Topics: Child Obesity, Crisis, Emergency Preparedness, Hunger, Indoor Environmental Quality, Nutrition, Wellness
As I reflect on 2012, I am amazed by how NEA members, working with our NEA HIN partners, have taken remarkable action to improve the health and safety of students and educators. Here are just a few of this year’s accomplishments:
- NEA members helped thousands of students from being hungry. More than 1,000 NEA members—teachers and ESP—participated in the NEA HIN co-sponsored Breakfast in the Classroom program in eight states, helping feed more than 41,000 hungry students in high-need schools. These are students who otherwise would not have breakfast that morning.
- With guidance from NEA members and allergy experts, NEA HIN worked with the USDA to produce the (first-ever) booklet on food allergies. This booklet identifies the role that every member of the school community plays in keeping kids safe. This information can be life-saving, and it is now online and available to every one of the nearly 99,000 public schools in nation.
- Recognizing the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy, NEA affiliates and members sent thousands of dollars in donations to the NEA HIN Disaster Relief Fund. Donations continue to come in and will provide needed supports to NEA members and their school communities. If you wish to donate, please make your tax-exempt contribution here.
- Over 1,300 NEA members and other educators across the country took NEA HIN training to advance health and safety in their schools. Topics covered school safety, food allergies in schools, healthy eating, managing stress, and implementing breakfast in the classroom.
This year, NEA HIN also completed an analysis of our previous year’s work to improve indoor environmental quality. We learned that NEA members who took NEA HIN training had used NEA HIN materials to train their colleagues. Their actions more than doubled our original reach, and today 5,000 NEA members are informed and are taking action for healthier schools.
While there is much more to do, we are grateful for every one of the NEA HIN partners who helped in this work—and especially for the thousands of NEA members who acted to help students succeed and fellow educators thrive.
In this season of gift-giving, NEA HIN appreciates the greatest gift: the caring, dedication, and professionalism of NEA members.
Season’s Greetings,
Jerry Newberry