With so many awareness days and months in a given year, it’s hard to keep track of everything. To help, we put together this quick guide as your go-to source for the upcoming year. Depending on your company, there’s probably multiple days and months that you support for your team members, or sponsoring organizations or causes throughout the year.
To get the word out for support causes, you might customize t-shirts, hats, pens and even sponsor charity walks to support organizations researching to find cures for different types of cancer, diseases, and disabilities affecting so many people.
There are also many days and weeks throughout the year to show appreciation to those working so hard in these medical fields to care for all of our loved ones going through these health issues. Let’s begin with the first month of the year, January:
January is National What Day?
January is dedicated to Cervical Cancer awareness and identified with the teal ribbon. It’s also the month to promote giving blood, with it being Blood Donor Month. And don’t forget to send those appreciation gifts to your favorite hard working pharmacist on National Pharmacist Day:
- Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
- Thyroid Awareness Month
- Glaucoma Awareness Month
- Blood Donor Month
- National Pharmacist Day – January 12, 2025
There are also a handful of other awareness days and holidays that might be more appropriate for your organization to observe including Martin Luther King Jr. Day (observed on the third Monday of the month), World Religion Day (observed on the third Sunday of the month), and National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day .
February is National What Day?
February’s most prominent health-related awareness is American Heart Month along with National Cancer Prevention Month which uses the color lavender for it’s awareness ribbon.
There are also a couple of other cancer-related awareness days, including World Cancer Day (February 4th, 2025) and International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day (February 15th, 2025). Other health-related days and months include:
- American Heart Month (raises awareness for heart disease; associated with the color red)
- National Wear Red Day (first Friday of the month; associated with American Heart Month)
- Rare Disease Day (last day of the month)
- National Children’s Dental Health Month (NCDHM)
- Give Kids a Smile Day (first Friday of the month; associated with NCDHM)
February is also Black History Month in the United States and LGBT History Month in the United Kingdom.
March is National What Day?
March is the national awareness month for many different types of cancers and diseases, including:
- Brain Injury Awareness Month (associated with the color gray)
- Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month (orange)
- Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month (green)
- Kidney Cancer Awareness Month (orange)
- Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month (blue)
- Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month (burgundy)
There are also a few health-related national awareness days in March including Diabetes Alert Day (fourth Tuesday of the month) and World Tuberculosis Day (March 24, 2025). If you just want to celebrate doctors for all they do, then you can observe National Doctors’ Day on March 30th, 2025.
March is also National Women’s History Month. Of course St. Patrick’s Day occurs in March every year, but you may not know, that it’s also designated as Irish-American Heritage Month. You also don’t want to forget to celebrate the people that make your business work on Employee Appreciation Day on the first Friday of the month.
April is National What Day?
On April 7th, you can promote living a healthier lifestyle during World Health Day, which was started by the World Health Organization. Other awareness days during April include:
- Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month (gray)
- Autism Awareness Month (puzzle design)
- Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month (burgundy)
- Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month (lavender)
- Testicular Cancer Awareness Month (purple)
Non-health awareness days during April include Earth Day (April 22) and Administrative Professionals Day (the Wednesday of the last full week of the month).
May is National What Day?
The biggest U.S. holidays in May are obviously Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day. Because of the latter holiday, it stands to reason that May is also National Military Appreciation Month. Additionally, May is a month with quite a few occupational commemorations, including:
- National Teacher Day and Week (occurring in the first full week of May)
- International Receptionists’ Day (Second Wednesday in May)
- International Nurses Day (May 12) and National Nurses Week (May 6-12)
- Peace Officers Memorial Day (May 15th, 2025) and National Police Week (May 12-18)
- National Emergency Medical Services Week (last full week of the month)
- Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6-10)
If your business provides products or services to any of these occupations, then you may want to celebrate their special days and weeks with thank you employee appreciation gifts. May is also a month full of awareness events for a variety of health-related issues, including:
- Arthritis Awareness Month (blue)
- ALS Awareness Month (red)
- Mental Health Awareness Month (green)
- National Stroke Awareness Month (red)
And finally, let’s not forget about those furry friends. May is National Pet Month, a great opportunity to send list gifts to those who love us unconditionally.
June is National What Day?
So what about June? We know that Father’s Day takes place in June every year, but what you might not have known is that June is National Men’s Health Month.
The other major celebration event every June is LGBT Pride Month. You will certainly see a lot of rainbow-inspired products hitting the streets along with a few standard summery items in preparation for the hotter months.
July is National What Day?
In the United States, the main holiday is obviously Independence Day. The holiday is often full American flag paraphernalia and you can certainly contribute to the fun outdoor get togethers and celebrations with some red, white, and blue promotional giveaways MADE IN USA.
July is also a common month for people to head outside and soak up the sun. So, it makes perfect sense that July is also UV Safety Awareness Month. You can easily commemorate that with a nice bottle of sunscreen or a beach umbrella. Other awareness events occurring in July include:
- System Administrator Appreciation Day (last Friday of the month)
- World Hepatitis Day (July 28th, 2024)
- National Ice Cream Month
August is National What Day?
August has very few awareness days. However, there are a few that we want to point out. Certain communities have a National Night Out event on the first Tuesday of the month. National Night Out seeks to bring together communities and the police officers who serve in them.
August is also National Immunization Awareness Month, and World Breastfeeding Week also occurs during the first week of the month.
September is National What Day?
September is most known for Labor Day, a great time to show your appreciation for your own employees or the customers you know work hard year-round themselves with them having the day off.
National Yoga Month occurs in September, as well. This makes it the perfect month to offer your clients exercise mats or even workout apparel.
September is also National Preparedness Month, a month set aside to raise awareness for how to prepare for natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Items like first aid kits or survival kits could be useful during this month. Other awareness events occurring in September include:
- POW/MIA Recognition Day (third Friday of the month)
- World Alzheimer’s Day (September 21)
- World Heart Day (September 29)
- Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month (burgundy)
- Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (gold)
- Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (light blue)
- Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month (teal)
- Blood Cancer Awareness Month (orange)
- Lymphoma Awareness Month (lime green)
- Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month (teal)
October is National What Day?
In October, you’ll find a few events that commemorate some specific hard workers, including:
- Physician Assistant Week (October 6-12)
- Emergency Nurses Week (first full week of October)
- Bosses’ Day (October 16)
- National Customer Service Week (early October)
Those are great holidays if any of your clients happen to work in those fields. But, you may be wondering, “October is national what month?” Of course, the major awareness event in October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, during which you’ll see a ton of pink ribbons, wristbands, and other merchandise floating around. Other month-long observations in October include:
- Fire Prevention Month
- National Bullying Prevention Month (blue)
- Down Syndrome Awareness Month (blue-yellow)
- Liver Cancer Awareness Month (green)
November is National What Day?
In the U.S., November is the month in which Thanksgiving is celebrated. So, it’s probably a good idea in general to show your appreciation during this month. World Kindness Day also occurs every year on November 13.
November is also a big month for service members as Veterans Day is celebrated annually, and the entire month is Military Family Appreciation Month. Additionally, the month is also home to Movember, an event that raises awareness for a variety of men’s health issues by asking men to grow out their facial hair for the entire month. A little shaving kit might be in order toward the end of November. Several other month-long events occur in November, including:
- Lung Cancer Awareness Month (white)
- Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month (purple)
- Alzheimer’s Awareness Month (purple)
- Diabetes Awareness Month (gray)
- Epilepsy Awareness Month (purple)
December is National What Day?
December is known for its variety of holiday celebrations including Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. So, you will likely be in the giving mood for December, as well. One of the more prominent global and national awareness days is World AIDS Day occurring on December 1 each year. Otherwise, there aren’t any prominent month-long observations during the year’s final month.
At the end of the day, it’s always good to offer promotional items to your clients. It will also improve your brand’s image by supporting a national awareness month or day of some kind. If you would like to get into the giving spirit, contact a promotions specialist at iPromo today.