Spinal CSF Leak Awareness Week: leakweek 2026
This year’s awareness week, leakweek 2026, will take place from June 1–7, 2026, with landmark light-ups across the United States, city proclamations, and educational slides with information about spinal CSF leak.
See below for more about leakweek 2026!
City or State Proclamations
As part of Spinal CSF Leak Awareness Week (leakweek), some cities or states may offer proclamations in support of the event. Proclamations for an awareness week means receiving official, ceremonial documents from a government official (such as a mayor or governor) that recognize and highlight the importance of the awareness week, its cause, and the efforts to raise awareness about it.
Apply for a proclamation in your own city or state
If you’re interested in applying for a proclamation for your city or state, we’ve put together the following letter as a template to use when applying, to send with our sample proclamation.
If you do submit a proclamation, please let us know by filling out this short form to let us know!
[Date]
[Name/Title of local governmental official]
[Address]
Dear [Name]:
On behalf of people suffering from spinal CSF leak, I am writing to request that a proclamation be issued this year, June 1-7 2026, for SPINAL CSF LEAK AWARENESS WEEK. This week provides an excellent opportunity for [CITY / STATE / PROVINCE / COUNTRY] to demonstrate its support of local patients and families affected by spinal CSF leak.
Spinal CSF leak is a debilitating and under-diagnosed cause of new onset head pain. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) bathes and supports the brain and spinal cord, and is held in place by a layer of strong connective tissue called the dura mater. A spinal CSF leak happens when the spinal dura mater has a hole, tear, or other defect, allowing CSF to leak out of this enclosed space. This results in intracranial hypotension, a low volume of CSF remaining around the brain and spinal cord, leading to debilitating symptoms such as severe headaches, cognitive impairment, chronic pain, and sensory issues. SPINAL CSF LEAK AWARENESS WEEK (also called “leakweek”) is an annual event during the first week of June, this week during June 1-7, to help raise awareness for this debilitating condition. We use purple as our awareness color because it is commonly associated with headache awareness, a hallmark symptom of spinal CSF leak.
Because spinal CSF leak is unfamiliar to many physicians, it is regularly misdiagnosed. Patients can suffer for months, years, or even decades with the wrong diagnosis and the wrong treatments. Many patients are functionally disabled, and quality of life scores among patients with spinal CSF leak were found in a study to be even lower than patients with AIDS or cancer. People in our area are struggling with this reality right now, many of whom suffer months or years without proper diagnosis and treatment.
As a local patient with a spinal CSF leak, I’d be honored if you would sponsor an official proclamation to recognize June 1-7 2026 as [CITY / STATE / PROVINCE / COUNTRY] SPINAL CSF LEAK AWARENESS WEEK. Your proclamation would lend official recognition to the important work of educating the public regarding the condition, as well as showing support to your constituents who suffer from it. Furthering awareness of this condition is necessary to ensure more timely diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately, reduce the suffering of patients affected by spinal CSF leak and intracranial hypotension.
I have enclosed a sample proclamation from the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit health foundation, that may help your office compose the appropriate proclamation for [CITY/STATE/PROVINCE/COUNTRY].
If you or your staff have any questions regarding this request, the sample proclamation, or SPINAL CSF LEAK AWARENESS WEEK, please contact me at [email]. I will follow-up with your office on this request in the next few days.
Thank you for your consideration of this special request.
Sincerely,
[Name]
Landmarks shining purple for Spinal CSF Leak Awareness in 2026
Last year’s landmark light ups were a powerful show of support. With purple lights shining in 17 cities, landmarks small and large helped raise awareness for spinal CSF leak and honored the strength and resilience of our community.
This year, we’re hoping to make the list of landmark light ups even bigger. We’d love for you to write to your local landmarks too! And if you live in an area where a landmark is lighting up and are mobile enough, or have a friend or family member who is willing to help, please send us your photos so that we can share them with the world. See below for more information on how our community can help make this program a success.
Our heartfelt thanks to the Foundation Board members and other volunteers who have worked to secure the early participation of the following landmarks for #leakweek2026:
Alabama
– The Wharf (Orange Beach) – June 3
Arizona
– Eloy Water Tower (Eloy) – June 3
– Mayo Clinic (Phoenix) – June 3
California
– Long Beach Airport (LGB) – June 3
– ‘M’ on Box Springs Mountain (Moreno Valley) – June 3
– San Diego Convention Center Sails (San Diego) – June 3
Colorado
– Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center (Denver) – June 3
Delaware
– Delaware State Capitol Building (Dover) – June 1-7
Florida
– Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park (Tampa) – June 3
– Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville) – June 3
– Old City Hall (Tampa) – June 3
– City of Tampa City Center (Tampa) – June 3
– PCB Wheel (Panama City Beach) – June 2-4
– River Tower Park (Tampa) – June 3
– Tampa Bridges (Tampa) – June 3
– Tampa Riverwalk (Tampa) – June 3
Hawaii
– The IBM Building at Ward Village (Honolulu) – June 1
Idaho
– 8th & Main (Boise) – June 3
Illinois
– Quincy Bayview Bridge (Quincy) – June 6
Indiana
– Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Bridge (Fort Wayne) – June 3
Iowa
– Jefferson Street Bridge (Ottumwa) – June 3
Kentucky
– HELIX on MAIN Garage (Lexington) – June 3
Louisiana
– University of Louisiana at Lafayette LITE Center Egg (Lafayette) – June 1-7
Maryland
– M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore) – June 3
Massachusetts
– Atlantic Wharf Spire (Boston) – June 3
– Two International Place (Boston) – June 3
Minnesota
– Capella Tower (Minneapolis) – June 3
– Mayo Clinic (Rochester) – June 3
– I-35W Bridge (Minneapolis) – June 3
– Lowry Bridge (Minneapolis) – June 3
Missouri
– James S. McDonnell Planetarium (St Louis) – June 3
Nebraska
– Heartland of America Park at The RiverFront (Omaha) – June 3
New Hampshire
– The Hotel Concord (Concord) – June 3
New Mexico
– DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel (Albuquerque) – June 1-7
New York
– Gotham Hall (New York) – June 3
– Helmsley Building (New York) – June 3
– Mid-Hudson Bridge (Poughkeepsie) – June 3
North Carolina
– Truliant Tower (Winston-Salem) – June 1-3
North Dakota
– Alerus Center (Grand Forks) – June 3
Ohio
– Terminal Tower (Cleveland) – June 3
Oklahoma
– Skydance Bridge (Oklahoma City) – June 3
Oregon
– Oregon Convention Center (Portland) – June 3
Pennsylvania
– State Capitol (Harrisburg) – June 3-4
Rhode Island
– Sakonnet River Bridge (Portsmouth and Tiverton) – June 3
South Carolina
– SkyWheel Myrtle Beach (Myrtle Beach, SC) – June 3
Texas
– Alamo Quarry Smokestacks (San Antonio) – June 5-7
Washington
– Columbia Center (Seattle, WA) – June 3
Wisconsin
– Madison Municipal Building – June 3
Wyoming
– The M Building (Casper) – June 4
Together, we are stronger and more capable of making a difference in educating the world about spinal CSF leak. 💜 Stay tuned for more landmark approvals as we receive them.
Template for writing landmarks to light up for leakweek
Do you have a local landmark you’d like to petition to light up for leakweek this year? We’re sharing a script that you can use to write local landmarks and ask them to support spinal CSF leak awareness for this year’s annual awareness event. If you receive a “yes” to your local landmark, please send us an email to staff@spinalcsfleak.org so that we can add your landmark to the list!
To whom it may concern,
I am reaching about “leakweek”, an annual awareness campaign for spinal cerebrospinal (CSF) leak, which is a debilitating and under-diagnosed condition [that I suffer from / that someone I love suffers from]. This annual campaign is run by the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit health foundation focused on raising awareness, providing education, and funding research for the disorder. The mission at the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation is to reduce the suffering of anyone affected by spinal CSF leak and help patients obtain the correct diagnosis and access to the right testing and treatments, so that more patients will have an improved quality of life.
This year’s Spinal CSF Leak Awareness Week is June 1-7, 2026, and we are asking landmarks to light up purple to help “shine a light” on spinal CSF leaks.
Date requested: Any day during “leakweek” would be appreciated, though we have requested June 3, 2026 where available.
Name of associated event or organization: Spinal CSF Leak Awareness Week
Display request: All purple. Anything resembling Hex #5f2974 https://encycolorpedia.com/5f2974
As a local resident of [City], [Name of landmark]’s participation would not only demonstrate solidarity with those affected by spinal CSF leaks, but also help spark conversations and educate the wider community about this under-recognized condition. For more information about the condition, please visit https://spinalcsfleak.org.
If this request needs to be forwarded to a different department, I’d greatly appreciate your help in doing so. Thank you so much for considering our request and please let us know if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
Share your “light up for leakweek” photos with us!
Are any of the landmarks above lighting up for leakweek near you? If you or someone else you know is able to get a photo, please tag us on Instagram (@spinalcsfleakusa) or send us the image to staff@spinalcsfleak.org so that we can share it with the wider spinal CSF leak community!
We are excited to see so many landmarks helping support awareness for 2026.
Print your own yard sign to raise awareness for spinal CSF leak!
This year, there’s one more way you can help us raise awareness for spinal CSF leak in your community — yard signs! This design can be downloaded from our website and then printed at a local print shop or a site like Vistaprint to be printed on a yard sign. Our volunteers have printed the sign at 36 inches x 24 inches, and added it to their front yard.
Access your free yard sign by clicking the image below, and it will open just the sign into a new tab. You can then download it to your computer.
Downloads for leakweek and spinal CSF leak awareness
Here is some information that you can download and share as you raise awareness during leakweek.
2026 leakweek Fact Sheet (PDF)
A 1 page primer about leakweek.
About the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation (PDF)
Our history and mission.
Trifold Brochure (PDF)
A patient’s guide to spinal CSF leak