Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is three times more common in the Canadian population than multiple sclerosis or HIV, and about as common as Type 1 diabetes. But you don’t hear as much about it because, well, who wants to talk about something that happens to your bowels?
I’ve written before about IBD, specifically Crohn’s disease, and why it’s a cause so close to home. And that doctors and scientists don’t know what causes it, although they think there are genetic and environmental components. So here’s my public service announcement for an easy way to support research to find the cause and the cure.
Starting tomorrow, and maybe already happening in some M&M Meat Shops stores, you can donate $2 to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada by buying a paper Charity BBQ Day star. The low-key promotion leads up to the 21st annual M&M Meat Shops Charity BBQ Day on May 9. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day, supporters will receive a hamburger or hot dog, a drink and a bag of chips for a minimum donation of $2.50. All food and time is donated, so every penny raised — and they’re hoping for $2.1 million — goes directly to research into the cause and potential cure for these two forms of IBD.
Find an M&M store, volunteer to flip burgers or just show up to have a burger. I know you’ve had a healthier lunch, but straying from your usual diet for one day won’t hurt you, will it? If it will, go for the paper star. You can write on it, “Sue made me do it.” Thanks.
