Awareness Ribbons

What are awareness ribbons? Awareness ribbons are powerful symbols that raise awareness for a cause, most often health issues. One of the best-known ribbons is the pink breast cancer ribbon.

It all started in 1997 when Penny Laingen’s husband was held hostage during the Iran hostage crisis. She decided to take action by hanging yellow ribbons on trees in her neighborhood, as well as creating yellow ribbons for people to wear. Through this she supported her husband and all the other people suffering. This marked the first time that ribbons were used publicly to represent consciousness and awareness.

About 10 years later a group called Visual AIDS used bright red ribbons to raise awareness and support for AIDS victims. This became such a trend that the New York Times declared that 1992 was the Year of Ribbons.

That same year Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation started handing out pink hats to breast cancer survivors who would participate in their race for a cure, then they started to hand out pink ribbons to show respect for their fellow racers without cancer.

Thousands of people are fighting to be healthy, some succeed, and some don’t. Showing them and their families respect is important and shows that you care about your community. Your support can have a far greater impact than you could imagine. So, on the next cancer day make sure to wear your ribbons!