The Anita Kaufmann Foundation Team Brings Purple Day® to Japan

NEW YORK, July 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Anita Kaufmann Foundation (AKF) Team is pleased to announce that Cassidy Megan, founder of  Purple Day® - World Epilepsy Day™, her mother Angela McCarthy, AKF Executive Director Debra Josephs, and AKF Director of Special Projects Danielle Josephs will be guest-speakers at public events in four major cities across Japan. The tour will start in Sendai city on July 4, 2015, move to Tokyo for July 5th, Shizuoka for July 7th and end in Nagoya on July 8, 2015. The events are organized by the Japan Epilepsy Rehabilitation Research Association Purple Day Japan Team, and supported by many important local organizations as well as the Japan Epilepsy Association, Eisai, GlaxoSmithKlein and UCB Japan. 

Cassidy is very excited about the trip. "I am so honored that The Anita Kaufmann Foundation team and I are going to Japan and to have the chance to speak with everyone there about why I started Purple Day. I hope to try and help erase the stigma associated with epilepsy world-wide because epilepsy doesn't discriminate, people do." 

While epilepsy is a common disease in Japan, affecting approximately 1,000,000 people, the stigma and misunderstanding about epilepsy still remain deeply rooted in Japanese society. Advocacy groups and epilepsy care professionals around Japan have long attempted to face these issues through public education and media appearance, yet with moderate impact. Joined by the Purple Day team, the organizers believe this event will bring a significant impact in the history of epilepsy advocacy in Japan.   

"We are very excited to be working with our friends and colleagues in Japan and hope to share with them our strategies for creating successful awareness campaigns," explains AKF Executive Director Debra Josephs.  "We believe that our collaboration and joint efforts will truly make a difference." 

For a detailed agenda, visit: http://www.purpledayeveryday.org 

About The Anita Kaufmann Foundation AKF is a 501©3 public charity. Our mission is to educate the public not to fear people with epilepsy, seizures or brain trauma.  We offer free classroom and community education programs, free awareness materials, assistance to US Veterans, and are the global sponsor of Purple Day®, growing individual grass roots initiatives around the world.  

www.akfus.orgwww.purpledayeveryday.org

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SOURCE The Anita Kaufmann Foundation