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WORD Day Hub

World yOung Rheumatic Diseases Day (WORD Day) happens on 18 March every year, and is the biggest single day for raising awareness of childhood rheumatic conditions like Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA).

Juvenile Arthritis Research are proud to support WORD Day, which is in the middle of JAM JAR - Juvenile Arthritis Month by Juvenile Arthritis Research.

The biggest date in the calendar for raising awareness of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and other childhood rheumatic conditions is 18 March - WORD Day (World yOung Rheumatic Diseases day).

Join us to help raise awareness that children get arthritis. The aim of WORD Day is to spread the word that young people get rheumatic diseases too, with the goal of encouraging early diagnosis of rheumatic diseases which can make a big difference to outcomes for children. This is a goal that we are passionate about at Juvenile Arthritis Research. We know the huge difference that increased awareness can make. Our #ThinkJIA campaign shares this goal so raising awareness is something we can all do all year round and not just on WORD Day.

We have created loads of resources sharing important messages on this theme. You can help us by sharing these images and messages on social media. Below you'll find some step by step instructions.

Step 1:

If you have access to a printer, print out one of our "I'm not too young for JIA" posters and share a picture of you/your child holding the poster.

Tag us on our social channels (we can only see public profiles) or email your photo to us at kipo@jarproject.org and we'll try to share as many as we can on and around WORD Day. You can use any of the following hashtags to help raise awareness:

#ThinkJIA

#AwarenessIsEverything

#WORDday2024

Siblings can get involved too - just print the relevant poster for them. We've also included a blank template you can print and write your own message to help raise awareness that children get arthritis too.

By sending us a photo or tagging us in photos, you are giving permission for us to share them. Please make sure you have permission from anyone appearing in photos.

Download and print our "I'm not too young for arthritis" poster.

Click to download and print at home.
(I'm not too young for arthritis)

Download and print our "My sister is not too young for arthritis" poster.

Click to download and print at home. (My sister is not too young for arthritis)

Download and print our "My brother is not too young for arthritis" poster.

Click to download and print at home
(My brother is not too young for arthritis)

Download and print our "My sibling is not too young for arthritis" poster.

Click to download and print at home.
(My sibling is not too young for arthritis)

Click to download and print at home. (My friend is not too young for arthritis)

Click to download and print at home. (Blank template to write your own message)

Picture of a young girl wearing a WORD Day awareness-raising T-Shirt. Click to go to the WORD Day products page on the JAR Shop.

Step 2:

You can also visit the JAR Shop where you will find WORD Day T-shirts and tote bags, all made with ethically-produced 100% organic cotton, so you can stand out whilst raising awareness. Visit https://jarproject.teemill.com/collection/word-day/ now. WORD Day is all about raising awareness together, not funds for individual charities, so we receive the lowest possible commission on each sale of WORD Day products and all funds from the sale of these products go solely to awareness-raising activities.

Remember - if you are concerned that a child you know may have juvenile arthritis, you can find out more on our #ThinkJIA awareness-raising site at www.thinkjia.org. If your child has been diagnosed with JIA and you would like more information, please see our My JIA booklet.

WORD Day 2023 update

Once again you helped to make WORD Day amazing by getting involved. Thank you to each and every one of you who used our resources, our WORD Day packs and posters, and helped spread the word in your schools, clubs and communities that children and young people get rheumatic diseases such as Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

We reached over 200 schools and clubs, with over 7,000 bookmarks being sent out throughout the UK.
You helped us reach new locations to spread the word amongst people who never knew previously that children can get arthritis.
The social media response was once again incredible. This year many of our posts were translated into other languages, helping to raise awareness of juvenile arthritis around the globe.
The two WORD Day webinars are now available to watch on catch-up.

You can read our full debrief for WORD Day 2023 here.