Here is a great story of one person's passion turned on to help others! Hope you are inspired by it.
Teresa

"I never thought it could happen. Having struggled with an Eating Disorder for
five years of my life, and never wanting anyone to know about it, I never could
have imagined being up on that stage.
Coinciding with National Eating Disorder Awareness Week I, Madi O’Dell,
decided to make an impact in my school and the surrounding area. I organized an entire week of awareness
getting the counseling department, administration, coaches, community members,
and teachers involved. Before the week began we hung posters with statistics
and encouraging messages around the school.
We also made informational notes and posted them in all the bathrooms
explaining eating disorders and where to get help and more information. On Monday we opened the week with a
scholarship contest (prizes provided by The Childrens Hospital Colorado) that
included three different categories. The
categories included writing, art, and multimedia and students were allowed to
enter one or more of them. There were
different prizes to be given in each category ranging from $10 to $200. We had many great entries and were thrilled
to see so many students participate in the event. Tuesday was our big push in the school. Dr. Hagman (from the Eating Disorders Unit at
Childrens Hospital Colorado), myself, and a few other individuals helped to put
on a presentations open to any class that wanted to attend. We ran it six times (one presentation for
each period) and had somewhere between 1,000 and 1,200 students attended that day. Great questions were asked and it was a huge
success. Wednesday night I spoke at my
church’s youth group which reached about another 200 students. After service I got the opportunity to talk
with a bunch of girls and we were able to help get them the help they
needed. On Thursday was more geared
towards the community. We invited many
club sports teams, parents, and other community members to join us for an open
forum discussion at the school. We had a
panel that included long time strugglers of the disease, as well as me and
another student, Dr. Hagman, and my mom.
We were all given time to share our stories and then opened it up to the
audience for questions. Thursday night
was also the night we awarded all of the Scholarship Contest prizes, so individuals
who entered got an opportunity to be recognized by community members. Overall the week was way more successful than
I could have ever imagined. We reached
over 1,500 people and helped to educate the community about what Eating
Disorders are and who they affect. I
have received several letters and emails expressing peoples gratitude as well
as had many people come up to me personally asking how they, themselves can get
help or how they can help a friend. I
have learned and grown so much from this experience and I know that without the
help from my school, teachers, doctors, counselors, coaches, family, and
friends I would not be in the place I am today.
Thank you Children's Hospital for saving my life."