A Chance to Heal is sponsoring a weeklong jeans collection drive and series of educational workshops at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia to promote positive messages about body image.
The school's peer support and body image awareness committee is conducting the "Get Comfortable in Your Genes" jeans collection drive to create awareness of the struggle against one's natural size and shape to fit into a pair of too-small jeans. This behavior, according to Ivy Silver, co-founder of A Chance to Heal, can lead to unhealthy dieting, poor body image and eating disorders.
Those who drop off old and ill-fitting jeans at Germantown Friends School, 31 W. Coulter St., Philadelphia, or Smith Bros retail stores in Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr or Huntingdon Valley will receive a 20% off coupon on all merchandise at Smith Bros.
Other National Eating Disorder Awareness week events at Germantown Friends School include a body image workshop led by Harin Feibish, LCSW, A Chance to Heal board member, who will address the struggle females and males have with body image, body acceptance and self acceptance. Art, yoga and nutrition workshops will promote positive body image and healthy eating habits.
The school's peer support and body image awareness committee is also conducting a body image survey among middle- and upper-school students.
As many as 10 million females and 1 million males in the U.S. suffer from an eating disorder, including anorexia, bulimia or binge eating, which can lead to long-term physical damage, or even death. For those who seek treatment, financial resources are frequently exhausted before they reach recovery.
A Chance to Heal was formed in 2004 by Rachel Silver, 19, and her mother, Ivy Silver, to help those with eating disorders get the care they need by providing financial assistance when insurance coverage and personal finances are inadequate. The nonprofit organization raised more than $100,000 in its first year to provide treatment grants for patients in the Philadelphia region. Longer term, it will do so nationally. A Chance to Heal also aims to promote early diagnosis and treatment, increase public awareness of the costs of treatment, and advocate for change in financing care.
