What Is a monument lighting?

Raising awareness is a vital aspect of advocating for change and addressing the challenges faced by individuals with chronic, complex, or rare diseases. It’s a way to educate others, spark conversations, and ultimately drive progress towards improved support and resources. 
One unique way to do this is by requesting a monument lighting as a way to draw attention to the issues we care about, spark conversation and education around these topics and honor the resilience of those navigating these challenges every day. 
Monument lighting involves the illumination of a landmark or monument in recognition of a specific cause, event, or commemoration. It serves as a visual symbol that captures public attention and highlights the significance of the subject matter being commemorated. 
By lighting up a monument, individuals and organizations can raise awareness about important issues, celebrate milestones, or pay tribute to individuals or groups who have made significant contributions to society. Monument lightings can range from small-scale events at local landmarks to large-scale illuminations of iconic structures, each serving to amplify the message and impact of the cause being represented.

What Is a monument lighting?

Raising awareness is a vital aspect of advocating for change and addressing the challenges faced by individuals with chronic, complex, or rare diseases. It’s a way to educate others, spark conversations, and ultimately drive progress towards improved support and resources. 
One unique way to do this is by requesting a monument lighting as a way to draw attention to the issues we care about, spark conversation and education around these topics and honor the resilience of those navigating these challenges every day. 
Monument lighting involves the illumination of a landmark or monument in recognition of a specific cause, event, or commemoration. It serves as a visual symbol that captures public attention and highlights the significance of the subject matter being commemorated. 
By lighting up a monument, individuals and organizations can raise awareness about important issues, celebrate milestones, or pay tribute to individuals or groups who have made significant contributions to society. Monument lightings can range from small-scale events at local landmarks to large-scale illuminations of iconic structures, each serving to amplify the message and impact of the cause being represented.

What Is the purpose of it?

The purpose of lighting up a monument in the context of raising awareness about chronic, complex, and rare diseases, as well as advocating for desperately needed healthcare reform, is deeply significant.
Symbol of Solidarity
Lighting up a monument serves as a powerful symbol of solidarity, bringing together individuals affected by chronic, complex, and rare diseases, as well as those advocating for healthcare reform. It represents a unified front in the fight for increased support, research, and access to treatments.
Call to Action
The illumination of a landmark or monument serves as a visible call to action, highlighting the urgent need for attention and action in addressing the challenges faced by individuals with chronic, complex, and rare diseases. It prompts communities to engage in meaningful discussions and advocacy efforts aimed at driving positive change.
Amplification & Awareness
By lighting up a monument in honor of these causes, advocates have the opportunity to amplify their voices and raise awareness on a broader scale. It provides a platform to share personal stories, advocate for policy reform, and educate the public about the impact of these conditions on individuals and families.
Catalyst for Change
Lighting up a monument embodies a commitment to effecting tangible change in healthcare policies and practices. It serves as a catalyst for advancing initiatives that improve research funding, increase access to treatments, and enhance support services for those affected by chronic, complex, and rare diseases. Through this symbolic gesture, communities come together to drive progress and advocate for a brighter future for all.

how you can request it

1.

Determine Your Cause
Before diving into the process of requesting a monument lighting, you’ll need to decide the focus of your advocacy efforts. You have a few options:
  1. A lighting to raise awareness for your specific medical condition
  2. A lighting to raise awareness about the issues and causes we advocate for at Rise & Rally on chronic, complex, and rare disease advocacy and healthcare reform
  3. Both 🙂 you would just need to make sure that the awareness day for your specific condition and the awareness day for Rise & Rally are different

2.

Choose a Monument
Once you’ve decided on the focus of your advocacy, whether it’s for a specific medical condition or for Rise & Rally’s broader mission of chronic, complex, and rare disease advocacy and healthcare reform, it’s time to select the monument you’ll be requesting to illuminate. Consider landmarks located in areas near you that do typically host lighting requests such as well-known bridges, City Halls, or waterfalls.

3.

Fill Out the Template

We want to help make this as easy for you to do as possible which is why we created some templates that you can use to help make it happen! The main templates you will want to use is our email template and our formal asking template which is a PDF you can edit and attach to your email. 

Before reaching out to someone about your lighting request, you’ll need to fill out these templates so you have them ready to go when you make contact. Some basic things you will need to know for these templates include the name and address of the monument you are requesting, the lighting color HEX code they will need to get the right color and the date / time-frame you are requesting.

4.

Submit the Request
A few months before (or maybe longer depending on how far in advance the monument plans ahead) reach out to the number you find on the monument’s site and ask for the designated contact person responsible for handling lighting requests.Try to get their name, number and email if possible. Talking to them on the phone and then sending the email request after is ideal so they now it is coming and can be working on it, but if they don’t answer send them the email and try to call a few days later if you receive no response.

5.

Plan An Event (Optional)

Planning an event around the lighting ceremony can amplify the impact of your advocacy efforts and foster community engagement. Whether it’s a small gathering or a larger-scale event, leveraging the ceremony as a focal point can help raise further awareness for your cause! 

By coordinating an event alongside the lighting ceremony, you can maximize visibility and momentum, driving meaningful change and advancing your advocacy goals within your community! It doesn’t need to be a big event by any means (unless you want it to be), but since we know it can sometimes be hard to think of ideas, we have provided some towards the end of this page.

6.

Consider Requesting A Proclamation (Optional)
A proclamation is an official declaration issued by a governing body, such as a city council or state legislature, to commemorate a specific event, cause, or group. It serves as a formal recognition and endorsement of the significance of the subject matter, often accompanied by a call to action or public awareness campaign.You can request a proclamation for your specific disease awareness day/month or for Rise & Rally’s Chronic, Complex, and Rare Disease Awareness Day/Month by reaching out to your local government officials or representatives. We have attached the templates you need below and you can find the instructions as to how to go about this here.

7.

Notify Media Outlets (Optional)
Notifying media outlets is crucial to maximizing the impact of your lighting event and raising awareness for your cause. One of the most effective ways to do this is through a press release, a formal statement sent to journalists and media organizations to announce news or events. Press releases provide essential details about the event, such as its purpose, date, location, and significance, in a concise and compelling format. They also offer journalists quotes, background information, and contact details for further inquiries.To simplify the process, we offer customizable press release templates that you can tailor to your event and cause. You can learn more about how to send off and who to send press releases here.

8.

Notify Us & Receive Your Rise & Rally Pin
Once you have secured approval for your monument lighting event, please inform us of the date, location, and purpose of the event, along with any relevant details we should know by filling out the form here. This will allow us to promote your event on our website, social media channels, and other platforms to maximize its visibility and impact! BONUS: If you choose to take do one of the optional activities (the ones in purple), such as organizing an event, requesting a proclamation, or engaging with media outlets, please be sure to indicate this on the notification form linked above and we will send you a complimentary Rise & Rally official pin to wear during your event, interviews, or proclamation ceremony!

9.

Attend The Event
Yay! Time to attend the lighting! This is an exciting event and we highly recommend inviting whoever you can to come with you and/or to attend your event if you have one. We also recommend wearing Rise & Rally apparel (shop here) and your complimentary Rise & Rally pin (see box 8) if you have it so that other Rise & Rally members, the news crew or any others wanting to come learn more and celebrate to easily identify you!We usually recommend arriving early so be sure to check when sunset is and arrive maybe an hour or so before that as they usually light up after sunset, but each specific monument site has their own way of doing things so be sure to check with them before hand. Once it is dark and lit up be sure to take pictures individual and group photos with all who attended! These photos can be used in newspaper articles, for your own advocacy and for us to share with our audience about your great accomplishment!

10.

Share Photos & Summary With Us
We put our heart and soul into supporting our members, and there’s nothing more rewarding than celebrating their victories with our community! That’s why we’re reaching out to you to share your photos, any news segments, or articles featuring the event, along with a detailed summary of the occasion. Your contributions help us amplify your advocacy efforts and inspire others to join the cause.It’s also a great opportunity to recognize your unwavering dedication to raising awareness for chronic, complex, and rare diseases. We’re eagerly anticipating the chance to showcase your event on our social media platforms and commemorate your achievements together with the entire Rise & Rally community!You can submit those photos here!

Lighting Request, Press Release & Event Invite Templates

Trying to request a lighting and putting together everything else that comes with that such as press releases, event planning and possibly obtaining a proclamation – can be a lot to do. We know that and want to make it as easy as possible which is why we worked hard to create templates you can easily fill in and use!
When engaging in advocacy alongside our organization, we ask that you use our branded templates. This ensures that policymakers, organizations and all involved are fully aware of your affiliation with our organization, fostering cohesion and maintaining a unified voice across our advocacy efforts.
Below you will find a variety of pre-made and easily downloadable templates you can use to help you with your lighting, event and press release requests. These were all made and are editable in canva. If you have not used canva before it is free and simple to use just head over to canva.com and create a free account to get started. If you need help with this please contact us via our contact page and we will help you out! Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or new to the world of advocacy, our templates will help you make a meaningful impact in the fight for chronic, complex and rare disease advocacy and healthcare reform!
Monument Lighting Event Ideas
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Request A Monument Lighting Guide
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Awareness Day/Month Info Sheet
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Request A Lighting For Rise & Rally’s Chronic, Complex & Rare Disease Awareness Day Template
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Press Release For A Lighting For Rise & Rally’s Chronic, Complex & Rare Disease Awareness Day Template
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Lighting For Rise & Rally’s Chronic, Complex & Rare Disease Awareness Day Event Info Invite Template
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Request A Lighting For Your Specific Condition Template
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Press Release For A Lighting For Your Specific Condition Template
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Lighting For Your Specific Condition Event Info Invite Template
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get your outfit for your event

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Notify us of your Planned lighting Event

We would love to be able to share, promote, and celebrate your lighting event or any associated events! Once you secure your lighting date, please let us know by filling out this form. We’ll be in contact to ensure you’re all set and answer any questions you may have. Your advocacy efforts are incredibly valuable, and we’re excited to support, cheer you on and share how you are making a difference!
NOTIFY US

how did it go? Share Your photos, news clips etc. From your event

Fill out this form after you have your lighting event to let us know how it went, share photos, news clips & articles and any other important info that you would like to share with us so we can share with our community!
LET US KNOW