Escargot Challenge
During the last few months, we successfully launched and wrapped our first social media campaign — The Escargot Challenge — with participation from our donors and advocates including members of the medical community. In honor of Mark’s adventurous palette, we spent February and March 2025 raising awareness about Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) by challenging our supporters, followers, and anyone on the Internet to eat escargot. Why escargot? Mark loved trying new foods and couldn’t wait to try escargot for the first time at The Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney World when he was 8 years old.
Check out our reels on Instagram to see the dozens of people who took the challenge! The challenge culminated in an in-person event on Saturday, March 22 at Wayside Cottage in Scarsdale, NY. We are grateful to everyone who attended and participated — whether you ate escargot cooked in garlic and butter, savored a snail gummy, or enjoyed a chocolate snail. We appreciate your support and look forward to our 2026 challenge!
Mark’s younger brother, Evan, took the challenge by eating a giant snail gummy!
Escargot Challenge
Goal: To increase awareness about epilepsy and Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).
Challenge: Participants can either partake in the challenge to eat escargot or make a donation to The Mark Shaparin Foundation. (Similar in model to the ice bucket challenge.) Participants can alternatively complete the challenge by eating a chocolate or gummy snail.
Location of Participation: A restaurant or at home. Escargot is available at most gourmet supermarkets or online via Instacart, for example.
How to Participate: The participant will record a video of themselves eating escargot and saying the following suggested script:
“Hi, my name is [name] and I accept The Mark Shaparin Foundation Escargot Challenge to increase awareness about epilepsy and Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, also known as SUDEP.”
Optional: Include a fact about SUDEP to increase awareness such as:
“SUDEP is the leading cause of death in epilepsy. However, most people — including medical providers — have never heard of SUDEP.”
“More than 3,000 people die each year from SUDEP. However, most people — including medical providers — have never heard of SUDEP.”
“Eight people die each day from SUDEP. However, most people — including medical providers — have never heard of SUDEP.”
“This is why I accept the challenge.”
The participant then eats the escargot and says:
“Follow The Mark Shaparin Foundation or go to markshaparinfoundation.org to learn more about SUDEP risk factors and prevention. Who is next to accept the Escargot Challenge?” [Or, they can directly challenge someone.]
Completion of Challenge: The participant will post the video on social media and tag/collaborate with @markshaparinfdn and the restaurant, if applicable, with the hashtags: #Escargot4Epilepsy, #SUDEPAwareness, #SUDEP, #EpilepsyAwareness, #Epilepsy, #SeizureAwareness, #Seizure, #Seizures, #Escargot and #Childloss. (If using instagram, please post as a reel and add to your story). When posting please encourage your followers to share and repost with at least 5 people.
Making a Donation without Accepting the Challenge: The participant will record a video of themselves saying the following suggested script:
“Hi, my name is [name]. In honor of The Mark Shaparin Foundation’s Escargot Challenge, I made a donation to help increase awareness about epilepsy and Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, also known as SUDEP. Though I’m not eating a snail, I want everyone to learn about SUDEP risk factors and prevention to save lives. Go to markshaparinfoundation.org to learn more. Who is next to accept the Escargot Challenge?”
Thank you for considering being a part of The Mark Shaparin Foundation Escargot Challenge!
***Please do not eat raw snails as that may be dangerous***