Every day people all over Demopolis do certain things to keep their bodies healthy.

Most concerns are centered on cancer and heart disease prevention; however, there is another organ that also needs attention.

The brain must also be taken care of in order to function properly. Because of this the Demopolis City Council voted to make the week of March 14-19 Brain Awareness Week.

Brain Awareness Week is an international effort organized by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives to advance public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research.

Eleanor Park came before the council Thursday night as a representative of the Pilot Club to inform them of some details of this special week. Park said the celebration has been going strong fro some time in many other areas and felt Demopolis could benefit as well.

“This is Brain Awareness week and it was set aside 10 years ago to make people more aware of brain injuries, Alzheimer’s and all sorts of brain disorders,” Park said. “We are just so blessed in our community that we can go to our schools and present programs that talk to children and tell them about brain safety and how they can protect their brain when they are bicycling, blading, four wheeling or whatever they are doing.”

Park said they encourage children to take precautionary measures in all aspects of their lives. She said they already had several other programs in place, but felt having a week dedicated to brain safety would also help.

“We encourage children to wear seatbelts when they are in their vehicle and tell them to encourage their parents to do so too,” Park said. “This is something our Pilot club would like to have you proclaim. We had presented the Brain Matters program back in February to the first Graders at Westside Elementary.”

Park said they have been working for some time to encourage children to take care of their heads. She said they have even had the opportunity to pass out protective headgear this year.

“We have been doing this for several years and this year we were able to present some more helmets to them as part of Brain Awareness week,” York said.

York felt even thought the week is almost over there was still time to get people thinking about head injury preventions and other safety measures.

“Even though part of the week is gone we still have a few days left,” Park said. “The main thing is to make our citizens aware of what is going on and the need and concern there.”

The Dana Alliance is joined in the campaign by partners in the United States and around the world, including medical and research organizations; patient advocacy groups; the National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies; service groups; hospitals and universities; K-12 schools; and professional organizations.