Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

My name is Nora Levin, and I’ve been struggling with asthma from a very young age. Asthma is a disease that inflames a person’s airways, constricting them, and making it difficult or impossible to breathe. Asthma is a chronic illness and it is not yet curable, but in most cases, including mine, it's easily treatable. As long as I carry around my inhaler, I  can use it when I feel an asthma attack coming on, and the symptoms wear off within a few minutes. During the rare times when my asthma gets too severe for my inhaler to work, I have a nebulizer, which delivers albuterol in higher doses to help me breathe better. I also take a maintenance medication twice a day, which helps me manage my symptoms with more predictability. But, just because most asthma cases are easily treatable does not mean they are affordably treatable.

In 2015 in the United States alone, there were 3,615 deaths caused by asthma, of which 219 were children under the age of 18. Most of these people were either never diagnosed with the chronic illness, or they could not afford the proper medications to treat their conditions. The thought of this disturbs me because, when I’ve had my inhaler with me, I’ve never thought of my asthma as much more than an inconvenience. It limits my physical activity, and I've been hospitalized for it on a few occasions, but It’s never gotten to the point of being life-threatening because I have it under control with medication. Of course, I’m not the one paying for my medication, my parents are, so I didn’t realize until recently how expensive it is. This is why I’d like to donate money to help people with asthma. The money I raise for my Mitzvah project will go to a fund that helps raise awareness of asthma and its dangers, gives people proper diagnoses, and helps them afford the life-saving medications that they need to manage this tough but relatively common condition.

Be an AAFA Ally!

AAFA Allies host and support fundraisers that fuel our mission-critical programs. Your generous donations support: 

• Education programs and lifesaving resources on disease prevention, diagnosis, and management for people living with asthma and allergies and health professionals.  

• An online support community where people can find health education materials and talk directly to other people who know what it’s like to live with asthma and/or allergies.  

• Patient-centered research to improve health outcomes and address health disparities in communities that are greatly affected by allergic and respiratory conditions. 

• Advocacy for laws and policies that ensure access to high-quality, affordable, and evidence-based health care and treatments.  

We couldn’t do this without the passion and support of our donors. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of people with asthma and allergies.