“Child Abuse Prevention Month”: Established by the National Exchange Club in Ohio. Call 419-535-3232 or 800-924-2643. Email cap@nationalexchangeclub.org. See www.prevenetchildabuse.com.
“Couple Appreciation Month”: To show thanks for each other’s love and emotional support. Do something special to reinforce and celebrate your relationship.
“Daffodil Month”: To support cancer research. See www.cancer.ca.
“International Twit Award Month”: Any famous name is eligible to be designated most Tiresome Wit (TWIT) of 2011. Email Lauren Barnett of Lonestar Publications of Humor at lspubs@aol.com.
“Poetry Month, National”: See League of Canadian Poets www.poets.ca
“Stress Awareness Month”: To promote public awareness of what stress is, what causes it to occur and what can be done about it. See www.stresscure.com.
“Alcohol Awareness Month”: To help raise awareness about the problem of underage drinking. Call 212-269-7797, email national@ncadd.org. See www.ncadd.org.
“Humour Month”: Special events in Canada and the US will focus on the joy and therapeutic value of laughter and how it can reduce stress. Email info@worldoflaughtertour.com. See humormonth.com.
Apr 1 “April Fools’ Day”: The joke of the day is to deceive persons by sending them upon frivolous and nonsensical errands; to pretend they are wanted when they are not, or in fact, any way to betray them into some supposed ludicrous situation, so as to enable you to call them “An April Fool.”
Apr 1 “Reading Is Funny Day”: April Fools Day is a great time to share riddles with children. It shows them that reading can be fun and funny. Riddles improve vocabulary, comprehension and oral reading, and enhance deductive and inductive thinking and develop a sense of humour. For info, Dee Anderson hm38th@hotmail.com.
Apr 1 “World Health Day”: See www.who.int/world-health-day/en
Apr 1-7 “Laugh At Work Week”: Laughter and humour are vital to a healthy, productive workplace. Call Randall Munson 507-286-1331. Email humor@CreativelySpeaking.com. See www.LaughAtWorkWeek.com.
Apr 1-7 “National Week of the Ocean”: 28th annual. A week focusing on humanity’s interdependence with the ocean, asking each of us to appreciate, protect and make wise use of the ocean. Call 954-462-5573. see www.national-week-of-the-ocean.org.
Apr 2 “International Children’s Book Day”: Observes Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday and commemorates the international aspects of children’s literature. Call 302-731-1600, email usbby@reading.org.
Apr 2 “World Autism Day”: see www.worldautismawarenessday.org.
Apr 4 “Paraprofessionals Appreciation Day”: This holiday honours the contributions of paraprofessionals, especially in education. Call Valerie Pennington 816-633-5396, email vpennington@odessa.k12.mo.us.
Apr 6 “Drowsy Driver Awareness Day”: Official state recognized day in California, but worth mentioning everywhere. Annual memorial for people who have died in collisions related to drowsy driving. Call Phil Konstantin 858-505-5014, email chpofficerphil@yahoo.com. See www.drowsydriverawarenessday.com.
Apr 7 “Passover”: begins at sundown Apr 6th. 8 day celebration of the delivery of the Jewish people out of Egypt.
Apr 8 “Easter Sunday”: The most joyous festival of the Christian year.
Apr 10 “National Siblings Day”: A commemorative day to honour all brothers and sisters who are living and memorialize those who have died. Annually Apr 10. Call Claudia A. Evart 212-779-2227, email: siblingsday@earhlink.net, web www.siblingsday.org.
Apr 14 “International Moment of Laughter Day”: Laughter is a potent and powerful way to deal with the difficulties of modern living. Experience the power of laughter. For info: Izzy Gesell 413-586-2634, email : izzy@izzyg.com, web www.izzyg.com.
Apr 15 “Sinking of the Titanic: 100th Anniversary”: The “unsinkable” luxury liner, Titanic, on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York, NY, struck an iceberg just before midnight on April 14, 1912 and sank at 2:27am April 15.
Apr 15-21 “National Coin Week”: Discover the world of money and the hobby of coin collecting. Annually the 3rd full week of April. Call Andy Dickes 719-632-2646 email pr@money.org. See www.money.org.
Apr 18-23 “Consumer Awareness Week”: Consumer advocate Bob O’Brien kicks off a week long event aimed at advising and helping consumers with their rights. Call Bob O’Brien 646-233-6610, email robtlfobrien@aol.com.
Apr 22 “MS Walk”: The WALK is a critical part of the MS Society’s fundraising efforts and is a significant program in funding research towards a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. Takes place in cities across Canada. See www.mswalks.ca.
Apr 22 “Earth Day”: A day to pay attention to accelerating the transition to renewable energy worldwide. Call Earth Day Network 202-518-0044, see www.earthday.ca/pub/index.php.
Apr 22-28 “Administrative Professionals Week”: Acknowledgment of the contributions of all administrative professionals, and their vital roles in business, industry, education and government. Annually the last full week of April. Administrative Professionals Day is the Wednesday (Apr 25). For info: call the Int’l Ass’n of Administrative Professionals 816-891-6600 ext 2239 or email: eallan@iaap-hq.org.
Apr 23 “Newfoundland: Saint George’s Day”: Holiday observed in Newfoundland on Monday nearest Feast Day (Apr 23) of Saint George.
Apr 24-30 “Scoop the Poop Week”: Between the snowy storms of winter and the backyard barbecues of summer, now is the perfect time for dog owners to catch up on all those “canine calling cards” that have accumulated during the cold months. Besides creating a nasty mess in your yard, it’s a health hazard, it pollutes the groundwater and it annoys the neighbours. It doesn’t go away by itself, so get it cleaned up this week. For into, email Matthew Osborn at matthew@pooper-scooper.com.
Apr 26 “Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day”: A national public education campaign sponsored by the Ms Foundation for Women in which children age 8-12 go to work with adult hosts – parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends. Call 800-676-7780, email tods@ms.foundation.org, web www.daughtersandsonstowork.org.
Apr 27-29 “National Dream Hotline”: Now in its 24th year, the National Dream Hotline is sponsored by the School of Metaphysics as an educational service to people throughout the world. Staff man the hotline phones from 6pm CDT Friday until midnight Sunday. Annually, the last weekend in April. For info, call 417-345-8411, email som@som.org. see www.dreamschool.org.
Apr 28 “National Day of Mourning: 25th Anniversary”: Day of mourning for workers killed or injured on the job in Canada.
