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October 2026 Newsletter
Freedom From Seizures 5K South
Saturday, October 10
9:00 a.m.
Greene Turtle Bar & Grille
391 N. DuPont Highway
Dover, Delaware 19901
Thanks to our sponsors for making this event possible:
Christiana Care - BayHealth - Nemours Children's Hospital - UCB - LivaNova - HomeWell Care Services
Lace Up Your Sneakers
The Freedom From Seizures 5K South is almost here!
Join the EFDE community for an exciting morning next Saturday, October 10 at the Greene Turtle Bar & Grille. Stick around for our post-race awards ceremony, celebration, and a light snack buffet generously provided by the Greene Turtle.
The restaurant will also be open for food and drink purchases.
Registering for our Freedom From Seizures 5K South will help raise funds for essential support programs and trainings, as well as raise awareness and reduce stigma in epilepsy.
A reminder about EFDE's special "Wall of Warriors" at the Freedom From Seizures 5K South. Help fill the Wall with your photos and messages of who you are walking for...the people and reasons behind our fight for Freedom From Seizures. Supplies will be available during registration to create posts to add to the wall. All photos can be retrieved after the race.
Purple Power
While you're at the Freedom From Seizures 5K South, come check out the Riefler Family's purple epilepsy awareness stock car. The car's theme is "Her Fight is My Fight" in honor of their daughter and epilepsy hero, Kloe. What a cool way to spread epilepsy awareness at every race. We are grateful to the Riefler's for this fun opportunity and for all they do to support the epilepsy community.
Tomorrow - SFA en Español
Are you or someone you know interested in becoming Seizure First Aid Certified in Spanish? EFDE is offering a free course tomorrow, Saturday, October 3 at 11:00 a.m. at our office, located at 527 Stanton Christiana Road, Newark. A light lunch is included. No need to register in advance. Questions? Email Val at vbudischak@efde.org.
Epilepsy Awareness Month is right around the corner and we want to turn the state of Delaware purple in honor of our epilepsy warriors! If you know someone who can assist us with lighting buildings, bridges, monuments, etc. in purple during the month of November, please let us know by clicking here:
Join the family and friends of baby Kaden for this exciting event, which will include race shirts, an awards ceremony, and several food trucks. For more details, visit:
Join us on Sunday, November 15 from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. for EFDE's Annual Friendsgiving Dinner. We will gather at EFDE's office, located at 527 Stanton Christiana Road, Newark, DE for a festive and fun-filled afternoon. More details to follow, but mark your calendar today.
Get a Jump on Your Holiday Shopping
Only a couple of weeks left to get your Boscov's shopping pass! EFDE is participating in the Boscov's "Friends Helping Friends" event. Donate $5 to EFDE and receive a 25% off shopping pass to be used on Wednesday, October 21 at any Boscov's (in store and online). You can also register to win a $100 Boscov's gift card (one winner at every store). The best part...100% of your donation goes to EFDE! Please share this with your family and friends, then contact our office (302-999-9313) or email (efd@efde.org) to let us know how many passes you would like. Better yet, come see us at the Christiana Boscov's from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. that day.
We will also have passes available at the Freedom From Seizures 5K South.
Annual Fund Update
Thank you to everyone who has made a gift to the 2026-2027 EFDE Annual Fund. For those unfamiliar with our annual fund, it is a critical source of revenue and provides funding for all of EFDE's educational events, support programs, seizure first aid trainings, our community outreach, and our advocacy efforts throughout the state. Thanks to your kindness, we are able to provide all of our services and resources at no charge to our community.
A big thank you to all who donated in September:
Karyn Scout - Lazarus Perry - Tammy Hanby - Brian Bartley - AmeriHealth Caritas - George Schurr - Joseph Cunningham - United Way of Delaware - Orlandra Butler - Karen Palermo
Don’t see your name? Make your gift today and join this dedicated group of supporters.
I started out getting my Associate Degree in nursing at Delaware Technical Community College, but because of my epilepsy, having seizures, my memory getting worse, and seizures, I had to change my major, which was difficult because I always wanted to be a pediatric nurse in a children’s hospital since I was sick as a baby. I finally decided to switch my major to human services and got my associate degree in that. I moved on to Wilmington University to get my Bachelor's Degree in psychology. I then moved on to Liberty University to get my Master's Degree in clinical mental health counseling. I am now a Licensed Professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor. To get here I needed to obtain 3,200 hours of direct contact with clients and take a licensure exam to be licensed to practice. I did not pass on the first try, but this didn’t stop me. I passed and am now a LPCMH. This road was not easy. I had brain surgeries and a lot of recovery time, as well as dealing with seizures while on this journey. It was very helpful to have accommodations during this time and patience with myself because I had to work harder than someone without epilepsy, but it was all worth it so I can help other people with their mental health. Even though I have epilepsy, this doesn’t mean I can’t achieve hard things. It means my path might look a little different to reach my goal with the support from so many people.
Join EFDE in wishing a veryHappy Birthdayto all celebrating anOctober Birthday!
Muhainin
Have an upcoming birthday? Click here to let us know so we can give you a shout out and celebrate you!
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