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Programs - Asthma,
Tobacco, & More
Asthma Education
 
There are many
opportunities to
help people with
Asthma learn more
about managing their
disease. Instructors
are needed to work
with day care
centers, schools,
and community groups
to teach the "Asthma
101" or the "Open
Airways for Schools"
curriculum. Hours
are flexible, but
special training
from The American
Lung Association is
needed. If teaching
isn't your area of
interest, volunteers
are also needed to
schedule sessions,
maintain contact
with the schools,
and provide support
for the instructors.
Tobacco Education
Almost every smoker
will tell you that
they wish they had
never gotten
started. That's why
early tobacco
education is so
important for
children. We need to
make sure these
young people never
get started. By
volunteering your
time towards tobacco
education, you can
make a difference
that will save
lives. Presenters
are needed for
classroom-based
education to work
with teens
interested in peer
teaching younger
children, or serve
as mentors for high
school students
producing
anti-tobacco
television spots.
Tobacco Cessation
If you're interested
in helping people to
quit smoking, you
may want to become
an instructor for
one of The American
Lung Association's
smoking cessation
programs. Freedom
From Smoking is the
adult program and
N-O-T is the teen
program. Both are
multi-session
programs based on
behavior
modification. You do
not have to be a
health professional
to become a smoking
cessation
facilitator,
however, special
training from The
American Lung
Association is
required.
Indoor Air Quality
Most
Americans spend the
majority of their
time indoors, so
it's vital that
people have healthy
air to breathe.
Volunteers are
needed to work with
school districts
that are concerned
about their air
quality and are
implementing the
"Tools for Schools"
program.
Community Outreach
Coalitions
Does your community
have a coalition
working on tobacco
control issues? An
alliance working to
enhance Asthma
education? Or
perhaps a group
involved with air
quality issues?
Volunteering is a
liaison between
those groups and The
American Lung
Association of Ohio
provides your
community with
access to ALAO's
programs and
resources as well as
keeps ALAO informed
on your community's
concerns and
activities.
Community
Events
The American
Lung Association is
invited to
participate in many
more community
events than we can
possibly
accommodate. These
include health
fairs, festivals,
public displays, and
similar activities.
In most cases, ALA
is happy to provide
a display or
materials if there
are local volunteers
willing to set up
and staff the event.
It's a great way to
visit with your
friends and
neighbors and let
them know that you
support the fight
against lung
disease.
Public
Speaking
After you
learn about The
American Lung
Association's work
and programs, maybe
you would enjoy
taking our message
to others through
presentations for
various community
organizations. it's
a great way to share
your passion for the
work that we do.
Advocacy
Until a few years
ago, Ohio's
Asthmatic children
could not keep their
inhalers with them
at school. These
small hand-held
devices provide
emergency relief
medications that can
save the child's
life when the
seconds count, but
they were kept
locked in the school
office. Today, those
inhalers hare where
they belong, with
the person that may
need them.
This past year, 18
states raised their
tax on cigarette
products, a move
that has been shown
as an effective
deterrent to teen
smoking.
Ohio communities are
passing laws to
eliminate exposure
to secondhand smoke.
Because of the Clean
Air Act, the air we
breathe outside has
improved
dramatically over
the past 20 years.
Why did these things
happen? They
happened because of
volunteers like you
that took the time
to speak out. They
made telephone
calls, wrote
letters, sent
e-mails, and
attended meetings to
let government
officials know that
they cared and these
things were
important.
When you volunteer
for the
legislative network,
The American Lung
Association of Ohio
will keep you
up-to-date on
government
activities
concerning lung
health and what you
can do to make a
difference.
Special Events
Many American Lung
Association programs
and services are
supported
financially through
"special
events",
such as golf
tournaments, walks,
auctions, and more.
Although these
events may actually
only occur on a
single day, the
planning and
preparations go on
throughout the
entire year.
Volunteers from a
variety of
backgrounds are
needed for the event
planning committee
and many more needed
on the day of the
actual event to hand
registrations or
check-ins, serve
refreshments,
coordinate
activities and, in
general, make sure
that everything runs
smoothly.
Join the fun and
become involved.
There are wine
tasting events, golf
tournaments, the
Buckeye State
Tailgate Party,
Asthma Walks, the
Clean Air Challenge
with a variety of
outdoor athletic
activities,
auctions, and much
more. You'll be
supporting important
services while
meeting a lot of
great people.
Everything but the
Kitchen Sink
Successful programs
and events require
support for the
millions of details
that make them
possible. Some of
these are things
that require you to
be in our offices
during the day and
some of the things
that you can do at
home on your own
schedule, but all of
them are things
vital to our ability
to help Americans
breathe easier.
There is: data
entry, designing
brochures, stuffing
packets, writing
press releases,
answering phones,
doing internet
research,
distributing posters
and literature in
your community,
updating mailing
lists, making
telephone calls, and
much more.
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