“Dr. Adams truly inspired our ‘Protect To Respect’ PSA campaign. This is a definitive and personal call to action. This PSA campaign is done with purpose, inclusivity and a specific focus to define the personal reasons for people to wear their masks.”

CHICAGO (PRWEB)
May 02, 2020

Recognizing the importance of Chicago’s neighborhood minority-owned retailers to implement COVID-19 safety measures, FourStar Branding, a Chicago creative branding and marketing firm providing small businesses and nonprofits access to top blue chip services, created the “Protect To Respect” PSA campaign urging people to wear masks.

The firm partnered with the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, the Little Village Community Foundation, Food He.ro, 1871 and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. This partnership was possible by the support of the following four foundations: The Chicago Community Trust, The Coleman Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Robert R. McCormick Foundation. This was a collective support for a new partnership designed to improve the ecosystem of small businesses.

The “Protect To Respect” PSA campaign infuses a strong message and bold imagery to stress the importance to protect people and their loved ones by taking the most critical action during this pandemic: to always wear a mask while visiting stores, restaurants and doctor’s offices and other essential businesses.

FourStar Branding’s President and Founder Patricia Aguilar explained that the PSA campaign’s inspiration came from watching U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams give his expertise on how people can take precautions during COVID-19.

“As I watched CNN along with millions of viewers as the U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams spoke of the severity of the Coronavirus affecting our minority communities, I understood how important it is for all of us to protect ourselves and our loved ones,” she said. “Dr. Adams truly inspired our ‘Protect To Respect’ PSA campaign. This is a definitive and personal call to action. This PSA campaign is done with purpose, inclusivity and a specific focus to define the personal reasons for people to wear their masks.”

Little Village Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Blanca R. Soto is proud to be part of this special PSA campaign.

“Sometimes, wearing a face mask during COVID -19 is the best way to show our true selves,” Soto said. “It’s saying to others: ‘Who do you wear your mask for?’”

Aguilar explains that difficult situations call for people to be proactive. The collaboration for this PSA campaign provides such an example.

“Challenging times make us come together and become stronger in the midst of the darkness,” said Aguilar “We are calling this an organic PSA campaign because it is fueled by the love each one of us has for each other.”

To learn more about the PSA campaign, visit https://fourstarbranding.com/.

About FourStar Branding:

Created by Patricia Aguilar, FourStar Branding was inspired by the four stars in the City Flag of Chicago. According to the firm, the stars represent four key branding pillars: Ignite, Increase, Empower, and Promote—taking small business enterprise to the next level. Comprised of a team of native Chicagoans, we are small business owners who live, work and breathe the concept. To learn about FourStar Branding, visit https://fourstarbranding.com/.

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Join us for Sunshine Month – May, 2020!

Important especially now is the potential of reducing the impact and severity of the symptoms caused by multiple types of coronavirus.

ENCINITAS, Calif. (PRWEB)
May 01, 2020

We are living in an age of ‘sun deficiency,’ and this has had a negative health impact through increased risk of a number of serious diseases, such as those caused by coronaviruses. These ‘diseases of darkness’ largely started in the 1800’s with industrialization, indoor work, and the rapid movement of populations around the world to places their skins were not accustomed to.

During the month of May, GrassrootsHealth Nutrient Research Institute will be providing information to enable everyone to see how the lack of sunlight is associated with ‘darkness diseases’ such as heart disease, insomnia, diabetes, many serious cancers, and autoimmune diseases.

Sunshine provides more beneficial effects than what can be gained from supplements alone. Education will be provided on how to make vitamin D from sunshine. The latest studies, which are being published daily showing that sunshine and vitamin D can help strengthen your immune system and lower risk of coronavirus, will be reviewed. Finally, information will be given on how to reduce the chance of sunburns – the primary risk of sun exposure.

Vitamin D production in our body is a key necessity from the sun

Many research studies have been published, even just within the last year, further noting that avoidance of the sun contributes to very low vitamin D levels, and with the restoration of vitamin D levels from 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/L) to at least 40-60 ng/ml (100-150 nmol/L), increased prevention of health conditions such as preterm births, cancers, and respiratory infections can be seen. Important especially now is the potential of reducing the impact and severity of the symptoms caused by multiple types of coronavirus.

Further, a very noticeable trend is that many people of darker skin are more greatly impacted by these diseases. In many cases, the investigation into socio-economic discrimination does not find a way forward. However, when looking at the complexity of the skin itself and attending to the skin’s processing of the sun’s rays to vitamin D for human health, a strong relationship can be observed. This goes with the fact that the majority of the population doesn’t yet know to determine how much sun might be needed for darker skinned individuals.

Data from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) shows that within the United States population, approximately one-quarter (23%) have levels below 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/L) and a vast majority (89%) have levels below 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L), the bottom level of the range recommended by the GrassrootsHealth panel of expert scientists. Contributing to this deficiency is the decreased amount of time spent outdoors compared to any other time in human history.

About GrassrootsHealth Nutrient Research Institute

GrassrootsHealth Nutrient Research Institute is a nonprofit public health research organization dedicated to moving public health messages regarding vitamin D and many other nutrients from science into practice. It has a panel of 48 senior vitamin D researchers from around the world contributing to its operations as well as many new researchers with the expanded focus on other nutrient actions, omega-3’s, magnesium, and, looking at the interactions of all nutrients.

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Visit www.dicentra.com for more information

“We are aggressively building our database of potential subjects and aggressively recruiting for ongoing trials. Justina brings the perfect skill set to spearhead these efforts and help maintain our competitive advantage in the space.” Peter Wojewnik, Vice President, dicentra

TORONTO (PRWEB)
May 01, 2020

dicentra, a leading contract research organization (CRO) and global consulting firm for the life sciences and food industries, is pleased to announce that Justina Mankaruos has joined its clinical trial division, located in downtown Toronto, Ontario.

Justina graduated with a Masters Degree in Pharmacy in June of 2019. Prior to that, she worked in pharmacies and hospitals with a focus on patient communication and organization. Upon graduation, she looked for opportunities to apply her unique experience and healthcare education in the research community and found dicentra.

“My favorite part of working in the healthcare industry is getting to know the patients; this opportunity is the perfect venue to speak to patients and make a difference,” reports Justina.

“We are very excited to have Justina join our team,” states Vice President Peter Wojewnik. “One of the advantages we provide as a CRO is being located in downtown Toronto and being able to recruit subjects for trials at a very fast pace. We are aggressively building our database of potential subjects and aggressively recruiting for ongoing trials. Justina brings the perfect skill set to spearhead these efforts and help maintain our competitive advantage in the space.”

About dicentra

dicentra is a contract research organization and professional consulting firm that specializes in addressing all matters related to safety, quality, and compliance for all product categories in the life sciences and food industries. We evaluate, implement, and provide all the necessary support for your products and operations, allowing you to gain market access while building confidence in your brand. We achieve this through our four business divisions: Life Sciences, Food Safety & Quality, Global Certifications, and Clinical Trials. Since our inception in 2002, we have completed over 18,000 projects and serviced over 1,200 companies internationally.

dicentra is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Our beautiful and friendly clinic is located right in downtown Toronto, a short walk away from three subway stations, and easily accessible to the Greater Toronto Area’s six million inhabitants. dicentra also has an office in Guelph, Ontario. For more information, visit http://www.dicentra.com.

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A group of NF patients shared why it’s important to them that we make NF visible.

“The NF voice is one that needs to be heard – in fact, it’s over 2.5 million voices worldwide who live with neurofibromatosis,” said Simon Vukelj, Chief Marketing Officer of the Children’s Tumor Foundation.

NEW YORK (PRWEB)
May 01, 2020

Today is the first day of NF Awareness Month, 31 days of bringing attention to the inspirational and remarkable stories of those living with NF, and the critical need for research to better their lives. NF, short for neurofibromatosis, causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body, and it affects all ethnicities, races, and genders equally. In addition to tumors growing anywhere in the body, NF may lead to blindness, deafness, bone abnormalities, disfigurement, learning disabilities, disabling pain, and cancer. NF affects 1 in 3,000 people and, while the FDA just approved the first-ever treatment, Koselugo (selumetinib), for inoperable plexiform neurofibromas, there is no cure at this time for NF, which is why it is crucial to Make NF Visible.

This year, the Children’s Tumor Foundation NF Awareness Month campaign will focus on the external things the NF community is doing to raise the profile of this rare disease, and the internal struggle patients experience living with a genetic disorder that manifests differently in each NF patient (sometimes externally, and often internally). While the current environment has everyone at home and ‘socially distanced’, there are still many things patients, families and their supporters can do to Make NF Visible through a collection of ideas themed Home is Where the Heart Is.

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  Previously, the Foundation drove NF awareness through the Shine a Light on NF campaign, which last year realized over 300 architectural icons, buildings, and bridges worldwide lighting up in blue/green in recognition of the NF movement. With many public locations closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation is encouraging everyone to Shine a Light on NF from home. This includes lighting your home with blue & green lights, hanging an End NF Flag, decorating your driveway or sidewalk with blue & green chalk and End NF messages, dying your hair, painting your nails, creating lawn signs, and more. (On May 17, 2020, World NF Awareness Day, Niagara Falls will still Shine a Light on NF, which will be viewable through an online viewing party, to be announced separately.)
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  The Children’s Tumor Foundation leads the community in making NF visible through the pushes to Wear Blue & Green on May 17 and Wear Green & Blue on May 22 for NF2. These visual cues, utilizing the official colors of the cause and the campaign, are another way that makes the movement accessible, declaring that NF deserves attention and that NF patients deserve a cure.
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  Enter the 2020 Children’s Tumor Foundation NF Awareness Month photo contest and tell us, How Do You Make NF Visible? Submit entries to media@ctf.org.
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  Additional year-round initiatives that peak during NF Awareness Month are #EndNF and I Know a Fighter, making NF visible through the use of a shared social rally cry and storytelling hook that reflects the bravery NF patients exhibit in their daily lives.

“The NF voice is one that needs to be heard – in fact, it’s over 2.5 million voices worldwide who live with neurofibromatosis,” said Simon Vukelj, Chief Marketing Officer of the Children’s Tumor Foundation. “With patients and families leading the way, NF Awareness month brings recognition to society’s all-too-prevalent inattention to NF, offset by the real-life stories of inspiring personal triumph over this devastating disorder.”

The recent announcement from AstraZeneca of Koselugo’s FDA approval, a MEK-inhibitor called selumetinib that in clinical trials resulted in tumor size reduction from 20-60% in over 70% of patients with inoperable plexiform neurofibromas, has opened the door to the potential for the development of treatment options for all NF patients. Expanding awareness and making NF more visible is more critical than ever.

The Children’s Tumor Foundation is also releasing today an exclusive photo collection from award-winning photographer and NF Dad Craig Warga, also called Make NF Visible. This collection of paired portraits looks at the visible and invisible experiences that contribute to the different ways NF makes itself visible in a person’s life, things like brain tumors and cafe au lait spots, neurofibromas and learning difficulties, successful surgeries, failed clinical trials, physical scars, emotional wounds, cross-country networks, unspoken understanding, and unbroken bonds.

“Continuing to make NF visible means getting researchers to work toward treatments and a cure, it means further educating clinicians,” said Ken R., a 51-year-old man living with NF who participated in the project. “And it means helping those of us with NF feel comfortable telling our stories. Making NF more visible is one step towards ending NF!”

For more information on the Children’s Tumor Foundation, as well as all NF Awareness Month campaign initiatives, please visit ctf.org/nfawareness or ctf.org/homeiswheretheheartis.

Exclusive blue and green merchandise can be purchased at ctf.org/store.

About Children’s Tumor Foundation

The Children’s Tumor Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding effective treatments for the millions of people worldwide living with neurofibromatosis (NF), a term for three distinct disorders: NF1, NF2, and schwannomatosis. NF causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body and may lead to blindness, deafness, bone abnormalities, disfigurement, learning disabilities, disabling pain, and cancer. NF affects 1 in every 3,000 births across all populations equally. There is no cure yet – but the Children’s Tumor Foundation mission of driving research, expanding knowledge, and advancing care for the NF community fosters our vision of one day ending NF. For more information, please visit ctf.org.

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MVP Wash Your Hands Urinal Screen

85% of men need a reminder to wash their hands

DALLAS (PRWEB)
May 01, 2020

Restaurants, golf courses, churches and schools in many states will gradually be opening up for business. While most of these businesses have men’s restrooms, fully 85% of men surprisingly do not wash their hands after their visit. MVPee.com, based in Dallas, Texas is trying to ensure that men who visit restrooms will remember to wash their hands to stop the spread of Covid-19. MVPee’s solution is a friendly reminder in the form of a urinal screen with a message to that effect. These screens would even work in Larry David’s style of urinal

A study by Michigan State University concluded that the vast majority of men don’t bother to wash their hands after going to the bathroom. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the decision whether or not to wash their hands often takes place prior to men zipping up.

MVPee.com is trying to change that trajectory by giving away 5,000 urinal screens to any public business that has a urinal. The screens are strategically placed, to be viewed, precisely at the time of decision by men, of whether to wash or not.

MVPee message screens have been used by state health departments (quit smoking), state departments of transportation (costs of DWI), colleges (stop sexual assault), the Army Corp of Engineers (wear a life preserver) – even churches have used their message screens to tell parishioners “not to worry, sometimes we all miss the mark.”

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