02/28/2026
What is Rare Disease Day?
Rare Disease Day is a globally coordinated movement dedicated to rare diseases, striving for equity in social opportunities, healthcare, and access to diagnosis and therapies for people living with a rare disease.
Rare diseases, however, are not so rare. Although individual diagnoses are rare, together they include about 10,000 different conditions that affect about 30 million Americans—about 1 in 11 people in the United States. Many of these conditions are genetic, and today we can establish genetic and molecular diagnoses.
With advancements in technology and healthcare, many children now receive diagnoses at birth, have access to genetic testing, and may benefit from genetic therapies being developed to treat their condition. Cool Cars for Kids, Inc.’s mission is to raise funds that support research and care for children with genetic conditions—many of which are rare diseases. The world is changing with advances in genetics and genomics, and the grants and research that Cool Cars for Kids, Inc. supports help drive progress for genetic conditions. Check out some of our past programs here: https://www.coolcarsforkids.org/small-grant-recipients
Since its creation in 2008, Rare Disease Day has played a crucial role in spreading awareness and building an international rare disease community—multi-disease, global, and diverse, yet united in purpose. Rare Disease Day is observed every year on February 28 (or February 29 in leap years—the rarest day of the year), serving as a powerful focal point for advocacy at local, national, and international levels.
