Share Your Stories of Hope
June is Scleroderma Awareness Month, and each year, we are inspired by the power and strength of our community. We all draw power from the stories of strength shared by members of our community, we find optimism in the latest research that promises better tomorrows, and we raise awareness by lighting communities across the country teal. In all of it, we feel hope.
That’s why this year, we are embracing and celebrating our Beacons of Hope. This June we want to celebrate all of those who bring hope to our community. We want to share stories of where we have turned in those times we needed a little more hope. In celebrating the strength and hope within our community, we will let the world know more about scleroderma and the support our community needs.
In addition to the Foundation’s social posts, #TealTalks and Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma walks, we want to shine a light on your stories and your efforts to shine a light on scleroderma in your community. We hope you’ll share a message or video detailing where you find hope. What resources have you turned to? What support systems have you found? What information gives you hope for better days ahead. We also encourage you to share photos from how you are lighting your community teal this month.
Awareness Month will culminate on World Scleroderma Day, June 29. World Scleroderma Day highlights the need to increase awareness of scleroderma and to advocate for those affected by this life-threatening disease. June 29 was selected in 2009 by FESCA (Federation of European Scleroderma Associations) as World Scleroderma Day to commemorate Paul Klee, a gifted abstract artist who died of systemic sclerosis on June 29, 1940.
2026 #TealTalk Series
To celebrate Scleroderma Awareness Month, we are bringing our community together for our #TealTalk series of live conversations with special guests. You won’t want to miss this! Be sure to use the links below to register in advance or watch the recording after the event has taken place.
*Dates and times are still tentative. Once dates and times are finalized, registration links will be available.
- June 1, 2:00 p.m. ET – #TealTalk: Lighting the Future of Research
- TBD – #TealTalk: Book Club – More Details Soon
- June 18, 4:00 p.m. ET – #TealTalk: Juvenile Scleroderma Update
- June 24, 2:00 p.m. ET – #TealTalk: Special Discussion-More Details Soon
- June 29, 2:00 p.m. ET – #TealTalk: World Scleroderma Day Get Together
Proclamations and Light Ups
Proclamations:
- A proclamation is an official designation of an event. Proclamations are a great way to educate the public about a specific issue and bring attention to a cause.
- It is an effective tool for gaining public recognition of your event because it carries the full support of a key government official in your state or community.
Light Ups:
- During scleroderma awareness month in June, we will be lighting up across the USA.
- Why? To raise awareness
- Hashtag: #tealtalk
To share photos from proclamations and light ups you have secured, please complete this form: Advocacy Activities
Social Media Toolkit
Social Media Cover Images
We’ve created a few social media images to help you raise awareness among your own social media networks.
Right click on the image below to save the file to your device for your own use.
Want to add your own photos? Use the template link here to add your own photos in Canva.
Social Media Profile Frames
The National Scleroderma Foundation is proud to share these social media profile photo frame templates. You will need a Canva account to be able to customize the frame with your photo.
Click here to open your own version of the template in Canva. You will be the only one with access to this file.
- Upload the photo you’d like to place in the center of the frame.
- Drag and drop the photo in the center of the frame.
- Double click in the center of the photo to resize or move the photo within the frame, using the photo cropping tool.
- Download the image as a PNG file. Be sure to turn on the “transparent background” option in the download settings.
Other Social Media Images
The National Scleroderma Foundation is proud to offer the following social media templates that you can use to spread awareness on your own accounts.
Click here to open the template file.
You can then download the images you’d like to use, or feel free to make edits. The template file will create your own version of the file.
If you don’t have Canva, here are a few ready-made images that you can use. Right click on the image below to save the file to your device for your own use.
2025 Proclamations
2025 Light Ups
Volunteers and Foundation team members worked tirelessly last year to help light the country teal during the month of June. Check out some of the photos from last year’s teal lights. Ready to help us shine even brighter in 2026? Learn more about light ups and proclamations here. Have you already secured a proclamation or light up? Let us know about it by completing this form.
Thank You Sponsors
