Why I'd Love You to Support My Run

As I've mentioned a LOT, I am running the Chicago Marathon (one week from Sunday! Aieee!) on behalf of the Healthy Schools Campaign. Thanks to my amazingly generous friends and family, I am 77% of the way to my goal of raising $1,000. For those of you not familiar with the work of the Healthy Schools Campaign, I wanted to share some of their recent accomplishments. Hopefully this will encourage you to open your wallets - every little bit helps!

To donate, please visit my donation site.

Promoting healthy eating by spotlighting student chefs. Each year, teams of high school students studying culinary arts in Chicago Public Schools compete in HSC’s Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest, creating a school meal that meets the nutrition and cost parameters required of school food service directors. Winning meals have been incorporated into the regular CPS lunch menu, served in schools across the country and even featured in the US House of Representatives cafeteria. In 2010, HSC held its first national cooking contest in Detroit at the National Farm to Cafeteria conference with teams from across the country.

Providing training, resources and ongoing support for parents, school nurses, teachers, students and principals. HSC has an active presence in more than 180 Chicago public schools. The innovative programs and lessons learned from this experience are informing efforts across the country.

Promoting healthy, environmentally responsible cleaning through The Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools, a publication that provides school facility managers with the information and resources they need to put a healthy, environmentally responsible cleaning program in place. HSC has distributed more than 90,000 copies of the guide and recently released an expanded, updated third edition. HSC also successfully advocated for a state policy that requires schools to adopt healthy, environmentally friendly cleaning programs in Illinois, and now serves as a resource for advocates promoting such policy around the U.S.

Showing elected leaders what our nation’s schools really look like. Students, teachers and school staff across the U.S. shared photos of what they see at school every day -- from the inspiring to the troubling -- and discussed the ways these conditions affect their learning in the Through Your Lens contest. HSC and partners shared these images with elected leaders considering school building legislation and ultimately exhibited the photos on Capitol Hill.

Raising awareness and providing much-needed information to school stakeholders by publishing resources and hosting events on topics including green cleaning, school wellness, and healthy and environmentally friendly school construction.

To donate, please visit my donation site.