Take Action 

Ready to get more involved with Fundred and help raise awareness to prevent lead poisoning? Be a Fundred Ambassador. We worked with our friends at MIT CoLab to develop this short list of actions to prevent, educate, raise awareness and advocate for lead poisoning prevention. There are many ways that each of us can be part of the solution.

Select your affiliation:

student

educator / schools 

concerned family 

community or advocacy organization

arts organization

health department

.

ClassroomFundredsClassroomFundreds

If you’re an educator:

Prevent:

  • Talk to your students’ parents and guardians about the Fundred Dollar Bill Project and how they can keep an eye out for potential sources of lead exposure. 

  • Check out your school’s / county’s / city’s /district’s policies on lead hazards. If your school is older, work with others to find out if there are lead hazards in the school itself. 

Educate:

  • Go to https://fundred.org/teacher-resources/ to find Fundred templates and lesson plans. 
  • Download a sample letter to parents at fundred.org, and ask your health department if they have local information to share with families.

Increase Awareness:

  • Talk to your students’ parents and guardians about the Fundred Dollar Bill Project and how they can keep an eye out for potential sources of lead poisoning. 

  • Talk to your school district’s administrators about the importance of lead poisoning education and eradication.

.

children_truckchildren_truck

If you’re part of a concerned family:

Prevent:

  • Have your children tested for lead poisoning - ask your doctor for more information. 

  • Take steps to prevent lead contamination: remove outdoor shoes before coming inside, mop hard floors instead of sweeping, wet clean window sills and window wells, clean your children’s toys, make sure your family is washing their hands regularly, feed your children a healthy diet. 

  • Look over your home and play areas for any visible signs of lead contamination: deteriorated paint, bare areas of soil, accumulations of dust. 

  • Use simple lead paint testing kits to investigate further. 

If you find lead in your home:

  • If you find lead in or around your home and have young children prone to playing on the floor or putting things (like hands, toys, or furniture) in their mouths, leave and find a safe place to stay until the lead is cleaned up. 
  • If you can afford to have the lead cleaned up, hire a lead safe contractor to safely remove lead hazards from your home. 
  • If you can’t afford to have the lead cleaned up, get in touch with your local or state health department to see if they can help. 
  • If your landlord refuses to clean up lead paint, talk to a lawyer to discuss your options. If you can’t afford a lawyer, get in touch with your local Legal Services or Legal Aid. 

Increase Awareness:

  • Talk to other parents about childhood lead poisoning to help raise awareness.

     

Advocate:

  • Connect to your elected officials to inform them of the dangers of childhood lead poisoning and encourage their advocacy for lead hazard cleanup. 

.

resize2resize2

If you’re part of a community or advocacy organization:

Prevent:

  • Research local lead contamination issues. Has lead ever been a major industrial emission by a site in your city? Where do older homes more likely to contain lead paint exist? Does your city have lead hazard remediation funding available? 

Educate:

  • Hold a meeting to discuss the 100% preventable causes and 100% permanent effects of childhood lead poisoning.
  • Create Fundreds as a group to be counted as standing for funding solutions to lead poisoning. 

Advocate: 

  • Join the National Safe and Healthy Housing Coalition, and sign onto a letter seeking full funding of HUD and CDCs lead programs and find resources on how to invite local representatives to lead safe events. 

  • Reach out to local elected officials to talk about the presence and impact of lead contamination amongst their constituents.

.

gallerygallery

If you’re part of an arts organization:

Increase Awareness:

  • Use the Fundred Dollar Bill Project as a way to connect to your community through art – partner with local organizations working to prevent lead poisoning. 

  • Develop other creative projects and events in parallel with the Fundred Dollar Bill Project to highlight the gravity of our lead poisoning epidemic and bring new audiences into the movement. 

If you’re part of a health department:

Increase Awareness:

  • Integrate the Fundred Dollar Bill Project into your lead education outreach. 

  • Share and collect Fundreds at public health events. 

  • Use collected Fundreds to document successful outreach and communicate to local elected officials on efforts to end lead poisoning. 

  • Invite your local school district to participate in the Fundred Dollar Bill Project

.

Student_teenStudent_teen

If you’re a student:

Prevent:

  • Talk to your parents and research what lead risks exist in your home
    or community. 

Increase Awareness:

  • Become a Fundred Ambassador by representing Fundred in your area - spread the word at your school and through social media to get everyone involved.  Collect & bundle Fundreds and send them to the Collection Center to be counted.
     

  • Create assemblies, events, and/or displays to educate people about lead and invite participation in creating Fundreds.  Invite families, press, and community leaders and representatives.  
     

  • Become an Intern.  We can help you work with your school or university to get credit – contact us for details.