Just a little while ago, this evening, a friend of mine blackberry messaged me and told me that his mom, who teaches at Conestoga College in Kitchener had a guest speaker in one of her nursing classes who happened mentioned this campaign! How cool is that!?

It looks like people really are getting out and there and spreading the word.

As I look at the fanpage now I notice more and more awesome posts from ostomates showing off their pictures or telling their story. I couldn’t be prouder. Myself, IDEAS, and the UOAA are so happy to see the effects of the campaign thus far.

What I have noticed, however, is that there hasn’t been much participation from non-ostomates. I’m not saying whatsoever that the campaign isn’t for ostomates, but it is ALSO for people without ostomies; people who have never heard of them before.

The campaign was dually meant to show ostomates  that it is ok to be proud of what you have, but also to let others know as well how ok it is! Most people don’t even know what an ostomy is and I wanted to make sure they did!

Pretty much, this is me asking each and everyone one of you to take 10 minutes out of your day, go to the fanpage and invite all of your facebook friends, or send out a mass email to all of those who you know and inform them of what we’re doing. Mention the campaign on twitter. Talk about it at work. Bring it up at a dinner party. Anything!

Let us let everyone ELSE know how ok and AWESOME ostomies are.

Thanks!

[PS; anyone know who that guest speaker was? ]

I know myself and IDEAS have been spreading the word since WOD in Canada on Oct 3^rd. Now it’s time for the UOAA to do the same over there! I have no doubt they will do a great job :]

A new press release is out for every to share to any media contacts they may have. Just read the post below!

Unfortunately, I wont be around to help spread the word in the States. I’ll be locked down in my sorority house.

I have been planning my sorority- Alpha Gamma Delta’s Formal Recruitment for about 2 months straight now. I can’t believe it’s finally here.

In one of my other blogs I sort of explained the whole deal. It’s pretty much 3 days of girls who want to join a sorority coming and meeting with all the actives and some alumni in all the sorority chapters on campus. By the end of it, we end up with a whole new class of girls that become our sisters.

It is also just one step below being a theatrical production. It is intense, organized, planned, decorated, and rehearsed, all just to impress your audience.

I think my chapter’s pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

The amount of dedication, cooperation, and excitement in preparation for this weekend has been amazing and now all that’s left is to go through it. I’m not worried though. My sisters have it down. I’m so proud. I love them.

That being said, for the next 48 hours I will be living in the sorority house cleaning, decorating, making, practicing, yelling [well hopefully not], laughing and having fun.

…And then studying for 2 midterms I have on Monday and Tuesday. WISH ME LUCK <3

Oh, also. Did you know there’s a WORLD SODOMY DAY? Thanks Wikipedia

Here’s a link to the social media release. Everything you need to post multimedia stories on your websites and blogs is found there.

Here’s the text from the social media release from today:

United Ostomy Associations of America Uncover Ostomy For World Ostomy Day

October 16, 2009

World Ostomy Day in the United States is celebrated on October 17, 2009. As part of its awareness activities, the UOAA partnered with 20 year old actor and model, Jessica Grossman, and the Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society to Uncover Ostomy through an Internet awareness campaign found at uncoverostomy.com and facebook.com/uncoverostomy.

“World Ostomy Day is a day we recognize the importance of ostomy surgeries as life-quality improvements for people suffering through terrible illnesses,” said Jessica. “I’ve had my ostomy for six years and every day I am thankful for how healthy I feel because of it. World Ostomy Day is the perfect time to show this publicly.”

Many ostomy patients, especially those who have had recent surgery, are reluctant to talk about the changes made to their body. Living in a society that shuns body waste discussion, ostomy patients often feel alone. Quality of life suffers as ostomy patients may be reluctant to participate in activities they previously enjoyed, like swimming or dating, for fear of adverse social reactions. Estimates suggest 750,000 Americans are living with an ostomy.

In the Uncover Ostomy campaign, Jessica exposes what may be beneath the clothes of 1 out of every 500 Americans. Her thought provoking images are already creating an online buzz with almost 1000 fans supporting the Uncover Ostomy Facebook page in the first two weeks of the campaign. A long-time performer despite a lengthy battle with Crohn’s disease, being in front of a camera was natural for Jessica.

“Most of my friends and family are using Facebook and other social networking sites to communicate with one another these days. We decided to give them something really unique to discuss,” Jessica explains. “We took some barely dressed photos with my bag completely visible. When people see these images they’re going to be really surprised. I don’t know if anyone has ever shown the ostomy in this kind of light before. A lot of people think of ostomy as an old person’s problem. It’s not.”

“Most people have no idea about what an ostomy is. Or if they do, their perception is rooted in misconceptions conveyed to them somewhere along the way. By “uncovering” her ostomy, Jess challenges the misconceptions and stigmas—and leads awareness” said Kristin Knipp, incoming UOAA president. “For the non-ostomate, this campaign is about “uncovering” the stigma that goes along with having an ostomy. Sexy or not, the campaign is certainly accomplishing its goal—to create meaningful dialogue about ostomies. And that’s a good thing.”

END UNITED STATES SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE

FURTHER INFORMATION

About the UOAA: the United Ostomy Associations of America is an association of affiliated, non profit support groups who are committed to improving quality of life for people who have, or will have, an intestinal or urinary diversion. UOAA is dedicated to providing information, advocacy and service to, and for, its affiliated support groups, their members and the intestinal/urinary diversion community at large.

About Jessica Grossman: Jessica is a 20 year old University of Western Ontario media studies student, an actor and a model. Diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 9, Jessica made the decision to have her diseased colon removed at age 13 and undergo ileostomy surgery. Professional studio photographs of Jessica, including her ostomy, are available for media reprint on request.

About IDEAS: The Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society is a Canadian non-profit organization with chapters in Vancouver, BC and Windsor, ON. The society’s mission is to eliminate intestinal disease and ostomy-related stigma. Their website serves as an educational resource and their programs aim to enhance life-quality for children and youth suffering from Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis and other digestive illnesses.

About Ostomy: Ostomies are a category of diversionary surgeries. There are three major types: a colostomy is made from the large intestine (colon); an ileostomy is made from the small intestine (ileum); and a urostomy is a diversion of the urinary tract. The most common reasons for ostomy surgery include inflammatory bowel diseases, cancer, birth defects and trauma.

Social media contact information:
John O’Shaughnessy
604.862.4759
john@jdocommunications.com
Twitter: @joshaughnessy