Worldwide “Love Remembers Day” is hosting a Compassion Games Coopetition from March 19th – 27th to honor lives lost to Food Induced Anaphylaxis.
Flowers for Anaphylaxis, a volunteer grassroots organization that offers condolences to families that have lost loved ones due to food-induced anaphylaxis, is organizing the third annual worldwide Love Remembers Day from March 19 – 27, 2016.
Aleasa Word, CLC, CEC, founder of the program, and an advocate and educator in the food-allergy community, notes that “when loved ones are lost as a result of food allergies, it’s not fair that they become newsworthy one day and forgotten the next.”
Our Leadership Team at Compassion Games International is inspired by Aleasa’s efforts to honor the lives of those lost to anaphylaxis while amplifying a grassroots movement through the spirit of compassionate action.
We decided it was time to learn more from her about the compassion she has already spread all around the United States, Mexico, and Canada. We had the honor to interview her as she was preparing to bring this Coopetition to the world through the Compassion Games platform. We asked her a few questions about Love Remembers Day.
What inspired you to start “Love Remembers Day”?
It all started when she conceived her daughter in 2004. The first year of her life was filled with days of her baby being sick. After transitioning her daughter to cow’s milk she soon discovered her daughter at only 1 year of age had a diagnosis of 13 different
allergies. This began to open her eyes and heart to a major problem for many families across the country. Soon after this she started a support group for families with similar allergy challenges she was having with her daughter. She has always been passionate about supporting marginalized parts of communities.
There are 15 million people that have food allergies in the US and 6 million of them are children. There are about 300 – 600 ofthese people yearly that are losing their lives because of allergic reactions. Food allergy Epinephrine medication on average costs $400-$600 for two injectors. There are many states that have ambulances, prisons, nurses stations in schools, and colleges that do not have epinephrine accessible to individuals with emergency reactions. As she realized this reality she eventually started Love Remembers Day with her daughter in 2014. She wanted to honor lives that have been lost because of food allergies. Now in 2016 she has grown this movement from locally in Delaware to many communities in US, Mexico, and Canada. Her daughter makes bracelets of honor and they send cards to families where a precious life was taken. “We have to do more than this. We can’t continue to just talk about it. I must actually talk to families with these issues.”
The theme for 2016 is “Compassion for Anaphylaxis” and that is what prompted the collaboration with the Compassion Games. Since launching this Compassion Games Coopetition, she has confirmed teams from as far away as Dubai getting involved!
What are some of the ways that teams are getting involved?
The symbolic color for food allergy awareness is teal. One way for communities to participate in the Coopetition is to “Ignite The Night” and have teal colored lights and candles lit at night to honor the lives that have been lost.
There are also teams in communities that are building a list of compassionate doctors. These doctors care about food allergy awareness and want to take a stand for better regulations and laws.
There are children 12- 15 years old organizing kindness team efforts in healthy competition for the most compassionate impact points. Kindness activities might include writing letters to people that have lost loved ones through food allergies, wearing teal bracelets, making a teal kindness chain at school, and giving a anaphylaxis medication coupon to a family in need.
How is the Compassion Games helping “Love Remembers Day”?
The spirit of Compassion Games brings positive energy, kindness, and hope to the movement . We want people that have loved ones that have died to remember the good times and increase kindness in action. This is an example of taking the experience of grief and sadness and channeling that energy into making a positive impact and helpful change. We want to help families that are dealing with food allergy challenges to know they are not alone. There are resources being made available to teams and sub teams and by focusing on this challenge together we are combining our stories and amplifying compassion at a global level.
Do you have any awards and incentives for teams to win the Compassion Games?
No matter what happens, everyone wins by participating. Love Remembers Day will be two special awards at the end of the Coopetition; The Trailblazer Award & The Legacy Award.
If you are interested in being a team for this “Love Remembers Day” Coopetition check out Aleasa Word’s website here! Also you can find their active Facebook page and Twitter handle here too!