Cerebral Palsy Association of BC
A non-profit organization supporting people with cerebral palsy
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World CP Day
What happens on October 6th, 2026!
British Columbia will be Lighting It Up GREEN!
World Cerebral Palsy Day is a global movement of people with cerebral palsy and their families, and the organizations that support them, in more than 60 countries. The day is an opportunity to celebrate, raise awareness and take action to ensure that people with CP have the same rights, access and opportunity as anyone else in their communities.
BC will light up green to celebrate World CP Day. Some of BC’s most prominent landmarks will light up green to promote CP awareness. Make sure to snap a picture and share it on social media!
This year look for these landmarks to be Lighting It Up Green this World CP Day ON October 6th, 2026:
💚 Vancouver Olympic Cauldron
💚 BC Place in Vancouver
💚 Vancouver Convention Centre
💚 Sails of Light at Canada Place in Vancouver
💚 Kinnaird Overpass in Castlegar
💚 Science World in Vancouver
💚 North Vancouver City Hall
💚 Bastion Building in Nanaimo
💚 Port Coquitlam City Hall
💚 Tower of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver
💚 Sicamous Roundabout
💚 Civic Plaza in Surrey
You can also show your support by dressing all in green! We would love to see those photos too!
Submit photos of World CP Day
Help us continue serving your community
At CPABC, we want to continue providing quality services but remain inclusive to people of all different abilities. With your support, we can do it.
Cerebral palsy (CP) affects body movement and muscle coordination, is not hereditary nor contagious but is a life-long condition. Over 10,000 people in BC live with Cerebral Palsy. It is the number one physical disability in children, and while many adults with CP work and lead productive lives many are bound by therapy and equipment expenses that can be debilitating.
CP is a complex disability:
- 1 in 4 children with CP cannot talk
- 1 in 4 children cannot walk
- 1 in 2 have an intellectual disability
- 1 in 4 have epilepsy.
- CP is a lifelong disability and there is no known cure.
Learn more: Infographic: What is Cerebral Palsy?
The Cerebral Palsy Association of BC (CPABC) has a robust roster of 12 programs and services that support our community of over 1,000 members.
From educational bursaries to recreational programs to support services. It’s all covered for the recipient of the funds or the attendee of the program.
💚 This World Cerebral Palsy Day, we’re celebrating what it means to belong.💚
Let's keep it going!
For Fia and her family, living in Whitehorse, Yukon means travelling to Vancouver several times a year for her specialist appointments. Their trips are often filled with medical appointments, planning, and—of course—lots of stuff!
But in December 2024, something unexpected happened. Their appointment schedule happened to overlap with CPABC’s Christmas party.
They arrived straight from the airport, suitcases in tow, and were immediately welcomed with open arms.
“I remember looking around the room and tearing up with happy tears as I recognized how much effort goes into events like this and that being there felt like being with family.”
For Fia’s family, CPABC offered something that day that went far beyond an event. It was connection. It was community. It was a place where they felt understood and welcomed.
For more than 70 years, CPABC has been here for people with cerebral palsy and their families—providing connection, support, programs and opportunities that help people feel less alone.
But right now, CPABC urgently needs funding to keep this vital support going. Please share this email to your community and help us grow our supports.
This World Cerebral Palsy Day, please help us make sure families like Fia’s continue to have a community they can call their own.
Over 70 Years of Support. Don’t Let It End Here. Help Us Keep It Going.
Donate today and help CPABC continue supporting people with cerebral palsy across BC and beyond.
What is World Cerebral Palsy Day?
A Global Movement to Help Realize Change
World Cerebral Palsy Day [WCPD] is a social movement of, by and for the CP community. World CP Day encourages action taken locally to help realize the global movement for change.
To ensure that individuals with Cerebral Palsy have the same rights, access and opportunities as anyone else.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability in childhood and is also one of the least understood. Here are reasons why we need to raise awareness:
- Doctors are reluctant to make a diagnosis
- Many people receive ineffective therapies
- Many individuals and their families lack access to basic information and support
- Little money is being spent on research
- Many societies keep people with CP out of sight, out of mind and out of options
Learn more:
By combining our resources, energy and knowledge to share our stories on World CP Day, our voices will be heard louder and farther. We can promote this through social media, in our offices, or write to our politicians and local media. Every effort counts. Use the World CP Day resources.
Let's take action
We will tell the world … I AM HERE … WE ARE HERE!
I Am Here
Your success stories and solutions can be applied in other places. Encourage others like you to overcome challenges.
- Promote World CP Day in your office, on the streets, or via social media.
- Use the World CP Day resources to take action in your town, city or country.
We Are Here
Help make World CP Day a success in your area.
- Write to your politicians and local media. Let them know about World CP Day and any landmarks being lit up where you live.
- Take a picture of yourself on World CP Day and share it with #WorldCPDay to help raise awareness.
- Use the World CP Day resources and spread the word.
World CP Day Celebrations & Locations Lit Green to Show Support
World CP Day was celebrated around BC and these places were lit green to show support in previous years. If you know of any new places this year, send us a email and we’ll add it to this list!
Past Locations:
- Port Coquitlam City Hall
- Canada Place Sails of Light
- Fitzsimmons Covered Bridge Whistler
- Mr. PG – Prince George
- Science World
- Anvil Centre New West
- Kelowna Sails – Abbott Street
Cerebral Palsy Association of BC member and Port Coquitlam resident Peter Brown comments on World CP Day:
“Cerebral Palsy [CP] Day is an excellent opportunity for those of us with CP to educate the rest of the world, particularly our own communities, with respect to this affliction and the tremendous potential and ability that we all have, despite our condition. As with any such condition, there is tremendous uncertainty, almost mystery, for those who do not have, or do not know someone with, CP, as to what CP is and is not and the potential for great contributions to our world by those of us who do have CP. Thus this day provides a platform to provide information which will assist in educating others and, hopefully, break down barriers which continued to the exist for those of us trying to live, learn and work with CP. For me, it is a day during which those of was with CP should take the opportunity to provide the knowledge, information and expertise that we have gathered throughout our lives, to assess and fulfilling our responsibility to educate and inform our communities on we are, how far we have come and what challenges remain and which need to change, in order to benefit not only persons with CP but society as a whole.”
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About CPABC
Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia is a non-profit organization supporting people in BC with cerebral palsy.
