Gearing up for #HatsOn4CPC next month

The second Friday in October, which this year falls on Friday 13 October, is a day chosen for raising international awareness of the work of children’s hospices and children’s palliative care (CPC) services worldwide. The campaign is called Hats On for Children’s Palliative Care with the hashtag #HatsOn4CPC.

The day aims to raise funds for children’s palliative care, but more importantly, to raise awareness of the rights of very sick children with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses to receive palliative care.

We know that there are in excess of 21 million children in the world who live with a life-limiting illness or condition that will or could drastically shorten their lives but only 1% of these children are accessing palliative care services. Services that do exist are mostly in the developed world. Those in the developing world are often underfunded and inadequate to meet the overwhelming need. This results in millions of  very sick children with a poor quality of life and suffer from pain and other distressing symptoms which could be controlled and significantly improved with palliative care.

By wearing a hat to work or school on Friday 13 October, you are showing that you care about these children.

How can you get involved?

Hats On for CPC is a wonderful way to raise awareness and funds for children’s hospices and palliative care services. You can get involved at various levels, either as:

• As an individual
• As a group e.g. school, class or company
• As a charity e.g. a children’s palliative care service 

Three simple steps

To be a part of the Hats On for CPC day, just follow these 3 simple steps:

Participate as an individual:

1. Wear a hat to work, school or college on Friday 13 October
2. Take a selfie, add the hashtag #HatsOn4CPC, upload to your Facebook page and tag ICPCN’s Facebook page
3. Make a donation of your choosing to ICPCN in honour of the day.

Participate as a group: 

Host your own ‘Hats On 4 CPC’ event by following these 3 simple steps:

1. Download the free materials on the ICPCN website.
2. Ask people to wear a hat on Friday 13 October and share photos with us on social media using the hashtag #HatsOn4CPC
3. Donate proceeds from your event to ICPCN or your local children’s hospice or children’s palliative care service.

Participate as a charity:

1. Register your event with us. You will receive instructions and a special media pack to help you host a successful Hats On for CPC fundraising day. 
2. Encourage your community (schools, businesses and other organisations) to support your organisation by purchasing stickers from your charity, wearing a hat on Friday 13 October and/or holding a Hats On for CPC event to raise funds for your organisation.
3. Share your photos on social media with #HatsOn4CPC and tag ICPCN.

Learn more at: http://www.icpcn.org/hatson4cpc/

This article originally appeared on the International Children’s edition of ehospice.