Are you struggling for gift ideas this holiday season? Don’t know what to get for those hard-to-buy-for family members and friends? If so, consider making a donation in a loved one’s name to help provide supports for people living with epilepsy, a neurological disorder affecting one in 100 Canadians.
Why is donating to Epilepsy Ontario worthwhile? For starters, it’s a disorder so prevalent it likely affects someone you know. To put it into perspective, more than 300,000 Canadians are living with epilepsy, more than the number of Canadians living with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or autism combined, says Jeanette Schepp, Epilepsy Ontario’s resource development co-ordinator.
Added to this, people living with epilepsy are often faced with stigmas affecting their employment, education and other human rights. Part of your donation to Epilepsy Ontario will go towards educating employers, schools and the public about epilepsy to help raise awareness of what epilepsy is to help break barriers for people living with the disorder.
“Those contributions can make a significant difference in a person’s life,” says Schepp.
Not only does Epilepsy Ontario help raise awareness and educate people about the disorder, the organization also serves as a valuable resource for people living with epilepsy and their families in other ways.
For example, if a person who has a seizure disorder is having challenges with medications, Epilepsy Ontario can connect them with epilepsy experts like Suzanne Nurse who can provide recommendations and guidance to where they can receive more information.
There are many ways people can donate to Epilepsy Ontario. The easiest and most efficient way is to donate through Epilepsy Ontario’s Canada Helps site, but you can also contact the organization directly if you wish to give by cheque or credit card.
If you wish to extend a donation beyond the holiday season, you can visit Epilepsy Ontario’s online donation site to sign up for the monthly giving program, which will automatically deduct donations via credit card.
Additionally, if you sign up for the monthly giving program with a minimum $10 per month donation with your Visa credit card, Visa will make a one-time $10 donation to the charity you choose.
Schepp underscores that you do not need to donate large sums of money to make a difference to people living with epilepsy.
“It can be as simple as exchanging one $5 Starbuck’s coffee per month for a charitable gift,” she says.
To learn more about supporting Epilepsy Ontario, please check out our Twitter and Facebook pages.
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Writer: Deron Hamel
