This Sunday, Julie Gundlach, a client of the firm, will organize an asbestos awareness booth at the 22nd Annual St. Louis Earth Day Festival in Forest Park. The booth is called the International Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness booth and is located under the covered walkway by the St. Louis Muny.
Julie will distribute information about asbestos and mesothelioma and collect signatures to support a U.S. ban on asbestos. She will then take those signatures to our congressional representatives later this summer when she travels to Washington for the MARF conference.
She is looking for additional volunteers to help gather signatures or for people to stop by and sign the petition anytime between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. They’ll be there all day. If you don’t have plans, please consider attending and helping out as this is a great opportunity to tell people about the environmental dangers of asbestos exposure.
St. Louis’ Earth Day is reputed to be one of the largest celebrations of the holiday in the country. This year more than 200 artists, educational exhibitors, food vendors, businesses and organizations will set up booths throughout Forest Park. Other special events include live musical performances, a Mississippi River barge trip and a recycling extravaganza.
Earlier this month, Julie was awarded the Alan Reinstein Award by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization for her commitment to spreading awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. The St. Louis Earth Day is one of the many advocacy initiatives, like Miles for Meso, that she does in the St. Louis area.
During the 7th Annual Asbestos Disease Awareness Conference, Julie shared her story and encouraged others to get involved through a presentation called "The Power of Public Health Advocacy: A Patient’s Perspective." It’s easy for everyone to dismiss the power they have to make a difference, especially when they’re going up against businesses who have been using asbestos for decades. But Julie’s story, and this presentation, is encouraging. She’s only one person, but through her work, a difference is being made.
