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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two High School Students Win $1,500
College Scholarships for Essays on
Food Allergies
Awards Presented Annually to Increase Awareness of Growing Health Problem
FAIRFAX, Va. (July 16, 2008) – Anne Gole, a recent graduate of Tenafly High School in Tenafly, N.J., and Rebecca Loeb, a recent graduate of Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., have each won a $1,500 college scholarship in a national competition sponsored by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), the nation’s leading food allergy nonprofit and patient advocacy group.
The eighth annual FAAN College Scholarship Essay Contest attracted essays written by hundreds of high school seniors, college undergraduates, and graduate students nationwide. Contestants addressed the topic “How Food Allergy Has Made a Difference in My Life.” Gole, age 17, is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, and soy, and Loeb, age 17, is allergic to tree nuts, eggs, and sesame. They were chosen as this year’s winners for eloquently describing their ability to persevere and turn a challenging health situation into a positive one.
“Each year, an increasing number of students who have food allergies enter college and begin to live on their own. This year’s essays showed that students are approaching this new chapter with determination, a positive attitude, and a healthy dose of respect for managing their medical condition,” said Anne Muñoz-Furlong, FAAN’s Founder and CEO.
Excerpts from the two winning essays will be featured on FAAN’s teen website, www.faanteen.org.
ABOUT FAAN
Founded in 1991, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is the world leader in information about food allergy, a potentially fatal condition that afflicts about 12 million Americans, or one out of every 25. A nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Va., FAAN has 30,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and 62 other countries. It is dedicated to increasing public awareness of food allergy and its consequences, to educating people about the condition, and to advancing research on behalf of all those affected by it. FAAN provides information and educational resources about food allergy to patients, their families, schools, health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, the food industry, and government officials. For more information, please visit FAAN at www.foodallergy.org, www.faankids.org, and www.faanteen.org.
CONTACT:
Jennifer Love
Marketing and Media Communications Manager
(703) 563-3061 direct, (301) 639-4811 cell
jlove@foodallergy.org
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