To You and Yours

Great American Smokeout

 

The Great American Smokeout

The American Cancer Society marks the Great American Smokeout on the third Thursday of November each year by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day. By quitting — even for one day — smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life – one that can lead to reducing cancer risk.

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet about 42 million Americans still smoke cigarettes — a bit under 1 in every 5 adults. As of 2012, there were also 13.4 million cigar smokers in the US, and 2.3 million who smoke tobacco in pipes — other dangerous and addictive forms of tobacco.

Why World Day of Remembrance?

The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) is observed on the third Sunday of November each year by an increasing number of countries on every continent around the world. This day is dedicated to remembering the many millions killed or injured in road crashes and their families and communities, as well as to pay tribute to the dedicated emergency crews, police and medical professionals who daily deal with the traumatic aftermath of road death and injury.

Why is there a need for this day?

Road deaths and injuries are sudden, violent, traumatic events, the impact of which is long-lasting, often permanent. Each year, millions of newly injured and bereaved people from every corner of the world are added to the countless millions already suffering as the result of a road crash.

The burden of grief and distress experienced by this huge number of people is all the greater because many of the victims are young, because many of the crashes could and should have been prevented and because the response to road death and injury and to victims and families is often inadequate, unsympathetic, and inappropriate to the loss of life or quality of life.

This special Remembrance Day is intended to respond to the great need of road crash victims for public recognition of their loss and suffering (see Messages & Thoughts from victims).

Alzheimer’s in the United States

Just a few facts.

• 1-in-9 Americans over 65 has Alzheimer’s disease. (Alzheimer’s Association)
• When the first wave of baby boomers reaches age 85 (in 2031), it is projected that more than 3 million people age 85 and older will have Alzheimer’s. (Alzheimer’s Association)
• One third of Americans over age 85 are afflicted with the illness. (Alzheimer’s Association)
• 5.2 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. (Alzheimer’s Association)
• Unless a cure is found, more than 13 million Americans will have the disease by 2050. (Alzheimer’s Association)
• Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in America. (Centers for Disease Control)1-in-3 seniors die with Alzheimer’s or another kind of dementia. (Centers for Disease Control)
• Typical life expectancy after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is 4-to-8 years. (Alzheimer’s Association)
• In 2014, the 85-years-and-older population includes about 2 million people with Alzheimer’s disease, or 40 percent of all people with Alzheimer’s age 65 and older. (Alzheimer’s Association)
• By 2050, there could be as many as 7 million people age 85 and older with Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for half (51 percent) of all people 65 and older with Alzheimer’s. (Alzheimer’s Association)
• Proportion of People With Alzheimer’s Disease in the United States by Age: (Alzheimer’s Association) 85+ years – 38%,  75-84 years, 44%, 65-74 years, 15%, <65 years, 4%

 

 

The Facts

July Is National Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month

Each year at this time, we commemorate the estimated 300,000 children and their families in the United States who face the everyday challenges of living with juvenile arthritis (JA) and related diseases. Juvenile arthritis is an umbrella term used to describe the many autoimmune and inflammatory conditions or pediatric rheumatic diseases that can develop in children and teens.

The various types of juvenile arthritis share many common symptoms, like pain, joint swelling, redness and warmth, but each type of JA is distinct and has its own unique characteristics and how it affects the body.

Common Types of Juvenile Arthritis

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)

Considered the most common form of childhood arthritis, JIA includes six subtypes: oligoarthritis, polyarthritis, systemic, enthesitis-related, juvenile psoriatic arthritis or undifferentiated.

Juvenile dermatomyositis

An inflammatory disease, juvenile dermatomyositis causes muscle weakness and a skin rash on the eyelids and knuckles.

Juvenile lupus

Lupus is an autoimmune disease. The most common form is systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE. Lupus can affect the joints, skin, kidneys, blood and other parts of the body.

Juvenile scleroderma

Scleroderma, which literally means “hard skin,” describes a group of conditions that can cause the skin to tighten and harden.

Kawasaki disease

This disease causes blood vessel inflammation that can lead to heart complications.

Mixed connective tissue disease

This disease may include features of arthritis, lupus dermatomyositis and scleroderma, and is associated with very high levels of a particular antinuclear antibody called anti-RNP.

Fibromyalgia

This chronic pain syndrome is an arthritis-related condition, which can cause stiffness and aching, along with fatigue, disrupted sleep and other symptoms. More common in girls, fibromyalgia is seldom diagnosed before puberty.

Emancipation Proclamation

 

19th of June is known as Juneteenth, an African-American holiday begun at the end of slavery days. Its origins are Texan, not Louisianan, but Juneteenth has long had strong roots in the South and has since spread all over the country as a time for African-Americans to commemorate their freedom and accomplishments.

Happy Father’s Day

History of Father’s Day

It would be interesting to know how Father’s Day came into practice and celebrated worldwide with an equal sincerity and respect as any other significant holidays. Here’s a short history on the holiday, and meaning of the different colors of roses to be worn that Day. Get to know what are the truest reasons associated for the celebration of this special celebration. You may even refer the page to others to share the information by clicking on the link given below.

 

There are many theories associated with the observance of Father’s Day; the two theories which are quite known prevalent for the celebration of the first Father’s Day celebration in the United States are as stated. The first theory to regarding the celebration of Father’s Day was established on June 19, 1908 in the State of Washington when an independent celebration of Father’s Day, a few weeks later, took place on 5th July, 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia.

Hence the first Father’s Day was recognized in West Virginia, while a church service was going on at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South. Grace Golden Clayton, who reportedly suggested the service to the pastor at Williams Memorial, is said to have been inspired to celebrate fathers post a mine explosion, a few months before, in the nearby community of Monongah. This explosion ended 361 lives, many of them fathers and recent immigrants to the States from Italy.

Another influencing force which further reinforced the establishment of Father’s Day was that of Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd. Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Hence, since Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane in June. Although she initially thought of celebrating Father’s Day on June 5 in Spokane (which was her father’s birthday), the other people involved did not agree they would have enough time for an appropriate celebration. Thus, the first Father’s Day was held instead on the third Sunday in the month of June. The first June Father’s Day was celebrated on 19th June, 1908, in Spokane, WA, at the Spokane YMCA. Politician and orator, William Jennings Bryan appreciated the concept immediately and began extending his support widely. Father’s Day was then initiated by President Woodrow Wilson, who was the first U.S. President to celebrate it on June 1916, a party his family hosted. President Calvin Coolidge declared it a national holiday in 1924. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson, by official order, made Father’s Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. The holiday was not formally considered until 1972, when it was officially acknowledged by a Congressional Act setting it permanently on the third Sunday in June all over the nation.

Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/fathersday/history.htm#OZgRbT5UFOVeE63s.99

Remember

How to display our Flag.

Happy Mom’s Day

Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar. While dates and celebrations vary, Mother’s Day most commonly falls on the second Sunday in May and traditionally involves presenting mothers with flowers, cards and other gifts.

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service.

Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s.

DID YOU KNOW?

More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent.

ANN REEVES JARVIS AND JULIA WARD HOWE

The origins of Mother’s Day as celebrated in the United States date back to the 19th century. In the years before the Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children.

These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

Another precursor to Mother’s Day came from the abolitionist and suffragette Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” a call to action that asked mothers to unite in promoting world peace. In 1873 Howe campaigned for a “Mother’s Peace Day” to be celebrated every June 2.

Other early Mother’s Day pioneers include Juliet Calhoun Blakely, a temperance activist who inspired a local Mother’s Day in Albion, Michigan, in the 1870s. The duo of Mary Towles Sasseen and Frank Hering, meanwhile, both worked to organize a Mothers’ Day in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some have even called Hering “the father of Mothers’ Day.