DIPG Awareness Across the Map

**Check out the 2020 status on the panel on the right (or below if you are on mobile).  Note that due to the emergency conditions surrounding coronavirus, some state governments were not processing proclamation requests in 2020.**

In 2017, for the first time in history, 21 states recognized May 17^th as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) Awareness Day, to raise public awareness of the deadliest childhood brain cancer.  After a great team effort in 2018 and 2019, we saw an increase in participation with 32 states recognizing May 17^th in 2019.

A full list of states is below.

The DIPG Across the Map Initiative started after Governor Larry Hogan established Maryland’s first-ever DIPG Awareness Day on May 17, 2016 through the effort of Michael Mosier Defeat DIPG Foundation. The date was selected because it fell anniversary of the passing of six-year-old Michael Mosier from Bethesda, Maryland, for whom the nonprofit organization was named.  Following Governor Hogan’s issuance of the 2016 Proclamation, a Pennsylvania nonprofit, Aidan’s Avengers, also succeeded in establishing May 17, 2016 as DIPG Awareness Day in Pennsylvania.

DIPG is the leading cause of childhood death due to brain tumors and typically strikes school-age children. The “DIPG Across the Map Initiative,” organized by Michael Mosier Defeat DIPG Foundation, coordinates families and foundations across the country to elevate awareness of this devastating childhood cancer.

We are also proud to work alongside the DIPG Advocacy Group on the passage of H. Res. 114, which is National DIPG Awareness Day legislation pending in the U.S. House of Representatives.  See side column for more details.

We are eager to work with families and other foundations to spread this project to every state in the country.  Most states that established May 17th as DIPG Awareness Day through gubernatorial proclamation or legislative resolution will need advocates to seek renewed proclamations in 2020.

The legislatures of Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, and Texas established May 17th as DIPG Awareness Day in perpetuity.

There are a few central pillars to this initiative:

(1) By banding together to advocate for the same day in multiple states we will be able to gain more momentum and draw even more attention to DIPG on a unified awareness day.

(2) While every family and advocate should use their own personal story to urge their state government to adopt DIPG Awareness Day, the proclamations we seek should not be child-specific to ensure they include and represent ALL children who have faced or are facing this disease.

WE WANT YOU TO JOIN WITH US.  On the right side of this page, you will find a list of states where work is already underway and/or there are already volunteers ready to work to establish May 17 as DIPG Awareness Day.  You may sign up to work with the group established in your state, or you can sign up to help lead the way where you live.

Whether your state is listed or not, please sign up using the form below to join this initiative.  You will receive guidance and sample materials for use in advocating for DIPG Awareness Day in your state.

You will not be working alone.  This is a group effort.  TOGETHER, we will raise awareness, drive more people to action in supporting the cause and funding essential DIPG research . . . and DEFEAT DIPG!!