Community Corner

Girl Scout Launching Celiac Gold Award Project at MSF Run

Annual fundraising run is Sunday morning.

One Mahwah High School Senior will be both raising money for Mahwah township schools, and awareness for another cause at the Mahwah Schools Foundation 10K/5K Sunday morning.

Alissa Puzo, who has been a Girl Scout since Kindergarten, will launch the public portion of her project, “Celiac Awareness Alliance: It's a No Grainer!” at a booth at the Run.

“My project is designed to increase the awareness of celiac disease throughout the community, the state and possibly the country, because it is so misdiagnosed or under-diagnosed,” she said.

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“My approach is to reach out to first to athletes and families at the Mahwah10K/5K and Kid Run, distribute information, and ask them to "like" the Facebook page I have created. Afterwards, I will be mailing the brochure I have created to school nurses and pediatricians in Bergen County.”

Puzo said she hopes the informative brochures will lead to more correct diagnoses.

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“The purpose of the Gold Award is to make an impact on the world. I felt that celiac disease awareness was something that I was passionate about and something where the possibilities to create change were infinite,” she said.

“I, myself was diagnosed with celiac disease when my parents and I were concerned I was not growing. A family friend, whose own child had celiac disease, recommended that I get tested. Since then, I have recognized the power of simply sharing information. With this project, I am able to give back in a very meaningful way and improve lives in the same way that mine was improved.”

See Puzo’s brochure above, and be sure to find her at Sunday’s MSF Run.

For more information about the Run, click here.


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