What awareness programs take place during the month of April? I looked all over the internet and found a lot of websites with the following information, which is repeated on many sites.
However, some of the sites were full of ads and it was difficult to get to the answer! But, I found these awareness programs that I am sharing:
My father is a Vietnam war veteran. He was drafted out of college in 1970s and served for 1-1/2 years. He was stationed as a military police officer in Neu Ulm, Germany. He is not paralyzed, but I have much respect for all veterans and wanted to share this awareness program. Anyone else either a veteran or have someone in your family who is a veteran or still serving? Thank you for your service!
Paralyzed Veterans Awareness Month
This April awareness month focuses on the challenges that veterans living with spinal cord injuries face. Rally support for these injured veterans and their families by raising funds for their cause.
You never know who among your friends and family has suffered the trauma of a sexual assault. In high school, for my graphic arts project, I created and printed sexual awareness brochures for the local sexual assault nonprofit organization. The organization has changed names since then but is still helping people in my community. Have you looked into helping a similar organization in your community? They often have their wish lists published on their website. Check it out.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Educate your community or workplace this April about ways to prevent sexual violence. Create a safe place for people to share stories and resources about the healing process ahead.
This stress awareness message is from the American Heart Association. Don’t let stress take a toll on your heart. Information from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) states:
Taking breaks throughout the day may help relieve stress, ease tensions, or lessen worry. But we often don’t take breaks. Even 10 minutes is enough to improve your mental health. Let’s commit to taking 10 minutes today to do something for ourselves.
Quick Activities to Improve Your Emotional Well-Being
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Be active—Take a dance break! Lift weights. Do push-ups or sit-ups. Or kick around a soccer ball for a few minutes.
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Close your eyes, take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate.
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Write three things you are grateful for.
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Check in with yourself—take time to ask yourself how you are feeling.
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Laugh! Think of someone who makes you laugh or the last time you laughed so hard you cried.
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Find an inspiring song or quote and write it down (or screenshot it) so you have it nearby.
Visit the site for more information (not full of ads, yay!) https://www.cdc.gov/emotional-wellbeing/features/reduce-stress.htm
Stress Awareness Month
Mental health can positively or negatively impact your physical health and risk factors for heart disease and stroke, according to “Psychological Health, Well-Being, and the Mind-Heart-Body Connection,” a scientific statement in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
National Poetry Month
National Poetry Month, a celebration of poetry that takes place each April, was introduced in 1996 and is organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States.
Who among my @followers writes poetry? I think song lyrics count as poetry.
This article “9 Creative Writing Exercises for Poets – 2024” can be found on the MasterClass website at
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/9-creative-writing-exercises-for-poets
From MasterClass:
Find inspiration in your environment and everyday activities.
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Take a walk. Go on a walk and bring your notebook. Look around and write down observations on what you see: a tree, a person, a neighborhood. Try starting a poem by using some of these descriptions. Make a decision about its structure: what will the stanzas look like? Will you use enjambment or will you use punctuation? Do you want to use long sentences or short?
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Find an interesting object. Whether you’re in an office or a kitchen, a park or a library, choose an object you can see and describe it. Does it evoke personal memories? Does it have cultural implications, or elicit a certain emotion? Try starting a poem with this object and its associations to guide you.
So there you have it: several awareness programs for April that you can focus on all month. Let me know if you do anything about any of these programs.
I searched my blog for any posts I might have written on poetry and didn’t find any. I’ll have to change that! Then, I searched for “stress” and A LOT of posts showed up including this one for cleaning ceiling fans! LOL. https://livingwithdana.com/2024/03/cleaning-challenge-ceiling-fans/
Thank you for reading this blog post and checking out the rest of my blog. Please note: @Walmart’s Beauty Glow-Up Event is happening now through April 28. As a #walmartpartner I’ve put my favorite beauty products on my Walmart storefront with #affiliate links for each item so you can go directly to any item you are interested in. This is my beauty collection link: https://walmrt.us/3PHPAVE
I also am an Amazon #affiliate and this link brings you to the Amazon Daily Deals page! It’s where I start looking for deals:
These are my social media channels in case you want to see some of my posts that haven’t made it to my blog:
https://www.facebook.com/livingwithdana
https://www.instagram.com/danascammon/
https://www.pinterest.com/lifewithdana/
https://twitter.com/_LivingWithDana
https://www.linkedin.com/company/living-with-dana/
https://www.youtube.com/@DanaScammon
