Important News from our Founder and Medical Director, Dr. Haidi Demain

Announcement on September 9, 2021
Dear Friends,

Seven years ago, the year after I launched Allergy Safe Kids (ASK), I was invited to take a class called Transforming Conversations. It was taught by a brilliant educator who helped me dissect my desire to start the organization. We learned how, throughout history, painful experiences have been catalysts for change.

When my two-year-old daughter had an anaphylactic reaction to salmon, my journey to make a difference began. I couldn't think clearly. The pain and fear of losing her were suffocating. That terrifying personal experience alerted me to the risk that adult caregivers and educators might be unprepared in such an event. I began to focus on how schools might provide teachers the knowledge and skills to keep kids with life-threatening food allergies safe wherever they live, learn and play.

With the help of AllergyHome and the Colorado Department of Education, we co-authored a training program to teach school nurses and staff how to prevent, identify and treat food-allergic reactions.

Our training module went live in 2015 and we have trained more than 10,000 school nurses and staff to date.

Since we began, we have:
  • Created a best-in-class food allergy training course and online module in partnership with AllergyHome.
  • Partnered with the Colorado Department of Education.
  • Trained more than 10,000 school nurses, teachers, and administrators.
  • Hosted dozens of webinars and in-person workshops.
  • Testified before the Colorado State Legislature in favor of having stock epinephrine in schools statewide (which passed).
  • Published four peer-reviewed articles to advance best practices in Colorado food allergy education in schools and ASK's methodology and efficacy.
  • Reviewed the Colorado Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan multiple times.
  • Participated in state-level conversations about best practices and food allergy guidelines in schools.
  • Built a thriving partnership with Colorado's dedicated school nurses.
  • Raised food allergy awareness across the state of Colorado.
  • Provided hundreds of families and school leaders guidance and support through meetings and conversations over the years.
Today, ASK is a leading food allergy training program recommended by the Colorado Department of Education.

Our goal upon inception was to become one of the leading food allergy training programs in the state. After eight wonderful years of passion and partnership in pursuit of this mission, ASK will be closing its doors by the end of 2021.

Rather than operate a separate organization, we will officially transition our training module to AllergyHome/Allergy Certified Training. Our steadfast partner for seven years, AllergyHome/Allergy Certified Training has agreed to maintain and update this resource for Colorado school nurses and staff going forward and will continue to provide it for free to our schools.

AllergyHome/AllergyCertified Training and the Colorado Department of Education will continue to promote the training to school nurses and staff. I will continue to remain involved in the food allergy community and be a resource for families. Because our training program is so well-known and widely accepted, we no longer need the non-profit organization to sustain it. In short, the goal of Allergy Safe Kids has been accomplished.

Closing ASK is bittersweet and perhaps a surprise to many of you. Please know this is what we have always worked toward - a training resource that will continue to educate in perpetuity. We believe this is our legacy to the community. We are still putting the final touches on the new module (coming soon) and we are finalizing the transition. We will continue to be in touch as we complete the process. As always, you are welcome to contact me with any questions.

None of this would have been possible without your extraordinary support, generosity, introductions, encouragement, and ideas over the years.

In my religious tradition, I was always taught that "whoever saves one life, saves the world entire". What was born of a painful and frightening experience has created partnerships, research, and impact that has inspired me, the Board, and hopefully you. But above that, together we have saved lives. And that's what this was always all about.

With gratitude,
​Haidi
THANK YOU!

On behalf of all of us, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks for your support in 2020. During these extraordinary times, we are grateful for caring supporters like you. 

Thanks to you, we trained nearly 2,000 school staff members in 2020. And thanks to you, we are making our schools safer for kids with food allergies.

Thank you for investing in our mission and believing in us. 

Colorado Gives Day is Tuesday, December 8th

​Visit www.coloradogives.org/allergysafekids to schedule your gift and help us earn matching dollars. 

Thank you for considering ASK as part of your 2020 giving. Your donation helps us train more teachers and staff in schools on how to prevent, identify and treat a food allergic reaction. Your donation makes a difference for kids with food allergies. 
GivingTuesday is Tuesday, December 1.

​Help us train more school staff on how to prevent, identify and treat a food allergic reaction in schools. Donate today on Visit www.allergysafekids.org/donate. Thanks for your support.

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. Created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. ​
Our Founder & Medical Director, Dr. Haidi Demain

Listen to a message from our Founder and Medical Director, Dr. Haidi Demain of Allergy Safe Kids. She speaks to our challenging times with COVID-19 and food allergies in school. 
Support Allergy Safe Kids through AmazonSmile. Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to a charity of your choice. Help kids with food allergies by selecting Allergy Safe Kids as your charity. Remember to go to smile.amazon.com when you shop! 
Special Event - ASK + Kendra Scott, Oct 6th & 7th, 2020
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Thank you for participating in our shopping event with Kendra Scott. ​We appreciate your support. Kendra Scott will be donating 20% of sales back to ASK. 

All funds will go towards program outreach. We are working hard to ensure more school staff members, especially teachers, are trained on how to handle a food allergic reaction at schools. 
ASK Board Meeting - June & September, 2020


​Our amazing Board of Directors & Staff met virtually for the past 2 board meetings in June and September. 

We discussed expanding our outreach into other school districts, how our program may be impacted by COVID-19, reviewed our budget and annual report, and checked-in with everyone on how they and their families are doing during these unprecedented times. 

Big thanks to Jamie, Jennifer, Tiffany, Ellen, Kelly, Julia, Kathy and Haidi! Thankful for this amazing, talented team working together to expand and support ASK's efforts in food allergy education. 
CASN, 2019. Colorado Association of School Nurses


​Jennifer Shaw and Kathleen Patrick, RN, participate in the CASN Expo in November, 2019. 

We had the opportunity to talk about our program, share research, and answer any questions about our online training module. 

It was wonderful to catch up, meet, and reunite with Colorado's incredible school nurses! 

We look forward to the next opportunity to engage with school nurses and help support them however we can. 
Food Allergy Fund (FAF) Summit - April 2019
 
Our Founder & Medical Director, Dr. Haidi Demain participated in a panel discussion at the Food Allergy Fund Summit in New York City. She was joined on stage with Georgina Cipriano, Lianne Mandlebaum, and CNN's Chris Cillizza. 

Dr. Demain spoke about our evidenced-based training program and the importance of training school personnel on how to prevent, identify and treat a food allergic reaction in schools. 

Big thanks to Ilana Golant of the Food Allergy Fund for inviting ASK to the table. It was an inspiring morning listening to fellow entrepreneurs, advocates, non-profits, researchers, scientists, and celebrity chefs - all focused on improving the lives of those with food allergies.