Iron Man and Ace Clean Team Up!

Nearly 22 million school days are lost annually due to the common cold, according to the Centers for Disease Control. With cold and flu season upon us, the Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) is educating children on simple steps they can take to keep themselves safe and healthy.

One simple step that can be taken to reduce the spread of germs is to properly wash hands. As part of our campaign, 90,000 comic-book styled, educational book covers were developed and distributed to New York City grade schools to teach just that. The book covers, which feature Ace Clean alongside Marvel Entertainment's Iron Man, include illustrations of the heroes for children to color, mini games, and healthy tips!

To kickoff this initiative, Ace Clean and Iron Man met in Times Square to demonstrate proper hand washing with the assistance of a representative from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology (APIC). The event was even broadcast on the Reuters and NASDAQ video billboards! The busy day concluded with a press conference at Midtown Comics to highlight the importance of hand washing.

Click here to learn more and see video and images from the fun filled day!

Thank you all for your continued support! Sincerely,The Alliance for Consumer Education

ACE Congratulates SAFE

Congratulations to Substance Abuse Free Environment Inc. (SAFE) for being selected as one of the recipients of the 2010 National Exemplary Award for Innovative Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Practices and Policies! SAFE received the award for its inhalant abuse prevention initiative.

SAFE began its education efforts in the Virginia community of Chesterfield in 1999. Though inhalant abuse was not a well-known issue, data showed inhalants were abused at an alarming rate among local eighth graders.

According to the recent Prevention Needs Assessment Survey, SAFE’s work has helped to reduce this rate. Over the past five years (2005 to 2010), SAFE has reduced lifetime use of inhalants among eighth graders by 44%! Furthermore, use of inhalants in this community during the past 30 days has also dropped by 64% since 2005. To see the entire survey, please click here.

This is a great accomplishment for SAFE and the community their work continues to impact! For more information about their educational programs or to read about how SAFE has inspired hundreds of community volunteers over the years, please visit www.chesterfieldsafe.org.