Last week, with great anticipation, Team Belay launched the #StyleYourEpi campaign. It’s no secret that for these children, among the many burdens of having food allergies, includes the feeling of shame. Shame of being excluded and having to sit at “special” allergy tables in the school cafeterias, shame of not being able to eat what their friends can eat, and shame of having to carry around their life-saving Epipens everywhere they go. There is something inherently uncool about the Epipen to children and given the critical need for them, we at Belay, have wanted to change that.
While I’m no fashion maven, I was inspired when someone from our team, echoed the iconic line from Yves Saint Laurent, “Fashions fade, style is eternal.” Mirroring that sentiment, we have asked children to dress up in clothes they currently love and which reflect today’s trends and their interests of the moment, and proudly make it cool to wear their Epipen, a constant and “eternal” accessory for them (at least until there is a cure).
The #StyleYourEpi campaign is part of Belay’s long-term mission to rebrand food allergies and change the negative stigma associated with them.
We invite you, your families, your friends, your patients, your students to send us your #StyleYourEpi images to be shared so that, despite, the trends that come and go, carrying an Epipen will be eternally cool and together, we can change the way we live with food allergies.
