Please click here to learn more about this special action alert. There is a toolkit with instructions and links to each state’s process.

Make your state part of the global movement this October by asking your governor to issue a state proclamation or letter of support for World Ostomy Day on October 4, 2025!

Please let us know if you submit a request with your governor at advocacy@ostomy.org and we will change your state’s status on the map.

Special Edition Ostomy Academy: Cultural Influences – Celebrating World Ostomy Day 2025

Join UOAA for a live webinar with community partners: SAIA, Color of Gastrointestinal Illnesses, Cheeky Charity. Register here  to get an email reminder/link 30 minutes before the event, or watch the program live or a recording for UOAA’s YouTube page.

Friday, October 3, 2025

Time: 12:00 Noon Eastern Time (11:00 am CT, 10:00 am MT, 9:00 am PT)

As we come together to celebrate World Ostomy Day on Saturday, October 4th, UOAA’s Ostomy Academy will spotlight stories of cultural influences on ostomy life to promote better understanding and awareness.

UOAA has become members of the Hidden Disabilities: Sunflower Program. Have you seen the Sunflower? This is a global program whose tagline is “Making the invisible visible.” which makes them the perfect partner for this year’s World Ostomy Day! The Sunflower empowers individuals to voluntarily share that they have a non-visible condition and may need additional help, understanding, or simply more time. UOAA is working with them to create dedicated ostomy-content on their website. Check out the upcoming Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Conversations Podcast on October 4 where our champion Keely Cat-Wells appears alongside Nate Hadlock, Chair of UOAA’s Patient Advisory Board.

The Run for Resilience Ostomy 5k is back and this time is celebrating World Ostomy Day! Join us for the Worldwide Virtual Ostomy 5k you can do anywhere or attend a festive in-person event near you! Start a team and fundraiser with family, friends, support groups or coworkers! These events are a key fundraiser to support the programs and services of United Ostomy Associations of America, Inc. Raise ostomy awareness with us!

This year’s special World Ostomy Day T-Shirt in limited quantities at event locations (NH, NC, OH, AR, LA,  ID, TN, IL) and not longer available for Virtual Ostomy 5k registrants but we can still email you a bib to participate! You can also support the cause with a donation.

You’re not alone! Peer support is often critical to success in life with an ostomy. You can find “visible support” at a UOAA Affiliated Support Group near you. Search the Support Group Finder!

Find an Ostomy Friend or Be an Ostomy Friend. If you want to be that support person that you never had, you can take UOAA’s Ostomy Friend Online Training program to become a friend in the Team Hope program. Learn more and find a friend!

Here is what participants in the program are saying:

“Thank you so much for the opportunity to help another ostomate; it gives me purpose! ” ~Team HOPE volunteer Beth 

“If you are anxious and seeking information, you can’t find a better place.  Nothing compares to communicating one-on-one with someone who has been through the same process and can answer all those questions that doctors are too busy to handle, everything from diet to recovery to organizing supplies.  Plus, it’s so encouraging to hear from someone who has undergone the procedure and is thriving.”  ~Kelly 

Give thanks for your Support! Use social media to highlight the people, groups, orgs or resources that have supported you in life with an ostomy. Use Hashtags like #WorldOstomyDay #VisibleSupport #InvisibleDisabilities and be sure to tag UOAA.

We make it easy to share even if you are not on social media you can click here to record a video automatically or leave a text response or photos for our collection of “Visible Support” stories!

UOAA efforts to raise awareness wouldn’t be possible without the inspiration and generosity of the ostomy community. Choose ‘Ostomy Awareness Fund’ to direct your contribution to our mission. Your dollars help get our New Ostomy Patient Guide into the hands of those who need it the most and to spread ostomy awareness to new sectors of the medical field and society at large. Your donation also supports annual events such as Ostomy Awareness Day. https://www.ostomy.org/donate/)

Share our #WorldOstomyDay #InvisibleDisabilities and #OstomiesAreLifesavers “giphy stickers” on your own social media posts! (search @UOAAOstomy)

Be a Mythbuster! Smash ostomy stigmas with ostomy fact social media graphics.

Save the images above or fact graphics such as People of All Ages have an Ostomy or or You Have Likey Met an Ostomate and Never Knew It

PDF File:  OAD-Infographic-2024-NO-OAD

You could even print out our friendly Sailor_Ostomy Pouch and name it after your own stoma, and take photos with it around town Flat Stanley style.

Coloplast is proud to celebrate World Ostomy Day and Ostomy Awareness Month throughout October! As a Platinum Sponsor of the Run for Resilience Ostomy 5K, we’re excited to support this incredible event both locally and virtually.

We’ll be showing up at several Run locations across the country, and just like last year, a group from our Coloplast team will walk, run, and roll along the Mississippi River Walk to the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis, MN. Whether you’re joining one of the seven in-person e

vents or participating virtually, don’t forget to tag us — we’d love to cheer you on!

Be sure to check out the official Run for Resilience playlist, curated by ostomate Kaylaa’ White — the perfect soundtrack for your race day.

Throughout the month of October, we’ll also be sharing inspiring content—real stories, real people, and real talk about life with an ostomy. Plus, we have some fun surprises planned, so be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@coloplast.us) to stay in the loop.

This is your month, and we’re honored to be a part of it.

Attention Wound, Ostomy and Continence (WOC) Nurses – the WOCN® Society invites you to attend Ostomy Education Day 2025 on Saturday, October 4th from 10:00 AM to 5:15 PM Eastern Time! This event is a FREE online experience aimed at celebrating ostomy awareness, dispelling myths, and increasing ostomy education to improve outpatient outcomes. This full day of education and engagement features 10 sessions led by experienced wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) nursing subject matter experts and awards a total of 7.5 Contact Hours and 1.5 Pharmacology Credits!

To learn more about this event, register, and gain even more education with an exclusive on-demand bonus session, CLICK HERE.

Spread ostomy awareness and connect people in your community to ostomy support groups and information. Here is a sample template to help you get started.  SAMPLE-LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR-2025

Reach out to your local newspaper, TV, radio station or website and share your story and the resources of ostomy.org. You’ll be amazed by the power of your story!

You could also work behind the scenes by sharing our Ostomy Awareness PSA videos with your local TV outlets. Contact ed.pfueller@ostomy.org for a video file with the specs that your station asks for.