Incorporating a community service project with a cause near and dear to him, Elisha Galler, 17, is hoping residents in Sharon will turn out wearing purple on Apr. 22 to support raising awareness about epilepsy.
His brother, Elan, 12, has had epilepsy since he was four and Galler said he wants to raise awareness as well as funds for research with his project.
Inspired by the teal ribbons seen in town in September for the ovarian cancer Turn the Town Teal drive, Galler said he has purple ribbons he will be putting up as well.
I thought it was amazing when I walked down the street. The ribbons really caught my eye, Galler said. We want to get as many people as possible wearing purple on Apr. 22.
He also said bakeries in Shaws in Sharon and Canton as well as at Whole Foods in Legacy Place in Dedham will be selling purple frosted cupcakes the week of Apr. 22. Treat Cupcake Bar in Needham will be selling purple cupcakes the entire month of April.
Galler said while three million people in the United States have some form of epilepsy, more than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinsons disease combined, funding for research is far lower than other diseases.
As an example research for epilepsy is at about $35 per patient while it is at $129 for Alzheimers and $280 for multiple sclerosis, according to Galler.
In the United States epilepsy is as common as breast cancer and takes as many lives each year, Galler said.
He said his brother goes to Mass General and there are programs there like Zumba and karate to keep kids with epilepsy moving so Galler decided to donate whatever funds he raised to that program rather than research.
All the donations will be used for the pediatric epilepsy program at Mass General Hospital to get them active, to make them feel as if they are normal kids like everybody else, Galler said.
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Purple Day for epilepsy slated for Apr. 22 in Sharon