Aerin Atinsky and Clara Rohatyn are high school students from Manhattan and the founders of H.E.P: helping, educating, and preventing. They both recognized the prevalence and the severity of disordered eating and poor body image within their peers from a young age. As they researched in hopes of finding prevention efforts within New York, they found that the New York Department of Education controls NY schools' health courses and who teaches them, the number of courses given, and what curriculum includes. However, nothing pertaining to body image or eating disorder education is included. This information was appalling to both Aerin and Clara, who knew the reality: every 52 minutes, a person dies from this insidious mental illness. The lethality rate for this mental illness is only surpassed by that of substance use. This issue starts as young as just seven years of age. Aerin and Clara both understood that the power lies within the law and it must be changed. 

With help from The Alliance, they are implementing safe programming for body positivity and eating disorder education within NYC schools. Now with a community of student heads at ten different schools, they have already been welcomed and supported by several institutions. However, they could not have done anything without the help from The Alliance who is so graciously providing free education and support to students in need. Please consider donating to The Alliance so that NOT ONE MORE student or peer will suffer.