What You'll Get
The Issue: Teenagers with Eating Disorders
In a society full of fast-food advertising and unrealistic body expectations, teenagers can struggle to control their weight and to see themselves as beautiful. Fad diets and behaviors such as meal skipping, fasting, vomiting, and taking laxatives are too often the result. Up to 30 million people in the United States suffer from an eating disorder such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating, and 25% of college-aged women engage in binging and purging in an attempt to manage their weight, according to data from the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders. These disorders threaten teenagers' health, both physically and mentally. But they can be prevented through nutritional education, physical education, and lessons in body confidence.
The Campaign: Teaching Girls About Wellness and Self-Esteem
If 30 people donate $10 to this Grassroots campaign, then T.H.E. Center for Disordered Eating can bring the Full of Ourselves: Advancing Girl Power, Health, and Leadership curriculum to a school to teach girls about eating disorders and wellness. The eight-week program was developed by McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School to help improve self-esteem and increase healthy eating behaviors among girls aged 12–14. Each additional $300 raised will go toward expanding this program to other schools and classrooms.
The Fine Print
100% of donations go directly to T.H.E. Center for Disordered Eating. Donations are automatically applied. Must provide full name at checkout. See Grassroots FAQs that apply to this campaign. Merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the care and quality of the advertised goods and services.
About T.H.E. Center for Disordered Eating
Dianna Goodman’s daughter developed an eating disorder in the ninth grade, according to a 2011 article in VERVE magazine. Unfortunately, this occurred in the mid-1990s, when eating disorders were not well understood and help was hard to find. Through her struggles to find health providers or books to help treat her daughter, Goodman found a new passion: preventing other families from facing a similar struggle.
In 2004, Goodman founded T.H.E. (Treatment, Healing, and Education) Center for Disordered Eating, which organizes prevention efforts and gathers support and resources for people with eating disorders. Today, support groups make up the cornerstone of the center. Every week, a group gathers to discuss their steps in recovering from an eating disorder, forming a presence in the community where healing can occur and people can share tips. The center also maintains a local treatment directory for individuals and families affected by eating disorders and sponsors middle-school prevention programs in schools across the region. A free lending library provides information on disordered eating, nutrition, and body image with more than 90 books targeting people of all ages.
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