If you are recovering from an eating disorder or are a friend or family member of someone who has suffered from an eating disorder, you may have gained a lot of knowledge about these diseases that you would like to help share with the world. There are several ways you can volunteer your time and expertise to help educate others about eating disorders and how harmful they really are.
Instructions
1. Begin making public speeches about the truths of eating disorders. Call your local middle schools, high schools and health clinics to see if they would be interested in booking you for a speaking engagement to tell your story and experiences. This can be a great chance for you to reveal the truths about eating disorders, what they are really like and how long a person can suffer from them, as well as how a person who thinks they have an eating disorder can find help to recover. Make sure they know you are not a medical professional but instead someone who has personally experienced what an eating disorder is like and would like to share that real-life information. You may want to try and get a medical professional or counselor to accompany you and give some facts as well.
2. Form a support group for people with eating disorders or people who are close to those with eating disorders. Sometimes it can help friends and family members of someone with an eating disorder to gather together and talk about their experiences and gain support from each other. You can begin one of these groups and hold meetings in a person's home or a public place where everyone feels comfortable. You can also begin a new chapter of Eating Disorders Anonymous for those who actually are suffering from eating disorders themselves. By advertising your group in a local newspaper, bulletin board or through a national eating disorder organization, you can gain members for your group.
3. Volunteer to assist national eating disorder organizations at health fairs, school functions or media events. Many of them, such as the National Eating Disorder Association and National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders, need help to educate people about eating disorders when they attend public events. This can include working at an information booth, handing out flyers and pamphlets, manning telephones for a call-in program or helping to organize eating disorder-related functions.
4. Hold a public event to help people gain awareness about eating disorders. Throw a concert in a park or a public picnic with music and guest speakers. Let people know that it is to raise awareness for eating disorders and make sure to have flyers, booklets, and other information available for people that attend. Ask some health care professionals to join in on planning the event and ask them to speak at the event as well. Also try to include members of the National Eating Disorder Association and National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders in your event, as they will not only have ideas on organize things, but will have a lot of information available to give out to people that attend. A good time to hold your event would be during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which usually falls within the first three months of the year.
5. Volunteer your time at an inpatient facility for eating disorder treatment. If you have any experience in peer counseling, reception, filing, nutrition, physical therapy, or even nursing, you may be able to find an inpatient treatment facility that could use your help. In some cases they may just need people to greet visitors and new patients, or to answer phones, while in other cases they may need experienced assistance with physical therapy programs or counseling groups. You can contact facilities in your area directly to see what volunteer help they may need, or you can use the volunteer directories through the National Eating Disorder Association and National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders organizations.
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