I am a volunteer Navigator with NEDA. What’s great about being a volunteer with NEDA is the freedom to bring ideas to them on how to spread awareness of eating disorders. An initiative I have undertaken is lighting landmarks and buildings around the world blue and green to kick off National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAwareness). Of course NEDA’s home base in NYC has gotten the Empire State Buulding lit for the past three years, but I wanted to take the lightings to cities across the country.
My Inspiration
As an avid traveller, I’ve learned to think globally. This kind of thinking inspires me to spread awareness about eating disorders beyond where I live. This is the main reason why I decided to illuminate landmarks around the world to shine a light on eating disorders. This journey showed me how much more awareness needs to be spread. It started with lighting the Terminal Tower in my city of Cleveland, Ohio. When we were accepted to light this legendary landmark, I was inspired to try different landmarks around the country and the world.
The Importance
I believe it’s important to light landmarks in different cities because it’s not about the landmark—it’s about the city it represents. Different cities put on a united front to shine a light on eating disorders. They are sending a global message that eating disorders is a growing crisis that affects almost everyone. Beyond lighting blue and green, this message is spread by publicity the landmark receives through social media, traditional media and by NEDA.
To date, here is a growing list of landmarks being lit for NEDAwareness Week 2015:
- Boston, MA - Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge
- Buffalo, NY - Electric Tower
- Cleveland, OH - Terminal Tower
- Denver, CO - The D & F Clock Tower
- Ft. Lauderdale, FL - 110 Tower
- Houston, TX - Houston City Hall
- Los Angeles, CA - LAX Pylons
- Milwaukee, WI - Mitchell Park Conservatory (The Domes)
- Philadelphia, PA - Cira Centre
- Portsmouth, England - Spinnaker Tower
- Toll plaza highland, NY - Mid-Hudson Bridge
- Yonkers, NY - City Clock Tower
Take Action
Is there a landmark in your town that you want to light? Don’t hesitate to contact them to join us in raising awareness – dkalogridis@myneda.org. It doesn’t have to be during NEDAwareness Week, anytime is a good time to spread awareness of eating disorders!
