Spring is on the way and the UK will certainly turn a sunshiny shade of yellow this Friday (March 1) when hundreds of yellow themed events take place to mark Big Yellow Friday, the national awareness and fundraising day for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF).
From coffee mornings to quizzes, sponsored walks to cycle rides, people of all ages will be wearing yellow, baking yellow and having yellow parties. Even children’s favourite, Sooty, is encouraging his fans to join in the fun, to support the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all childhood liver diseases.
So why does Big Yellow Friday matter?
Many people do not realise that liver disease even affects children but:
Every week in the UK, 20 babies, children or young people are diagnosed with a rare liver disease
There is no cure.
Many liver diseases are life-threatening. All mean a lifetime of medical care.
One of the charity’s priorities this year is to improve the identification of liver disease in new born babies, as CLDF Chief Executive, Alison Taylor explains:
“Because liver disease in babies is relatively rare, the symptoms can easily be missed. We provide health professionals with information about these signs because we know that the earlier a child is diagnosed the better the outcome. We would love to get this information out to every health professional and new parent in the UK. But we rely on voluntary donations, which is why Big Yellow Friday is such an important day for us.
“Last year we raised £65,000 and are determined to beat that this year so we want as many people as possible to join in. Everyone who joins in by wearing yellow, baking cakes or simply donating is making a real difference to children’s lives.”
You can support Big Yellow Friday by going to https://childliverdisease.org/donate/.
