The SMS Stay Awake Challenge is back!

Join Team SMS on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 June 2021 to take part in our SMS Stay Awake Challenge!  

As part of our SMS Fulfilling Futures Appeal, we are asking our SMS community, friends, families, colleagues and schools to join us in staying awake all night (handily on the shortest night of the year ?) to raise money for the SMS Foundation UK! Can you donate to the SMS Foundation, or ask people to sponsor your Stay Awake challenge, and help us to support families in the UK living with SMS? 

Click on this link here to a sponsorship form today!

For those who need our beauty sleep, maybe you would like to host a Pyjama Party at any time during the weekend!  You can even do this during the day so that you don’t miss out on your sleep ? 

Why are we staying awake all night? 

Did you know that people living with SMS have a very unusual sleep cycle? Their melatonin (the hormone responsible for sleep) levels are reversed – this is due to the deletion of a particular gene (RAI1) on chromosome 17.   

This means people with SMS are sleepy during the day and awake for many hours during the night.   

The disrupted sleep pattern of SMS is a huge challenge for families living with SMS. This is why we have chosen to hold our Stay Awake Challenge on the longest day/shortest night to reflect the lack of sleep that many of our parents and carers face on a daily basis. 

Take a look at our video of our SMS Bear and see all the things he gets up to at night time when everyone else is sleeping…

Spread the word!   

Tell your schools, workplaces and community groups about our Stay Awake Challenge – the more the merrier! We would love for as many people as possible to be involved in raising vital funds for the SMS Foundation UK.  It couldn’t be easier – either use the sponsorship form on our website, or donate online at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/SMSFulfillingFutures or text SMSFUTURE (Your amount i.e. 5,10, or 20) to 70450 to donate. 

Take on the Stay Awake challenge for all those living with SMS – stay awake all night, ask for sponsorship or make a donation to the SMS Foundation – and experience a night in the life of an SMS family. 

We are looking forward to you joining Team SMS for this event!