February 28th has become an internationally recognized day for Rare Disease awareness and advocacy. Originally reported by Rare DR, Marquette University, in conjunction with Harmony 4 Hope, H4H, will put on an event Tuesday, February 27th to show their support for those who battle rare diseases. They plan to host a discussion, which will be spearheaded by H4H, as well as other advocates in the community.
Non-profit organization, Harmony 4 Hope, has literally made noise in the rare disease community. While they put forth energy into encouraging researchers to make life-changing discoveries, they also are huge advocates for music therapy, believing it can be incredibly uplifting to children and families battling rare diseases. H4H works with Rock the Research and Rare Storytellers, which utilize the power of music.
Every year to honor Rare Disease Day, H4H creates an encouraging and fun music playlist that is based off survey results. The playlist will be live on Spotify for anyone to access come February 28th. In 2017, some of the songs they included were Justin Timberlakes’ infamous “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” Timberlake, as well as Sara Bareilles’ inspiring “Brave” and even Tom Petty’s motivating “I Won’t Back Down”.
The dean of Marquette’s College of Health and Science department, Dr. William Cullinan, shared the college community’s excitement to host the event and highlight all the amazing work H4H has already accomplished, as well as bring forth even more awareness for those affected.
Dr. Cullinan will be hosting the discussion, allowing a platform for two former Marquette alumnae, Sarah Smith and Adrienne Ott Provost, to share their stories and experiences of living with rare diseases.
Prior to the discussion, musician Trapper Schoepp will perform music, tying back in their belief and focus on music therapy.
