28 March 2013

The Color Purple


Call me Barney

Despite my occasional whining about some of the headaches I deal with at the office over parts and people, fundamentally the company's heart is in the right place.  Part of our mission statement is “To improve the lives of people with Epilepsy” and, while it might make for a great marketing slogan or catchy PR phrase, they really do “walk the walk”.  It’s one thing to say you support the patients, actually doing something about it is another.  And it hasn't always been that way.  I've been around here long enough to see the pendulum swing in the opposite direction.  The company used to be all about growing the business, capturing the greatest market share, increasing profits.  I participated, contributed but, honestly, I didn't think that senior management really bought into the mantra.  I did several Epilepsy walks and did not see the CEO or half the senior  management participate.  In my mind,  they never really lived the mission.  That all  changed when the new senior management came on board 5 years ago.  The new CEO is heavily invested  in the mission and the people of the company.  From charities, to corny contests, to holiday notes, he has really inspired people to go above and beyond. 

That said, we got this message from the CEO last week (below).  Tuesday was officially Purple Day.  A day where everyone is to wear purple to increase awareness about epilepsy worldwide.  We were encouraged  to wear purple for the day as a show of support and roughly 2/3rds actually participated including moi (yes, I have a purple shirt – well, actually it is more lavender ).  It was a nice show of support but I have to admit that purple is NOT  one of my primary colors.  



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Cassidy Megan is the Founder of Purple Day.  Purple Day is an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide. On March 26th annually, people in countries around the world are invited to wear purple and host events in support of epilepsy awareness. Last year, people in dozens of countries on all continents including Antarctica participated in Purple Day!

Purple Day was founded in 2008, by nine-year-old Cassidy Megan of Nova Scotia, Canada, with the help of the Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia (EANS). Cassidy chose the color purple after the international color for epilepsy, lavender. The lavender flower is also often associated with solitude, which is representative of the feelings of isolation many people affected by epilepsy and seizure disorders often feel. Cassidy's goal is for people with epilepsy everywhere to know they are not alone. To learn more about Cassidy and Global Purple Day Partners EANS and The Anita Kaufmann Foundation (AKFUS).  


Go to http://purpleday.org/  for additional information, including helpful resources and links….

Thanks to Kim for the idea of encouraging participation and providing this information.

Best,
Dan



4 comments:

ShadowRun300 said...

I sure wish I would have known about Purple Day. I would have shown my support as well!
How fun that your CEO GETS it, and is doing what he can to support the mission. That's so rare these days. I think our company does an okay job compared to other hotels, but sometimes I think the bottom line tends to sway their judgement. It takes strong leadership to look beyond the numbers and see the overall goal.
Are those pics of you in purple? Maybe it's just me - it is quite late after all - but I'm not seeing any images.

agg79 said...

SR300 - No, no pictures of me. Just a picture of the PurpleDay logo and Cassidy who started the whole deal.

Abby said...

OH, I missed purple day. I'm trying to remember what I wore on Tuesday, it could have been purple!

I can't see the images either.

I interned at a company that manufactured medical devices - kidney dialysis machines and blood oxygenators. The motivational saying around there was, "imagine it's your mom hooked up to one of these". Worked great!

terri said...

I think it gives a company a more human face when they not only participate but truly support things like this. I'm guessing that employees are generally happy where you work.