March is SUDC Awareness Month
The SUDC Foundation is leading efforts to raise awareness of SUDC around the world.
This global effort began in 2015, inspired by Drew Joseph Boswell and the Boswell family. The Boswell family successfully advocated for the first statewide proclamation declaring March as SUDC Awareness Month in the State of Louisiana in 2015 which was signed by former Governor Bobby Jindal.
Below, you’ll find a full list of activities and ways to get involved.
Throughout the month of March, the SUDC Foundation will be highlighting all of our SUDC awareness initiatives on social media. Please be sure to “Like” and “Follow” us on Facebook and Instagram to stay connected and engaged.
You can help amplify our impact by sharing our posts—and your own!
Get Ready for SUDC Awareness Month this March 2026! 🌟
Help us shine a light on Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood this March and access everything you need to raise awareness, spread kindness, and honor the children gone too soon:
📌 The SUDC Foundation Awareness Month Flyer (See here)
📄 The SUDC Foundation Fact Sheet (See here)
💌 The SUDC Foundation Act of Kindness Cards (See here)
👟 Fundraising Ideas and Information (See here)
Order your #ShineALightOnSUDC Awareness Kit Today (Order here)
Let’s come together as a community to raise awareness, advocate, and support one another.
Organize a meaningful awareness walk in memory of your child’s memory. Whether it’s a small gathering of close family and friends or a larger community event, your walk brings people together to remember and reflect.
Reach out to [email protected] for support.
Every walk helps amplify our message of hope and remembrance.
Join us for this year’s Strides for SUDC Awareness Challenge. Walk, run, bike or swim any distance you choose, any time throughout the month, from wherever you are, and let’s reach 5,000 miles for the SUDC Foundation together!
Show your support while you stay active by wearing your SUDC Foundation apparel available here or by wearing blue and gold in honor of SUDC awareness. 💙💛
As a thank you for your efforts in raising awareness, log 100 miles or more during the month and receive special recognition within the SUDC community.
Click here for more information and sign up today!
We’re excited to introduce the SUDC Foundation’s new apparel store! Show your support for our mission with apparel designed to raise awareness for SUDC.
The store offers both adult and youth sizes in various colors. Click here to browse the selection of items.
Visit the store today, place your order and wear your support proudly as we continue to #ShineALightOnSUDC together!
Show your support all month long to honor all the children gone too soon by wearing the official colors of the SUDC Foundation. Whether at home,
work, school, or at an event can help spark conversations and raise awareness.
Don’t forget to also browse our SUDC Foundation Apparel Store and order your new #ShineALightOnSUDC apparel today!
Let your voice be heard! Raise awareness about SUDC by sharing stories, facts, and visuals on your social media platforms.
Follow & Tag Us
Follow and tag the SUDC Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and/or Youtube to stay updated.
Use These Hashtags
Include these hashtags in your posts to join the conversation:
- #ShineALightOnSUDC
- #MarchIsSUDCAwarenessMonth
- #SUDCAwareness
- #SUDCAwarenessMonth
Update Your Facebook Banner
Show your support by changing your Facebook Banner. Click here to download the template.
This March, we invite you to help us illuminate 500 landmarks around the world in blue and gold, the official colors of the SUDC Foundation, in honor of our children gone too soon and in recognition of the strength and resiliency of the SUDC community.
Here’s how you can help:
Ask local businesses, libraries, city halls, schools, & police/fire stations to light their buildings in blue and gold.
Illuminate your own home in blue and gold to show your support.
Post photos, use #ShineALightOnSUDC, tag @SUDCFoundation, and help us reach our 500 social shares goal!
Each light represents a child remembered.
Each light sparks a conversation.
Each light brings us one step closer to greater understanding.
For more info, please contact Ghazala Siddiqui, Community Education & Outreach Coordinator at: [email protected].
Together, we honor their light. Together, we remember. Together we move closer to a world without SUDC.
Honor the memory of an SUDC child by raising kindness, hope, and compassion. Every act—big or small—makes a difference and brings light to others.
Ideas for Kindness:
Donate books to a library
Deliver treats to first responders
Leave a heartfelt note for a neighbor
Download and personalize our Kindness Cards to share your act of kindness and inspire others to pay it forward.
Let love and kindness shine in honor of the children gone too soon, whose lives continue to inspire us.
Share your act of kindness on social media with #SUDCFoundation to encourage others to join.
Join The SUDC Foundation Fundraising Challenge
Come be a part of the SUDC Foundation Fundraising Challenge! Together, let’s raise $50,000 to support the SUDC Foundation, all while raising awareness!
Here are the many ways you can get involved:
* Create a personal Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Page
* Create a Bonfire T-shirt Campaign
* Attend and support a Local SUDC Awareness Fundraising Event near you
* Partner with your workplace and double your donation
* Plan a “Workplace Color Challenge Day” by challenging your co-workers to wear the SUDC Foundation’s official colors of blue and yellow to raise awareness.
* Donate directly to The SUDC Foundation in any gift amount of your choice.
For more details on any of the above, email [email protected].
One Community. One Common Goal. Together, give the gift of hope and support.
Learn what a proclamation is, follow our journey, and how you can help secure a proclamation here.
Securing a proclamation is more than an official recognition. It’s a meaningful way to honor a child gone too soon, raise awareness in your community, and create a call to action that supports research, education, and families affected by SUDC. Every proclamation helps ensure a child’s legacy is remembered while inspiring connection and recognition across the country.
Join the SUDC Foundation Community this March for SUDC Awareness Month as we host Legislative Action Days to advocate for policies that support families affected by Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood.
Advocacy in Action
From Loss to Legislation: Why Bereavement Leave Matters After the Death of a Child
March 24 | 12:00 PM ET | Virtual Event
As part of March is SUDC Awareness Month, the SUDC Foundation, Junie’s Place, and Massachusetts State Representative James Arciero invite advocates, organizations, employers, and community members to join us for a powerful virtual conversation on advancing compassionate bereavement policy.
This event will spotlight Massachusetts H.2064: An Act Relative to Bereavement Leave for the Loss of a Child, currently before the Massachusetts House. Representative Arciero will share how this legislation emerged through lived experience, community partnership, and sustained advocacy and why workplace protections for grieving parents are both urgent and necessary.
The program will open with Representative Arciero formally presenting the Proclamation signed by the Governor of Massachusetts recognizing March as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) Awareness Month, a meaningful milestone in advancing statewide awareness and reinforcing the need for continued research, education, and policy reform.
Members of the SUDC community will share personal stories that emphasizes the human impact behind this policy effort. Together, we will explore how grief-informed legislation can create more compassionate workplaces and how advocates in every state can take action to introduce or strengthen similar policies locally.
While this bill is before the Massachusetts legislature, the need for bereavement protections is national. We encourage organizations and community leaders across the country to attend, learn, and consider how to advance similar efforts in your own state.
This conversation reflects our Awareness Month commitment not only to honoring children gone too soon, but to advancing systems-level change that supports families when they need it most.
Register here: https://forms.gle/
(Note: Registration will close Sunday, 3/22/26, 5pm, EST. ZOOM link will be sent to registrants Monday, March 23, 2026.)
As an SUDC Foundation Ambassador, you can help raise awareness, increase grief and SUDC literacy, honor children gone too soon, and engage your community in meaningful ways., Together, we can #ShineALightOnSUDC and make a lasting impact.
A new opportunity is to host and/or promote a “Connect & Learn” at your workplace.
Become an SUDC Foundation Ambassador here.
The CURA Strategies Advocacy Academy is a groundbreaking resource designed to empower non-professional advocates and volunteers with the tools they need to make a difference. In partnership with the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), This free, 90-minute online course provides foundational training on advocacy basics, equipping participants to address specific policy issues and engage directly with legislators.
The Advocacy Academy will be available to our SUDC Foundation families and volunteers as part of our NORD membership benefits. This self-paced course ensures accessibility for all, regardless of schedules, and includes 12 engaging training videos paired with quizzes to reinforce key concepts.
Topics include: “Telling Your Story,” “Getting to Know Congress,” and “Social Media Advocacy.”
Upon completion, participants receive a certificate recognizing their commitment to advocacy and change.
This innovative program also offers ongoing public policy updates, critical issue analysis, and resources to support your advocacy journey. It’s a perfect way to amplify your voice and raise awareness during March is SUDC Awareness Month.
Begin your advocacy journey today, make an impact, and help drive change.
Register here.
- Explore the SUDC Foundation’s Professional Education & Resource Hub to access evidence informed tools and resources for medical professionals here.
- Encourage your local American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Chapter to highlight SUDC Awareness Month, share our SUDC Resources in chapter newsletters, and make referrals to support affected families. View a list of AAP Chapter websites here.
- Advance SUDC awareness and grief literacy by requesting a SUDC Foundation Grand Rounds Presentation. Learn more about the SUDC Foundation Grand Rounds here.
For more information on how you can help share our SUDC Resources with the medical community, please email: Ghazala Siddiqui, LPN, Community Education & Outreach Coordinator [email protected].
Encourage your local Medical Examiner and/or Coroner’s office to order a custom Help for Families Brochure.
Request a Help for Families Brochure here.
For more information on how you can help share our SUDC Resources with your local Medical Examiner and/or Coroner’s Office, please email: Ghazala Siddiqui, LPN, Community Education & Outreach Coordinator [email protected]
Help share the SUDC Foundation Sibling Toolkit and our Sibling Resources with your local school district, camps, and other community organizations.
For more information, please email: Ghazala Siddiqui, LPN, Community Education & Outreach Coordinator [email protected]
Register to Attend Our Webinar
Decoding Your DNA: Making Sense of Genetic Test Results
Join us for our second SUDC Foundation Webinar hosted by Stephanie Gandomi, MS, CGC (SCU MSGC Program Director) and Shilan Hameed, MSGC Student on March 19th at 12pm EST.
Registration Details Coming Soon!
Look Back at Our Past SUDC Awareness Months
Thank you for Supporting SUDC Awareness Month 2024!
SUDC Awareness Month 2024 was an astounding success!
Some of our highlights include:
- Our supporters participated in weekly activities to raise awareness throughout the month – shining a light on SUDC, wearing their hearts on their sleeves, spreading kindness, and taking strides for awareness.
- We sent over 600 free awareness kits to our supporters all over the world to help mark the month.
- SUDC Awareness Month was honored through 47 U.S. state & municipality proclamations and 139 illuminated landmarks.
- Our supporters walked, ran, rolled and rode over 21,000 miles for our Stride for SUDC Awareness Challenge.
From the bottom of our hearts, we offer our gratitude to everyone who helped us honor SUDC Awareness Month. Your efforts have helped us promote awareness, advocate for research, and support those affected by sudden unexpected or unexplained death in childhood.
We’ll see you next year!
10,000-mile Challenge
Strides for SUDC 2022 Leaderboard
Adult Leaders
1. Travis Behm
751 miles
2. Kimberley Shepherd
635 miles
3. David Gulliver
470 miles
Child Leaders
1. Brandon Richardson
83 miles
2. Alivia Covington
80 miles
3. Sophia Rogers-Smalley
26 miles
Not on Social Media?
There are many ways you can still participate! Wherever social media is mentioned above, email your friends and family, or talk to your neighbors! Post your pictures, videos and experiences in the SUDC email groups. March is all about raising awareness for SUDC and strengthening our community of advocates for the benefit of all children. You can also download our SUDC Awareness Month Poster.
Thank you!