For Immediate Release March 2, 2009
Healthy Schools Hero Award 2009
Contact: Ellie Goldberg
www.healthy-kids.info
617 965-9637
Healthy Schools Hero Award 2009
Ruth Breech
Every year, to mark the anniversary of the March 18, 1937 Texas School Explosion, I name a Healthy Schools Hero who demonstrates extraordinary responsibility and inspirational leadership for safety in schools.
The 2009 Healthy Schools Hero Award winner is Ruth Breech, Program Director at Global Community Monitor in El Cerrito, CA. Ruth Breech was nominated by Peter Fugazzotto, Director of Oceans and Communities, for her work to protect school children in Addyston, Ohio from the hazards of toxic industrial pollution.
Described in the media as a "tenacious, high-energy community activist," Breech is motivated to "tell the untold story" of the people who suffer in silence in "fenceline" communities such as Addyston, OH.
Breech will be speaking Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at "Next Steps"
Second Panel Discussion and Forum - Parents and Community Groups
Response to School Air Quality Issue. Come find out what is being done
and how you can help! http://www.berkeleymomma.org/
Breech's leadership shows how individuals and community groups can work together to break the silence about hazards and stimulate government agencies to take necessary action.
Like the Healthy Schools Heroes before her, I hope Ruth Breech's story can inspire others to break the silence about environmental health hazards and to take action to save lives where chemical hazards and other unhealthy conditions in school and communities are routinely ignored.
*Ruth Breech's story: Once upon a time in Addyston, Ohio... click here
The 2009 Healthy Schools Hero Award is an annual opportunity to remember the worst school disaster in American history and to raise awareness about the urgent need for leadership to make today's schools the safe havens our children deserve.
On March 25, 1937 fifth grader Carolyn Jones spoke to the Texas House of Representatives. She told her story of surviving the explosion and asked them to "set aside a special day each year as a memorial... to pay tribute to the children and teachers who died, and to make laws of safety... Our daddies and mothers, as well as the teachers, want to know that when we leave our homes in the morning to go to school, that we will come out safe when our lessons are over." Click here for the full transcript.
True -- it is painful to threaten the illusion of safety in a school or community and to talk about death and loss. The survivors of the New London School Explosion did not talk about their painful experiences for more than forty years. Their stories show that it is even more painful to live with a tragedy when opportunities to prevent loss were unseen or overlooked.
Other Inspiring 2009 Nominations
Dedicated to Award-Winning Building and Student Excellence, Al Sena, Rio Rancho Public Schools, NM
First Successful EPA Chemical Cleanout Partnership
Former Hero Awards
Heroes 2008
Hero 2007
Heroes 2006
For more information contact Ellie Goldberg, M.Ed. at healthykids@rcn.com.
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