Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago

Epilepsy communication:the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago educates the general community through various publicity outlets, such as, online, television, radio, and social media. "econnections," a quarterly e-newsletter, is sent out four times to the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago's entire email database. On average, each e-blast is sent to 11,000 subscribers. "econnections" covers a variety of topics relating to the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago and the Epilepsy community as a whole. Dozens of e-blasts promoting a specific issue, program, or event are also sent to the targeted audiences. Over the course of the year, the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago sent more than 120,000 emails to people interested in Epilepsy and generated more than 10 million media impressions through marketing campaigns.the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago utilizes popular social media outlets to increase its online presence. Its facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, and linkedin pages collectively boast nearly 20,000 followers. Posts regarding the latest information about Epilepsy, how it impacts the public, as well as the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago's activities, are updated on a daily basis.in a fiscal year continuing to be impacted by the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, efgc marketing campaigns have utilized opportunities to reach as many people as possible with the most efficient use of budgets. Campaigns such as our november Epilepsy awareness month initiative, and promotion for our free fall fest 5k events ran on physical billboards rather than digital to maximize exposure. Continued low demand for ad space on Chicago transit authority owned properties has allowed many of these advertisements to run for additional months at no cost. In addition, efgc has capitalized on two separate, 6 month long, billboard remnant campaigns resulted in millions of additional unreported impressions. These highly visible campaigns have allowed efgc to maintain a voice and remain in the public eye consistently for the entire fiscal year. These campaigns continue to highlight the partnerships between efgc and the Chicago white sox, navy pier, Chicago blackhawks, Chicago bears, and most recently lollapalooza. Efgc ran billboard advertisements on cta platforms during the month of november 2022 in observance of Epilepsy awareness month. This awareness campaign appeared on two-sheet billboards at cta elevated train stations and illustrated a visual of the total number of people who will be diagnosed with Epilepsy or have seizures. The campaign used recognizable Chicago attractions such as soldier field, guaranteed rate field, the united center, and a main stage at lollapalooza. This campaign generated an estimated 2.6 million impressions. Recent years have proven to be particularly successful for efgc's advocacy work with the passage of the seizure smart school act. This act, which requires all public school teachers and personnel to be trained in seizure first aid, was initially filed by chief sponsor representative terri bryant and quickly gained momentum due to the vigorous efforts of efgc staff and many supporters in the Epilepsy community. Following broad support from the Illinois education community, as well as 36 additional co-sponsors in the house and senate, this bill was signed into law by governor pritzker on july 12th, 2019. The efficient passage of this bill with broad support from the community and lawmakers signaled a major victory for Epilepsy advocacy efforts and will help ensure the safety of many Illinois school children for years to come. The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago also encourages teenagers with Epilepsy to advocate for themselves. Annually, 1-2 local teens are selected to participate in our teens speak up program, bringing approximately 100 teens from around the country to Washington, d.c. to learn about Epilepsy advocacy. The conference culminates in meetings with Illinois senators and representatives who are briefed on Epilepsy and matters important to their constituents. In 2023, this program returned to an in-person format and was attended by an efgc staff member along with a local tsu representative. The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago has formed an associate board to assist with advocacy, community awareness of Epilepsy, and additional fundraising. This board, formed in 2018, is now comprised of 25 young professionals from both within and outside of the Epilepsy community. This group is tasked not only with fundraising and providing support through additional events, but has also begun outreach to local corporate entities with the goal of providing Epilepsy training to staff and organizational leadership. The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago's hispanic outreach program provides valuable services. The primary goal of this program is to increase Epilepsy awareness in, and provide resources to, the latino community. Social stigmas, cultural beliefs, and lack of education keep many latinos from understanding the realities and myths about the disorder. The manager of the hispanic outreach program is responsible for overseeing spanish-speaking support groups and case management, developing relationships with organizations that provide assistance and services to the hispanic population, and managing programs specifically designed for this community, including "la epilepsia and "viviendo bien con epilepsia" (living well with Epilepsy). These programs provide presentations that are given in spanish and focused on treatments, as well as psychosocial aspects of epilepsy.in fy23, hispanic outreach was led by bilingual case manager karina villafuerte and clinical manager agatha demarchi. This program continues to expand to provide additional support groups, more case management services, and mental health counseling to spanish speaking individuals.