tracey – Port Charlotte, Florida I am going to college for medical billing and coding and I have a Health Information Class this semester. We have a presentation to do on a person with a disease and how their cultural background plays a role in this. I am doing mine on Lupus of a female Asian cultural background. I work with a young girl 24 who was diagnosed with Lupus at age 14 so I've learned some things from her, although she is American. I share my findings with her to encourage her of people who have been diagnosed and have survived for a long time, have had children. I give her a lot of credit for the strength she has to go through such a life altering disease, I hope this encourages her. Darlene – Winnipeg, Canada Raised Lupus Flags for the week of May 10 Hosted Walk A Block on May 16 Charlene – Newburg, Missouri I have lupus and as a patient I just want people to be aware of it and to help raise money for research and education. Betty – South Holland, Illinois Hi, I just want to share a few things I am doing to spread the word, get in the band about LUPUS. I am in a great support group, "Living Life" with LUPUS Support Group in Chicago and on Facebook, I am the Health coordinator. On LUPUS Day May 10th, I went to the bank, gas station, post office, grocery store and my eye doctor and passed out LUPUS booklets, I told them I have LUPUS but LUPUS don't have me and today is LUPUS Awareness Day. I got some good responses and questions. The “Many Shades of LUPUS” book and a booklet that I put together with more information about LUPUS. On May 29th I will be on a local TV show talking about LUPUS and my support group at Prairie State U. in Chicago Heights, 202 S. Halsted from 12:30 til 3pm. The name of the show is Jacinda Show and she will be promoting it with flyers, commercial in a local radio station, 102.3fm and the internet. www.thejacindashow.com. Also on my support group page I keep all the members updated on the latest news about LUPUS and comforting word in bad and good days, on my discussion board we have all different types of questions. All year long and the rest of my life I will be spreading the word about LUPUS. I have LUPUS going on 16 years now, two total hip replacement and a left shoulder, with other things. Latarsha - Dolton, Illinois I've been dedicating my Facebook profile to Lupus by informing my friends and friends of friends informative information about LUPUS. MOST were very thankful for the information because they had never heard of the disease. Paula - Porto, Portugal I have been gathering signatures, signed the petition and have sent all my contacts the lupus ribbon. Brandi - Turlock, California Its been 14 years since I was diagnosed with Acute Discoid and Subcutaneous Discoid Lupus. Because my lupus is externally visible, I get asked about my skin and end up explaining lupus to every person who asks. This has made very aware of the lack of the general public's awareness about lupus. To raise lupus awareness & education in my community, on May 15,2010, I am holding a MAY IS LUPUS AWARENESS MONTH benefit concert. 100% of all proceeds will be donated to the LFA cause page on facebook. Leslie - New Braunfels, Texas I have added the LFA on my facebook, and constantly update my friends on LFA happenings. For my birthday every year I ask for all of my friends to donate to help find a cure for Lupus. I tell my friends and peers about lupus. My boyfriend is getting Pizza Hut where he works to have all the employees wear purple for a day, they will even be writing in purple all in lupus awareness. Teressa - Spruce Pine, North Carolina My daughter lived with lupus for 7 years of her short life after being diagnosed at age 9. We have supported and had community involvement since her diagnosis and passing .I have been and advocate in Washington DC by sending letters to Congress and local Representatives. Having had lots of positive response from them! I order the purple bands and give to all I come in contact with. My facebook has LFA postings and have participated in signing the petition. Am a member of the closest chapter to where I live...hope to become more and more involved by actually being able to attend walks, rallies and public appointments! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! Graciela - Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina I am 40 years old and i have lupus from I was 15. I speak with people I know about this illness because I recognized that there are many people know nothing about this, include some doctors, in my city. I am informed about the news by this website. I hope one day doctors will search the cure for Lupus. Debrae - Champaign, Illinois The Louana Riley Women's Missionary Society try very hard each month to focus and bring about awareness of a particular health issue for men and women, to the members of our church. This month we are focusing on Lupus. This Sunday, May 16, 2010 the Church Clerk will read an announcement about Lupus asking if the members of Bethel African Methodist Church are in the band? She will explain what that means. We have purchased 100 of the Lupus cards which will be distributed by the Ushers as people come to worship. Melissa - Santa Rosa, California Helping educate people about the disease. Posting things about it on my social networking sites. Inviting friends to join the Lupus Foundation cause on Facebook. The Pretty Party - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Pretty Party conducted its Oklahoma event at Oh! Space Photography Studio on Saturday, May 22. This event features OKC’s professional hairstylists, salons and make-up artists who style each guest and prepare them for a mini-photo shoot. Proceeds from registrations will benefit lupus research and various OKC lupus support groups. LFA, Southeast Florida Chapter - Delray Beach, Florida The LFA, Southeast Florida Chapter secured a wonderful television news features about the importance of lupus awareness. The story appeared on WPTV- Channel 5 and chapter volunteers and staff also taped another interview that was scheduled to run on Miami's NBC affiliate. April - Santa Cruz, California Nearly 2 years ago now, when our son was 12, he was diagnosed with lupus nephritis and our family was turned upside down. Recently a coworker took a class from Love Apple Farm in Ben Lomond, CA where she learned how to grow tomato plants from seeds, with the result that she ended up with over 100 heirloom tomato plants! Since we’re both avid gardeners, she shared with me her dilemma and that afternoon we hatched a plan. We decided to sell the seedlings at work and what ever proceeds we made would go to the LFA. I wrote an email to the company explaining what we wanted to do and a few days later she brought her “babies” in and the results were, in a word, overwhelming. We sold every single plant and made nearly $600 to donate to the LFA. Once the sale was complete, an organization known as The Entrepreneurs Foundation picked up the story and published it in their news letter, further spreading awareness of lupus and demonstrating that even a small group of people can make a difference.