It’s May, and that means flowers, sunshine and kids itching for
school to get out. It also means a profusion of more awareness
days, weeks and months than any mere human could possibly remember,
let alone follow.
Hollister – It’s May, and that means flowers, sunshine and kids itching for school to get out. It also means a profusion of more awareness days, weeks and months than any mere human could possibly remember, let alone follow.
Here’s a sampling: May contains no less than 44 nationwide awareness periods for health-related causes alone. These range from the logical (Skin Cancer Awareness Month, Melanoma Monday, Mental Health Month) to the somewhat surprising (Better Hearing and Speech Month, Schizophrenia Awareness Week) to the down-right bizarre (Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week, Stuttering Awareness Week, Sex Differences in Health Awareness Day).
And that’s not including May’s other, nonhealth-related observances – Clean Air Month, Water Conservation Month, Bike to Work Week, Foster Parent Appreciation Week, National Barbecue Month and even Dog Bite Prevention Week, to name only a few.
“We usually honor all the requests that come in,” said Mayor Pauline Valdivia, who signs proclamations for awareness days, weeks and months for organizations that request they be recognized by the City of Hollister. “They’re all pretty standard for the community. I always feel it’s something we need to do either for the kids or for the seniors or for breast cancer or something like that.”
And, according to Deputy City Clerk Geri Johnson, legitimate requests pretty much always get approved, and truly wacky applications never really come in. Which means you could request to have May 14 named in your honor, although you’d be competing with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Awareness Day, but it probably wouldn’t happen. But if you’re a member of an organization that has a worthy cause in mind and you get your written request in on time, you’ll most likely get a proclamation of your day, week or month made at the next city council meeting – often along with several others.
At the last council meeting, Valdivia and the other council members proclaimed May Clean Air Month and Water Conservation Month, and made May 15 to 21 official Bike to Work Week.
Other months have similar observances, though they aren’t as saturated as May. Going strictly by health-related observances, June has 12, July has only three and August has nine. The closest runner-up to May is October, which has a measly 37 health-awareness causes. In recent memory, the Hollister City Council has recognized Alcohol Awareness Month, Alzheimers Adult Day Care Month, Be Kind to Animals Week, Colorectal Cancer Month, Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Week, Family Week and several awareness weeks for domestic violence, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Johnson said.
But Valdivia said she doesn’t feel deluged and doesn’t believe all the recognitions dilute the importance of any single event.
“You know, I’ve never felt that,” she said. “It comes in spurts. Sometimes there’s a lot, sometimes there’s only one or two. But I don’t feel overwhelmed because I feel we need to do our best for the community.”
Shawn Novack, the water conservation program manager at the Water Resources Association of San Benito County, said he had noticed May’s stuffed schedule while promoting Water Conservation Month. While he said he wasn’t too worried about competing against observances like Museum Month for attention, he pointed out Americans like choice, and May certainly gives it to them.
“I think many people are looking for something to get involved in and they’re just looking for something they’re drawn to,” he said. “It’s kind of like watching TV, flipping around looking for something to watch.”
But if all that choice makes your head spin, relax. After all, it is National Better Sleep Month.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at
jq*****@fr***********.com
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