To spotlight the people this Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas helps, check out our weekly blog called, “An Inside Look.” This week, read about how we’re raising awareness at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

Raising Awareness

Part of what we do at the Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas is engage with our community to raise awareness about epilepsy. Our services cover 79 counties, and with one in 26 people developing epilepsy at some point in their lifetime, we have the potential to reach close to 155,000 people.

Still, why is epilepsy largely unknown? Epilepsy is equal in prevalence to cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease combined. Despite that, there is still stigma that surrounds epilepsy and tons of misinformation floating around.

San Antonio Botanical Garden

Last year, we were given the unique opportunity to participate in the San Antonio Botanical Garden’s Scarecrow Trail. Our scarecrow, Enda Epilepsy, was displayed at the Botanical Garden. She gave us the opportunity to engage with our community and raise awareness about epilepsy to people who otherwise wouldn’t have known about us!

This year, the Botanical Garden invited us back, and we’re so excited to make another scarecrow! Starting on September 28, visitors can see our scarecrow displayed at the Botanical Garden’s Scarecrow Trail, once again raising awareness about epilepsy in our hometown, San Antonio!

Assembling the Scarecrow

Our Program Director Jessica Strom, and our Program Associate Denise Acosta, are gathering materials from Goodwill to build the scarecrow. “We are finding materials to build the scarecrow. We think it will be a Hawaiian theme, and our goal is to make it very pretty,” said Jessica. “The scarecrow brings awareness to the EFCST, and it puts our name out there, so it has to be great.”

Jessica and Denise, along with our Patient Specialist Olga Tristan-Rangel, will be assembling the scarecrow with the help of some volunteers.

Picking the Palm Tree Fronds

Our Social Services Coordinator, Kathy Kraemer, went to gather palm fronds to assemble the scarecrow. She enlisted the help of two teen volunteers, Josh and Caleb, who attended the Epilepsy Foundation’s Camp Brainstorm this past summer.

Josh and Caleb are both about six feet tall, and even they needed a ladder to collect the palm fronds. “We had to balance the ladder in my truck as we were trying to pop the palm fronds off the tree,” said Kathy. “We were using branch clippers, and after the fourth or fifth time cutting the leaves, the clippers broke!” This put a halt in the process, but Kathy explained, “We are going for a second run tonight to finish collecting the palm tree leaves!”

Once the scarecrow materials are gathered, the team of staff and volunteers will finish assembling it, so that supporters can view the EFCST Scarecrow starting September 28, at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

Visit the Scarecrow

The dedication and hard work of the EFCST staff and volunteers is was makes this Scarecrow so special. This project really represents the dedication the EFCST family has to raising awareness — the first step to understanding is education.

Jessica and Denise will visit the Botanical Garden on a weekly basis, to ensure that the scarecrow remains intact and beautiful.

The Scarecrow Trail Exhibit is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on September 28 until November 10.

You can visit the San Antonio Botanical Garden’s website to learn more about the Scarecrow Trail and Contest.

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