Shine Like a Sunflower
Will you help us Shine A Light on
Scleroderma this June?
Some 6,000 people across Australia are living with scleroderma right now. This rare chronic connective tissue condition shortens life expectancy by more than 20 years and can be life-threatening. There’s currently no cure for scleroderma.
This June is World Scleroderma Month and Scleroderma Australia is bringing a golden glow to more than 110 iconic locations across Australia. Find one near you and help us continue to support and advocate for people living with scleroderma, improve treatments and keep searching for a cure.
With your generous help, our goal is to raise $150,000 to fund a scleroderma nurse. We all know that the right medical support at the right time can make an enormous difference to recovery, and our scleroderma nurses do just that!
Here’s how you can join the fun and deliver improved lives to people with scleroderma!
June 29, 2022
110 locations across Australia
Check out the list below to find an iconic location near you and see it #ShineLikeASunflower in support of scleroderma awareness and research.
How you can help
Donate to help improve lives
We rely on our generous supporters, like you, to continue our important work. Your donation helps people living with scleroderma and their families, and funds research to understand and develop treatments for scleroderma.
Donate through PayPal
Donate through PayPal
Get the facts
What is Scleroderma?
Scleroderma – or systemic sclerosis – is a chronic connective tissue condition. It’s generally classified as an autoimmune rheumatic condition. One common symptom is the thickening or hardening of the skin. It comes from the Greek: sclero = hard, derma = skin. Scleroderma can also affect the:
- Lungs
- Heart
- Kidneys
- Gastrointestinal tract
- Contagious
- Infectious
- Cancerous
Scleroderma shortens life expectancy by more than 20 years and can be life-threatening. Some 6,000 people live with the condition in Australia, and women are seven times more likely to develop scleroderma than men.
There’s currently no cure.
#ShineLikeASunflower 2021 Highlights
In June last year, even in the midst of the pandemic, thousands of people hit the streets to check out the more than 65 landmarks around the country that were lit up in golden light to #ShineALightOnScleroderma.
We raised $25,000 for vital support programs and #ShineLikeASunflower went viral on social media thanks to people like you sharing photos of the lit-up-landmarks!
Some of the most prominent landmarks and buildings we lit up in 2021 included Federation Square Melbourne, Melbourne Town Hall, Brisbane’s Storey Bridge, the Adelaide Oval, Perth Airport, Hobart’s Franklin Square and Darwin’s Parliament House.
This year we’re lighting up to more than 110 iconic locations across Australia – find one near you and help us support Australians living with scleroderma.
These landmarks will #ShineLikeASunflower this June. Find one near you!
Check our Facebook page for any updates or changes due to COVID-19.
VIC
QLD
WA
TAS
NSW
NT
ACT
Nia's Story
Scleroderma presents unique challenges
People with rare diseases like scleroderma face unique challenges. They may struggle to get an accurate diagnosis and access to effective treatments, and in the case of scleroderma, people may have never heard of the condition before they’re diagnosed with it. There’s not as much support out there for people with rare diseases compared to more common conditions. This can leave people with rare diseases feeling helpless, anxious and alone. Many GPs don’t know much about scleroderma, which can lead to further feelings of isolation and hopelessness. This lack of knowledge can also impede treatment, leading to increased pain and discomfort.We’re raising $150,000 to fund a specialist scleroderma nurse
Nia’s story – how a specialist scleroderma nurse has helped
When I was diagnosed with scleroderma I had recently graduated as a registered nurse. I was shocked that I’d never heard of Raynaud’s syndrome or scleroderma. I wanted to know what had caused it, what symptoms I could expect, and how to manage them.
Having access to a registered nurse with scleroderma expertise at my public hospital clinic has been critical in managing my long scleroderma journey. She’s helped me stay out of hospital many times. Memorably, she helped treat and heal an infection that was tracking underneath one of my fingernails – advising me to keep nails short, rather than long so they’re easier to keep clean. I’d thought it better to have my nails long to protect my fingertips, which are under constant threat of sores and ulcers. Happily, I learned from experience that the scleroderma nurse was right.
The scleroderma nurse taught me that management of Raynaud’s syndrome – a major cause of finger wounds and often a precursor to scleroderma – is all about prevention. Keeping the trunk of the body warm is rule number one, making a thermal vest or undershirt essential. I’ve found that I can keep my hands and feet warm while enjoying a soothing cool breeze on my tight itchy arms if I wear a thermal t-shirt and warm fingerless gloves. That’s right – I’m a proud scleroderma fashion trendsetter!
Besides seeing her at my local public hospital, I phone the scleroderma nurse regularly – perhaps four or five times a year. I have no doubt that if it weren’t for the funding of a specialist scleroderma nurse available by phone and at the hospital, I wouldn’t have all 10 fingers intact, and I quite possibly wouldn’t here to tell you about it.
Will you help us fund a specialist scleroderma nurse?
Here’s everything you need to help spread awareness on your social media channels
One of the easiest ways to raise awareness is via social media, but it can be hard to know what to post. So we’ve created our very own social media “PR kit” for you to download.
It’s full of ready-to-use images and captions you can use across your social media channels to promote the #ShineLikeASunflower campaign and raise awareness of scleroderma.
Whether you share these posts on your individual social channels or on your organisation’s accounts, every bit of publicity helps. Thank you!
Poster and Digital Screen
Social Media Tiles
Social Media Videos
Social Media Banner
Facebook Cover
Twitter Banner
Linkedin Banner
Email Signature
Social Media Messages
Social Media Messages
1. Scleroderma Australia relies on generous donations from individuals and organisations like yours to continue our work to boost awareness, engage community support, and raise vital research funds to support some 6,000 Australians living with scleroderma.
Donate today: https://bit.ly/FundASclerodermaNurse
#ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022
2. What is scleroderma?
Scleroderma can be life-threatening and shortens life expectancy by more than 20 years. More than 6,000 people live with the condition in Australia, and women are seven times more likely to develop scleroderma than men. There’s currently no cure for scleroderma, but Australia is at the forefront of international research.
How can you help? Donate today: https://bit.ly/FundASclerodermaNurse
World Scleroderma Day – June 29
#ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022
3. You can help improve people’s lives with scleroderma by donating to Scleroderma Australia or fundraising for your state scleroderma association. Your donation will empower people living with scleroderma and their families. It will also support research to understand and develop treatments.
Donate today: https://bit.ly/FundASclerodermaNurse
#ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022
4. June is World Scleroderma Month, and this year we are lighting up more than 110 iconic Australian landmarks in golden light (#ShineLikeASunflower) to raise awareness of scleroderma.
Donate today: https://bit.ly/FundASclerodermaNurse
#ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022
5. Help Us Shine A Light On Scleroderma
Never heard of it?
• Scleroderma means “hard skin”
• It’s a condition that 6,000 Australians live with
• Women are 7 times more likely to experience scleroderma
Donate today: https://bit.ly/FundASclerodermaNurse
#ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022
6. This June, Scleroderma Australia is making 110 iconic landmarks across the country #ShineLikeASunflower, and hope to raise $150,000 to fund a scleroderma nurse to support people living with scleroderma. But they can’t do it without your generous support!
Donate here:https://bit.ly/FundASclerodermaNurse
#ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022
7. Over 110 iconic Aussie landmarks will #ShineLikeASunflower this June to raise awareness of scleroderma. Find your nearest landmark here: https://bit.ly/ShineALightOnScleroderma and share your photos with #ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022
8. June is World Scleroderma Month. Scleroderma Australia will be running their #ShineLikeASunflower campaign to boost awareness, gain community support, and raise vital research funds to support 6,000 Australians living with scleroderma.
Can you help them this year? Donate here: https://bit.ly/FundASclerodermaNurse
#ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022
9. This June we’re asking you to hit the streets for World Scleroderma Month to help us #ShineALightOnScleroderma!
Our 2022 #ShineLikeASunflower campaign will see us light up over 110 iconic Australian buildings and landmarks in June to raise awareness of scleroderma.
You can do your bit by finding a venue near you and sharing your photos with the hashtags #ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022
FIND YOUR NEAREST LANDMARK: https://bit.ly/ShineALightOnScleroderma
#ShineALightOnScleroderma #ShineLikeASunflower #WorldSclerodermaDay2022