Looking for ways to get involved during Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month? Keep reading for simple ways you can make a difference this month!
Advocate:
Become an Advocacy Ambassador for the bleeding disorders community! Advocacy Ambassadors are volunteers interested in helping to lead Pennsylvania’s grass root advocacy efforts and promote the importance of becoming an advocate within our community.
Interested in becoming an advocate? Join us May 3-4, 2026, for the Joey Smiles Advocacy Ambassador Education and Training in Harrisburg, PA! Learn how to share your story, connect with lawmakers, and advocate for policies that improve access to diagnosis, care, and treatment. On Monday, May 4, we will head to the capitol to meet with legislators to advocate for the needs of the bleeding disorders community. Each advocate will be teamed up with other advocates to attend meetings in small groups.
Registration is now open! Email rsvp@wpbdf.org to receive the registration form. Learn more at: https://wpbdf.org/event/the-joey-smiles-advocacy-ambassador-education-and-training/
Donate:
Your donation does more than fund programs, it builds connection. When someone receives a bleeding disorder diagnosis, they often have questions, concerns, and a lot to learn. Support from a trusted community makes all the difference. Donations to WPBDF help provide:
- Education and outreach programs
- Advocacy training and policy efforts
- Period packs for schools and clinics
- Resources for women, girls, and people with the potential to menstruate—who are often underdiagnosed
Diagnosis is the first step to care—but community is what helps people navigate what comes next. Donate today at: https://wpbdf.org/donate/
Educate:
Help raise awareness for bleeding disorders during Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month by taking or sharing the online risk assessment at betteryouknow.org. This assessment can provide important resources and help with the first step of receiving a diagnosis.
Fundraise:
Set up a Facebook or Instagram fundraiser to raise money for WPBDF and share what the Foundation means to you! You can also join the Unite for Bleeding Disorders BDAM Campaign for a chance to win one of ten $100 Amazon gift cards! From March 1st to March 31st, you have an exciting opportunity to make a difference and earn a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Here’s how:
- Register for your local Unite for Bleeding Disorders Walk.
- Receive a donation of $25 or more.
- Be automatically entered into a drawing to win one of ten $100 Amazon gift cards, provided by NBDF.
It’s that simple! And yes, there will be TEN winners!
This special month is dedicated to raising awareness and supporting our amazing bleeding disorders community. Let’s celebrate by taking action for your local Unite Walk.
Ready to join the movement? Register today at https://bit.ly/wpbdf-unite.
Share Your Story:
Your story could be the reason someone else seeks answers. Many people living with bleeding disorders go years without a diagnosis because symptoms are misunderstood or dismissed. When you share your experience, you help others recognize signs, feel validated, and know they are not alone.
Share your story on social media using #BleedingDisordersAwarenessMonth and tag WPBDF. Need some help getting your thoughts together? You can email jessica@wpbdf.org or give the office a call at 724-741-6160!
If you have a positive memory or experience with WPBDF, we want to hear from you! Your story may be used in WPBDF publications, presentations, grant reports, or online materials to help share the difference we’re making together. You can share your story online at: https://form.jotform.com/252994784390069
Sign Up for Action Alerts:
Sign up for the Foundation’s Advocacy Action Alerts to be notified when issues arise affecting the bleeding disorders community and how you can help. Sign up today at: https://bit.ly/pa-action-alert
Volunteer:
There are many ways to volunteer your time with the Foundation!
- Reach out to the Foundation to help distribute period packs to local school nurses, local health clinics, or libraries in your community!
- Volunteers are needed for upcoming fundraisers and educational programs! Please visit the events tab on our website, or email jessica@wpbdf.org to learn more about volunteering at events!
Get Involved with Your Local Government:
Get your local government involved! Your local government can acknowledge Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month in your community! Use the proclamation template below to increase awareness of bleeding disorders where you live by reaching out to your local mayor! Ask them to declare March 2026 as Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month.
Download the proclamation template here!
Help Us Prepare for World Hemophilia Day:
Help us prepare for #WorldHemophiliaDay by using the template below to ask local landmarks in your town to light up red for World Hemophilia Day! Help us light Pennsylvania red! We already have a handful of landmarks in Western PA set to join in on the celebration:
- The Koppers Building
- The Gulf Tower
- Fifth Avenue Place
- Heinz Hall Garden Place Waterfall
- The City County Building
- One Oxford Center
- The Homestead Gray’s Bridge
- The Bicentennial Tower
- The Allegheny County Courthouse
- The David L. Lawrence Convention Center Water Feature
Download the light up red template here
Send a Letter to the Editor:
Send a Letter to the Editor! Reach out to your local newspaper or media publication with this customizable template. Let them know why it’s important to raise awareness for women, girls, and persons with the potential to menstruate during Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month.
Dear Editor NAME,
March is Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month. Throughout the month, the U.S. inheritable blood and bleeding disorders community will be starting the conversation to inspire a national conversation around these rare conditions that affect thousands of patients and families nationwide. Inheritable blood and bleeding disorders can present from a genetic mutation, or a random mutation. Conditions like hemophilia, von Willebrand’s disease, sickle cell disease, rare platelet disorders or factor deficiencies and others, can be extraordinarily challenging to manage day-to-day, as well as quite expensive. This Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month, it is important to raise the profile of these chronic conditions faced by people in our very own community.
Everyone – whether a patient, caregiver, loved one, or advocate – deserves accessible support and resources unique to them. It is up to us all to start the conversation about blood and bleeding disorders. Talk about it, share, and learn from one another – to your leaders, and to your neighbors.
- Advocate for transformational research and novel treatments
- Raise public awareness by conducting friendly calls, virtual presentations, more
- Educate yourself and enable others to better recognize signs and symptoms of a blood or bleeding disorders
We can and must create more affordable and accessible treatments for the inheritable blood and bleeding disorders community by raising awareness and providing education. I hope you publish this letter to join me and many others right here in LOCATION to help start this important conversation. By raising our voices, we can have an impact, together.
Get more information about how to make a difference by visiting bleeding.org.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
NAME