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MINORITY DONOR AWARENESS DAY |

On August 1, Minority Donor Awareness Day focuses attention on the need for minority donors. Minority Donor Awareness Day highlights the need, especially among minorities, for more organ, eye, and tissue donors. This important day is part of the awareness campaign of National Minority Donor Awareness Week.

Within the African-American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander-American communities, there is a serious shortage of transplants. Minorities make up 57% of those on the organ waiting list. Due to chronic conditions, minority patients see an increased need for transplants affecting the heart, kidney, pancreas, and liver.

Minority Donor Awareness Day includes honoring minorities who have donated. While providing education, the day also encourages others to register as donors. At the same time, part of being informed includes practicing good health habits. The healthier the population, the fewer transplants needed.

Facilities take into consideration several factors when matching donors to recipients. However, blood type is the most critical component. Ethnic groups often have similar blood types. As a result, success rates increase when recipients are paired within the same ethnic or racial group. It’s necessary to know organ donation isn’t based on race or ethnicity. Anyone can donate because all organs can save a life.

INTERNATIONAL MAHJONG DAY | AUGUST 1

On August 1st, International Mahjong Day deals a game to get the celebration started! Play your tiles well, and perhaps you’ll honor the day with a win.

The 19th-century strategy game became popular in the United States in the 1920s. While we play the game with tiles, it’s much like rummy. The players meld beautifully designed tiles with Chinese characters and symbols to earn points. Melds include pongs, kongs, chows, and the mighty Mahjong.

Because Mahjong traveled great distances, it challenges people from many different backgrounds. As a result, Mahjong also breaks down communication barriers, bringing neighborhoods and communities together. Since people of all ages play, the game also bridges the gap between generations.

There are also a variety of styles of Mahjong, including American, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japanese, just to name a few. Find the version you enjoy best to play. Learn several different ways to play and play them all. If you’ve never played, the season is perfect to learn.

This is my favorite Game! 😎🎈

NATIONAL GIRLFRIENDS DAY

On August 1 we celebrate National Girlfriends Day to encourage women across the globe to get together and celebrate their special bond of friendship.

Girlfriends fall into many categories. While many grew up together, others meet through work or college. Still, others share a bond much deeper; sisters and mothers meet the definition of girlfriends, too.

Though these types of relationships cross our minds frequently, we often fail to set aside time to spend with each other. The day promotes the laughter and joys girlfriends bring. Rarely do girlfriends let another go it alone. Not only do they enjoy spending time together, they support each other, too. While laughing and sharing secrets, girlfriends offer advice, and celebrate successes. When it’s time for a glass of wine, a chat over a cup of coffee or to go for a long walk, girlfriends are there.

Whether we have one or many, girlfriends make life better, fuller, and complete. These are the friends that can make you laugh at life’s silliest things. A girlfriend is who you turn to when life is not so kind. In its simplest form, National Girlfriends Day celebrates the unlimited ways life is better with our girlfriends in it.

NATIONAL RASPBERRY CREAM PIE DAY

National Raspberry Cream Pie Day on August 1 takes advantage of ripe raspberries available this time of year. If you’re fortunate enough to enjoy some fresh-baked raspberry cream pie, it’s a day to celebrate!

Raspberries are the edible fruit of the raspberry plant. Not only do they grow on woody stemmed perennials, but they’re a very commercial crop, too. The raspberry bush is part of the rose family, which is why their stems are prickly like rose bushes.

Approximately 100 tiny drupelets cling together to make up one raspberry. Raspberry pulp and juice fill the drupelets. The drupelets adhere to a receptacle attached to a stem. Once the receptacle is removed, the raspberry is left with a hollow core.

NATIONAL IPA DAY

National IPA Day on the first Thursday in August celebrates the beer known as India Pale Ale Beer. Raise your glass on National IPA Day and enjoy this day with family and friends, while supporting your local craft brewers.

The IPA seems to have developed out of an idea from the 1700s when shipping ale to India, adding hops to the beer increased the longevity of the brew. Brewers thought that hops preserved the beer for long voyages to hot climates. One London brewer gained attention for his ability to brew this particular style of beer. George Hodgson shipped many casks of pale ales to India from London. However, no one knows for sure when or who coined the name India Pale Ale.

Brewers ferment barley to make India Pale Ales. Depending on the length of fermentation, the tannins may cause some bitterness in the beer, even after adding the hops. While IPAs have a reputation of being bitter and hoppy, not all are. They also tend to be crisper than other beers.

While the IPA is one of the most popular types of craft beers, it’s also making a resurgence with local microbreweries. Many are experiencing success as their brew finds its way into local restaurants and pubs.

A U G U S T

Chapter 8 is here. 🦋

A time for endings and beginnings, a time for sultry nights and glorious days spent soaking up the remainder of the summer season.

Enjoy it. It’s going to be a good month. 🦋🫶🏻🤍🌊🐚