An Inspiring Kickoff #Laughforlungs #lunghealthforkids

I had the honor of being able to start the education of Laugh for Lungs at the Jefferson-Douglas Cornerstone school. Principal Thompson allowed me this opportunity to share the importance of lung health with her students.

I started my day by getting ready and adding the heavy boxes into the back of my mom's car. The boxes were filled with about 250 brochures and paper bags that are a part of the educational presentation. I practiced the presentation multiple times and with my younger brother to provide an example of how to engage the students to remember this for the rest of their lives. I took two models with me that are fun and interactive to show the various muscles and parts of the lungs that help us breathe every day. I was also able to acquire machines used in medicinal clinics like pulse oximeters.

I was able to present to a kids of a variety of ages. When presenting to the 7-8th graders I was informed by the counselor Ms. Robinson that they have found kids smoking and vaping at such a young age. I had to learn to be quick on my feet and alter my presentation to help make a larger impact on the young kids and hopefully change their habits to avoid a great amount of lung damage in the future. I was able to touch on a comparison between a cancerous lung caused by smoking and a healthy one. I could truly see the kids starting to question their choices and decisions their peers were making. That was the moment I knew I was truly making an impact on these kids. This is something that every school in the nation should experience this and it can lead to a society that have healthy lungs. Because a society that breathes better grows better.

These kids have truly inspired me to continue to make an impact on my community and they are the reason we have to continue to spread lung health to our communities.