Allergy & Asthma Network 40th Anniversary: A Legacy of Outreach
Published: December 18, 2025
For 40 years, Allergy & Asthma Network has lived by a simple belief. When people have clear, practical information about asthma and allergies, they can break the cycle of emergencies, hospital visits, and missed days of school and work.
Outreach to patients and families has been the heartbeat of our mission from day one.
From the beginning, Allergy & Asthma Network recognized that patient education cannot wait for people to find it. It must be taken directly to homes, schools, churches, clinics and community spaces. Even to the halls of Congress.
Over four decades, we have built a national outreach movement powered by volunteers, doctors, nurses, educators, and trusted community partners. What began with a newsletter typed up at a kitchen table has grown into a multi-channel strategy that includes:
- community health events
- bilingual resources
- a toll-free helpline in English and Spanish
- webinars and virtual conferences, also in English and Spanish
- podcasts
- a robust digital presence
- a powerful network of local advocates
Together we brought patient-centered care to the asthma and allergy community and healthcare providers. This approach produced better health outcomes. Patients knew how to live full and healthy lives.
We are Trusted Messengers
Trusted Messengers is Allergy & Asthma Network’s signature health equity program. The idea is simple: people learn best when the information comes from someone they trust in their own community. This is especially important for the Black, Hispanic/Latino and other ommunities that are underserved. The innovative program started in 2020 in Atlanta at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. Hundreds attended for COVID-19 and asthma screenings.
Today, Trusted Messengers involves certified asthma educators visiting communities to attend health fairs, church events and community centers. The goal: encourage people with asthma and allergies to adopt healthy behaviors and make informed decisions about their health. The asthma educators offer asthma and allergy screenings, answer questions, raise awareness, and share easy-to-understand information.
In the last year alone, Trusted Messengers has taken part in major events such as:
- Black Health Matters events in cities like Harlem, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Charlotte
- ¡Vive Tu Vida! Get Up! Get Moving!® events with the National Alliance for Hispanic Health in Latino/Hispanic communities
- Right2Breathe® events at National Hot Rod Association car races
Trusted Messengers shows what we have always believed: real change happens when information is shared by trusted people in familiar places.
How virtual asthma coaching closes gaps in care
Outreach with patients and families does not stop at Trusted Messengers events. People with asthma are invited to enroll in virtual asthma coaching. It’s a free 6-week series of 1-on-1 online sessions – available in English and Spanish – with an asthma educator.
Virtual Asthma Coaching has shown to:
- improve patients’ asthma control
- reduce asthma-related emergency department visits or hospitalizations;
- improve quality of life for adults, especially those living in communities that are underserved.
Trusted Messengers and Virtual Asthma Coaching promote patient-centered asthma care. Together the initiatives help close persistent gaps in asthma outcomes by building confidence, connection, and access where it’s needed most.
Pioneering community-based asthma and allergy outreach
In the early years of Allergy & Asthma Network, we recruited and trained volunteer Outreach Service Coordinators (OSC) to raise asthma and allergy awareness. We linked them with local healthcare professionals, government officials and school personnel to develop “asthma-friendly communities.”
Volunteers crisscrossed their neighborhoods, dropping off newsletters and other educational materials at schools, libraries and hospitals. They spoke with community groups about asthma, participated in coalitions to improve asthma and allergy education, and advocated for students’ rights to carry and self-administer life-saving asthma and anaphylaxis medications at school.
Working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Allergy & Asthma Network trained OSCs to work one-on-one with families in their communities. They helped to reduce the presence of allergens and irritants in homes and schools.
Crossing language barriers
Allergy & Asthma Network quickly recognized the impact asthma and allergies were having on the Hispanic/Latino community in the United States. As early as 1992, we began outreach to better understand the community’s healthcare needs.
This led to becoming a regular presence at Hispanic/Latino health fairs and events. We translated our essential asthma and allergy resources into Spanish language to improve understanding of these conditions and enhance healthcare.
Today, our full-scale Hispanic/Latino outreach also includes a dedicated website, a virtual conference series, and a toll-free help line.
Outreach events that made an impact
- Disaster relief. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti left huge numbers of people homeless and in need of medical support, Allergy & Asthma Network helped organize donations of allergy and asthma supplies and medications for distribution in affected areas.
- Big city lights. In 2011, Allergy & Asthma Network’s huge billboard on Times Square in New York City portrayed the many faces of asthma. It emphasized that asthma is a life-threatening condition – proclaiming “Asthma is Serious.”
- Bringing asthma to the U.S. Capitol. Allergy & Asthma Network asked children to submit artwork and articles describing ‘How asthma makes me feel.’ Their drawings and essays were hung in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda to raise awareness among legislators of the importance of asthma and allergy care nationwide.
- Marine Corps Marathon. Allergy & Asthma Network recruited a diverse group of men and women to run in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. in 2012 and 2013. They helped raise awareness of asthma, exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB), how to treat asthma, and the benefits of exercise for people with respiratory disease.
- Asthma screenings with the Atlanta Hawks. In 2014, Allergy & Asthma Network partnered with the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) to host an asthma screening event prior to an Atlanta Hawks NBA basketball game.
- Indy car circuit: Ireland-born Indy racecar driver James Roe, Jr., sported the Allergy & Asthma Network logo on his racecar on the U.S. circuit. He partnered with Allergy & Asthma Network to raise awareness of asthma, a condition he has lived with since childhood.
Famous faces, powerful support
Allergy & Asthma Network has partnered with celebrities who want to use their voices and experiences to raise awareness of asthma, allergies and related conditions. Many have joined us at Allergy & Asthma Day Capitol Hill (AADCH) to advocate for stronger policies and increased research funding. Others have shared their personal stories through our publications and outreach efforts.
Actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Tia Mowry have spoken openly about managing their children’s severe food allergies. In addition, child actor August Maturo described navigating life on set with food restrictions. Celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner discussed the challenges of cooking while living with atopic dermatitis.
Athletes have also played a powerful role. NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis twice attended AADCH to champion asthma and allergy awareness. Ickey Woods, also an NFL star, attended AADCH to share the tragic story of the death of his son to an asthma attack. Olympic speed skater and Gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno encouraged people to understand and manage exercise-induced asthma. NBA star and broadcaster Richard Jefferson talked about playing basketball with asthma.
Contemporary Christian singer Natalie Grant, whose daughter has asthma, attended AADCH to call for greater awareness and support for families nationwide. Rock star Wayne Nelson and the Little River Band performed a concert during AADCH to raise awareness of asthma and his wife Rhonda’s AERD diagnosis.
Continuing our promise to patients and families
Allergy & Asthma Network has proven that strong outreach can change lives. Along the way, volunteers, educators, partners, and even celebrities helped us spread important messages about asthma and allergies.
As we look to the future, our mission remains the same: meet people where they are, so they have the tools, support and information they need to breathe easy. By listening closely and responding to their needs, we will continue to shape our outreach and build healthier, stronger communities.
