The Vascular Birthmarks Foundation
Dr. Linda Rozell-Shannon, PhD President and Founder
Dr. Linda Rozell-Shannon, PhD President and Founder
Share a reading of Buddy Booby’s Birthmark in the comfort of your own home and inviting friends to watch on Facebook or Instagram Live. By participating, you can help us raise awareness for our VBF Month of Awareness for Vascular Birthmarks in May!
For a donation to VBF, you can receive a Buddy Booby’s Birthmark Book for your Month of Awareness Read-Along. Simply make a small donation here and let us know that you have made a donation and are interested in a Buddy Booby’s Birthmark Book ($15-20 recommended to cover cost of shipping in the U.S.). We cannot ship internationally; however, you can share Dr. Linda’s read-along here or Abby’s below! Make sure to send us a Video or Photo for us to share at social media.Buddy Booby is VBF’s Official Mascot, with a port wine stain birthmark on his beak, whose message of tolerance, acceptance, and hope has been shared world-wide! This is an amazing story of an Australian booby bird named Buddy and his life with a birthmark. Thousands of children all over the world have read this book and have fallen in love with Buddy.
Read along with Abby, and follow her journey to Miss South Carolina Teen!
Out of an abundance of caution, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are temporarily suspending our VBF Gifts, including sending Buddy Booby’s Birthmark books. Read-Along videos, like Abby’s, can help those without books participate.
Don’t forget to sign our VBF Anti-Bullying Pledge and challenge 20 of your friends to join you.
SIGN THE ANTI-BULLYING PLEDGE NOW
SHARE YOUR READ-ALONG VIDEO WITH US
Students all over the world need educational resources now more than ever, so it’s a perfect time to take Buddy’s message online!
Buddy Booby’s Birthmark Read-Along campaign and the VBF International Month of Awareness for Vascular Birthmarks make significant contributions towards worldwide birthmark awareness and acceptance of all differences. Thank you for joining us to make a difference!
The first Buddy Booby’s Birthmark Read-Along was launched during the 2006 VBF International Day of Awareness. Traditionally, the Read-Along takes place in May every year, but the book can be celebrated as an awareness event any day throughout the year. Since the beginning, The book has been read aloud in hundreds of classrooms, as well as libraries, bookstores, storytimes, club meetings, and children’s hospitals. Parents and doctors often donate copies of the book to local organizations.
Mary Ann of Mensha, a teacher in Wisconsin shared, “I also have a port wine stain on my face. It is VERY similar to the authors. My students are used to me, but the story opened up some discussions that we hadn’t had before.”
Mother and son authors Donna and Evan Ducker wrote Buddy Booby’s Birthmark in 2006. Evan was born with a facial port wine birthmark and was inspired to write the story when he was unable to find a book that addressed the issues facing children with birthmarks. He has a great interest in animals and chose the red-footed booby bird of the Galapagos Islands as the main character. Buddy was born with a birthmark on his beak, and the story is based on their personal experiences.
“I guess I just wanted kids with birthmarks, like me, to have a book with a character they could relate to,” says Evan. “I think people who read it will get a better idea of what we (kids with birthmarks) go through every day.”
