Light It
Blue Michigan: the Mighty Mac Goes Blue for Autism Awareness
We haven’t had many new products in a while, so I turn back
to the news for today’s content. As I’ve
said before, I tend to favor news about or out of Michigan. Last October (I think) I wrote about London’s
move to light up one of its most iconic structures in honor of breast cancer
awareness month, since they used pink LEDs to do the job.
There’s a town in Michigan in the Upper Peninsula called
Mackinac (or Mack-in-AW for those who can’t pronounce it). The Mackinac Bridge, nicknamed “Big Mac” or
“Mighty Mac”, the bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of
Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous upper and lower peninsulas. It’s the third longest total suspension
bridge in the world – longer than the Golden Gate Bridge and longer than the suspended western section of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in the
U.S. (Look it up on Wikipedia, it’s
interesting).
This month, Mighty Mac will be lit with blue lights at night
in honor of autism awareness and the state’s Light It Blue Michigan autism
campaign. It’s the first cause the
bridge has supported (no pun intended).
Ok, it’s not the bridge that took up the cause as much as students at
Madonna University (Livonia, MI) and the non-profit group Corner Pieces. Madonna students designed the marketing plan
and helped raise the $7,500 it took to pay the cost of changing the light bulbs
along the five-mile bridge. In tandem,
they secured participation in the Light It Blue Michigan campaign in
partnership with the GM Renaissance Center, Motor City Casino, the DTE Energy
Building and Madonna University.
There was a lighting ceremony April 2 with Michigan
Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley. Mr.
Calley’s 4-year-old daughter has autism and he has been an very outspoken
advocate of expanding the state’s healthcare coverage for children affected by
the disability.
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20120401/NEWS15/204010428
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