This year we want to encourage more people than ever to share their hearts over awareness weekend and raise awareness of Williams Syndrome and the Williams Syndrome Foundation!

What is Share Your Heart?

Share your heart is a nationwide campaign that will take place between Friday 17th – Sunday 19th May to raise awareness of Williams Syndrome.

Why we do it?

It is estimated that one in 18,000 people living in the UK has Williams Syndrome and only one in 30 doctors ever sees a patient with the condition. We want to educate others about Williams Syndrome so that they have a better understanding about the condition and the impact it can have on people lives.

How you can get involved

We have come up with some great ideas of how you can get involved during awareness weekend!

#shareyourheart

We have set ourselves a goal of getting 100,000 ‘Share Your Heart’ hashtags on social media and we need your help to achieve this! If you are a WSF member you will received a ‘Share Your Heart’ leaflet with the April 2019 magazine. If you are not a member you can download a printable version here. We want you to use this leaflet in all your social media posts over awareness weekend.

  • Create a heart shape using your hands / hold a sign up with ‘#shareyourheart’ tell everyone to ‘share your heart for Williams Syndrome’!
  • Create a heart shape using a group of people standing / sitting in a heart.
  • Tag people in and nominate them to ‘share their hearts over Williams Syndrome awareness weekend’.
  • SYH profile frame on Facebook – change your profile pic to have the SYH logo on it. This can be created in Facebook.

Video Content 

Video content is great way to get people involved.

  • This weekend is williams Syndrome awareness weekend and I’ll be doing xxx to raise awareness.
  • ‘I’m sharing my heart with xx for Williams Syndrome’
  • ‘Share your Heart for WS’ in sign language / Makaton
  • ‘I nominate xx to share their heart(s) for Williams Syndrome’ then that person must video themselves nominating the next person and so on.
  • Have a go at live video streaming at your event. Tell people what you are doing, where you are doing it and why!
  • Include the #’s #shareyourheart #williamssyndrome #WSF_UK
  • Link to website williams-syndrome.org.uk

Local Press / Radio

If you are planning an awareness event, contact your local newspaper or radio station and let them know. If you need help with press releases or emails, please contact Camille.hollington@williams-syndrome.org.uk

Get your knitting needles out and warm your woolly hearts for Williams Syndrome!

As we all know, Williams Syndrome Awareness month is just around the corner (17th – 19th May) and we are asking any knitters out there to get their needles out and KNIT A HEART FOR WILLIAMS SYNDROME.

We have a quick and easy WSF ‘exclusive’ heart knitting pattern that even beginners can do and which can then be shared in exchange for a donation, so your creation will help support people with Williams Syndrome.

This is a great fundraising idea that can be done at home on your own with some left-over wool and a cup of tea or can be enjoyed with friends. You can spread the knitting love and host a knit and bake sale with your fellow knitters, or people can just simply come along for the cake (in return for a donation of course!)

To start you off, the first 3 people to comment on our Facebook post (www.facebook.com/WilliamsSyndromeFoundationUK) will receive a free heart knitting kit (a ball of  King Cole Bamboo / Cotton DK yarn, a knitting pattern, a pair of knitting needles, some WSF “share your heart” stickers and bag to put it all in). This will make 16-18 hearts.

If you aren’t lucky enough to win one of the free kits, then (while stocks last) you can purchase a kit from us for £6 (retail value of £12.50 including the p&p) by emailing merry.burrows@williams-syndrome.org.uk   

Please include 1st and 2nd choice of colour (we have purple (5), cream (11), green (8), pink (5) and turquoise (4).

If you have plenty of your own wool and would just like the WSF Heart Pattern then please donate £1 (or more!) to our Paypal Giving Fund paypal.com/gb/fundraiser/charity/3145510 and we will email a pattern to you.  Please don’t do this anonymously as we will not know who to send the pattern to – and don’t forget to tick the gift aid link if you are a UK tax payer!!

Please send photos of your hearts and we will award a prize for the most beautiful!