Great Jeans Giveway at York College promotes message "Get Real: Don't fight your genes, just change your jeans!"

Posted February 22, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

In recognition of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, the York College chapter of the Student Nurses Association of PA hosts the Great Jeans Giveway on Feb. 21-25 by receiving donations of old jeans to promote the message to "Get Real: Don't fight your genes, just change your jeans!" The students will accept donations from the community on Thursday, Feb. 24 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. in the lobby of the Iosue Student Union Building, with proceeds benefiting Bell Family Shelter.

An ongoing, campus-wide collection is currently under way for York College students with collection boxes placed in dormitories, academic buildings and the Iosue Student Union Building. Through the Great Jeans Giveaway, the National Eating Disorders Association and the York College students hope to persuade the public to think twice about trying to change their bodies to fit fashion and the pressures of our culture's unattainable standards of beauty, and are instead encouraging them to change the size of their jeans to fit their genes.

York College will also sponsor additional events to recognize National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, including Mirrorless Monday, Eating Disorders screenings, and Temptation Free Tuesday. The public is also invited to attend the presentation, "Cultural Perspectives on Eating Disorders," by Jolene Hillwig-Garcia of the Penn State Eating Disorders Program, on Tuesday, Feb. 22 from 3:30 - 5 p.m. in Alumni Hall, and the presentation by speaker Michelle Garb on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Music, Art and Communication Center Recital Hall.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, nearly 10 million females and 1 million males in the United States are struggling with the devastating, life-threatening effects of the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia. Another 25 million suffer from binge eating disorder. At a sub-clinical level, 80 percent of American women are dissatisfied with their bodies.

The National Eating Disorders Association established National Eating Disorders Awareness Week in 1987 to help create a world where a person's value is not weighed in pounds on a scale - a world where self-esteem is rooted in character and accomplishments rather than the size of one's jeans. The National Eating Disorders Association works to create a culture that accepts and celebrates diversity in body shapes and sizes.

 

For more information on the Great Jeans Giveaway, contact Nina Copley, Student Nurses Association of PA Community Chair, at (717) 815-1874.

For more information on National Eating Disorders Awareness Week at York College, contact Karen Jones, College Counselor, at (717) 815-1787.

For more information about the National Eating Disorders Association or National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, call (206) 382-3587 or visit the Web site at www.NationalEatingDisorders.org.

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