How #LightUpPurple Came To Be

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In August of 2013, I  visited Toronto for the very first time. It was a trip that would not be complete without a visit to Niagara Falls to see one of the many wonders of the world and also take a boat ride on the Maid of the Mist.  A young man who I have gotten to know well over social media and had also gone through his own challenges in his young life, had wanted to have the falls lit up purple for me when I visited that day in August.  Unfortunately due to the short time period for requesting, turning the Falls purple was not a possibility.  After the initial disappointment, a young man that had heard about Amanda’s story suggested that we try to make the falls purple on October 10th and in memory of Amanda.

We thought that this was a great idea and he started on working towards making this happen.  It is a coincidence that October 10th is not only the day that Amanda became an angel and also that it was World Mental Health Day ~ and that the date of WMHD  has always been October 10th since 1992.   So in 6 weeks, a team of people lit up Niagara Falls as well as many other places around Canada, the U.S. and Australia on October 10, 2013.  After sharing the idea with a few people in person and on social media, the idea took hold.  In the short time period,  our adventurous and ever positive group was able to light up more places than we ever expected.  The years to follow would astonish us.

Reflecting back, we managed to get a few places to agree to #lightuppurple but a few was a good start.  The years following, more landmarks and structures and people agreed to light up with the promise of continuing the conversations around mental health. In the 4th year of the LIGHT UP PURPLE  campaign, more of the world was glowing purple on October 10th.  This included places in Canada, the U.S. the U.K, Australia and more.

Many have asked ‘What can I do?’ …  wear something purple ~ open the discussion about what mental health is ~ talk about wellness strategies ~ change your outside lights for the day to purple – Use purple on your Facebook Profile or Cover Page – Light a Purple Candle  ~ have a purple bake sale ~ show or make snowflake decorations ~ count jellybeans ~ find purple stories ~ purple drinks – just be creative.
        ~ Carol Todd

If you require further Information or can help in any way,
​visit amandatoddlegacy.org  or email info@amandatoddlegacy.org