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Culture August 30, 2017
It's rough when no one acknowledges your birthday.
If you were born on a Leap Day, then you understand the struggle of never having the opportunity to celebrate your birthday on your actual birthday.
But you also know that your birthday is a special occasion. You only get to celebrate it on its actual day once every four years, so you have to make it count. You’re also part of a very small community of people.
And actually, since you’re a leapling, you’re automatically welcome into the Honor Society of Leap Year Day babies.
Yes, it’s a thing.
This honor society is a birthday club for people born on Feb. 29. You receive membership in their society through a Facebook group. Membership is only open to people who are Leap Year babies and family members of Leap Year babies. They also have a Facebook page that offers Leap Day related news.
They also offer a birth family search service. This service is mainly for people who might have given a child who was born on Feb. 29 up for adoption. If you’re trying to find someone whose name you don’t know but you do know that they’re a Leap Year baby or other details about them, the honor society will post information about them on their website hoping that person might come across it and find it.
Well, their main goal is to promote Leap Day awareness. Since opening this society in 1997, the founders dedicated themselves to connecting journalists with Leap Year babies. Their stories eventually appeared in newspapers around the world.
But thanks to social media, they no longer need to connect Leap Year babies with journalists. Regardless, it’s a service this honor society is still willing to offer.
The honor society’s website has four ultimate goals, which are to:
According to their website, there are 4 million Leap Year babies in the world, and it’s become a nuisance that a lot of websites, banks, insurance forms and government documents don’t accommodate Feb. 29 as a valid birthday.
So, they attempt to provide as many resources as possible. They provide information for kids, parents and even computer programmers.
This society was founded by Raenell Dawn and Peter Brouwer. Dawn describes herself as a Leap Year Day baby activist, and she’s been an activist since the 1980s. She’s also the editor of the website.
In addition, Brouwer is a Leap Year Day baby who started this website as a way to celebrate his birthday in 1997. Six months later, he worked with Dawn to create the honor society.
There a few ways you can contribute to the honor society’s website. First, you can get a premium membership in the honor society. A subscribing membership costs $2.29 a year while a sponsor membership costs a one-time fee of $50. The subscribing membership comes with a forwarding email address while the sponsor membership includes a forwarding email address and “a warm and fuzzy feeling that will last for hours, at least!” Essentially, these fees help keep the website up and running.
You can also buy Leap Year merch. Or, you can buy a Leap Day-themed book.
But if you can’t afford to help the website, you can always contribute by sending in your stories, offering knowledge about Leap Year or sharing a skill you may have.
Overall, the community of Leap Year babies is filled with special people. Some are even famous. Here are a few famous leapers you may not have known about.
So, while it may seem lonely sometimes as a Leaper, you’re actually not be alone. This Honor Society of Leap Year Day babies is your new escape from a world that just doesn’t get it.