I first learned about Alaska Community Action on Toxics (www.akaction.org) from a member of the local Alaska Native village. She told me about their work locally and all the way to the United Nations for environmental health and justice. This organization is working at many levels for the health of our children. They advocate for safer alternatives to toxic chemicals that are all around us and they even participate in national and international studies to see what chemicals are within us from exposures. I didn't really expect to find an organization like this in Alaska. I'm glad that I did. They also work from an inspired place for the Yupik people of St. Lawrence Island who are dealing with global contaminants as well as those from abandoned military sites on their island. This organization not only provides training and local jobs for villagers with community based research - they also provide opportunities and human rights training so that the villagers can bring their health concerns to the US Government and to the United Nations. Please support them, I do.
Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) provides scientific information to the community about human health and wellness in an easy-to-understand way. They are one of the only groups that will visit rural (and often very-remote) Alaskan communities to educate the community, conduct research, and support communities with concerns about toxins to human health. Additionally they help educate the entire populace of Alaska (urban and rural) with numerous community awareness/education campaigns and educational presentations by nationally-recognized physicians and professionals. Lastly, ACAT is more than 'just a non-profit' they are a support group for individuals and communities with concerns and questions about human health, they are willing to find answers to questions, and their staff are highly respected and appreciated within the communities ACAT has served.