May marks Asthma Awareness Month, a key observance to raise awareness about asthma, a chronic lung disease that impacts one million adults and 195,000 children in Ohio.
During May, the American Lung Association is partnering with the Reid Wiley Charitable Foundation to raise awareness about the disease and provide free resources to school-based health professionals and families in Ohio. Parents and school nurses can contact Patty Inman with the American Lung Association at [email protected] or at 248-220-5210 to sign up for the free resources, which include an asthma sports pack with school supplies, bilingual asthma educational book, asthma management resources and an inhaler spacer.
Glenn and Mary Wiley created the Reid Wiley Charitable Foundation after losing their son Reid to complications from asthma in December of 2020. Reid was an active athlete and was diagnosed with asthma at a very early age. Despite the asthma making it difficult to breathe, Reid went on to play college hockey for the University of Akron.
“Reid was a fighter both on and off the ice. Despite asthma making it difficult to breathe—particularly challenging for a competitive hockey player—he never let the condition define or limit him,” said Glenn Wiley, Reid’s father and co-founder of the Reid Wiley Charitable Foundation. “We established the Reid Wiley Charitable Foundation to keep our son’s name alive and ensure no other family has to experience the tragedy of losing a loved one to asthma. In partnership with the American Lung Association, and through the Reid Wiley Charity Golf Outing on May 11, we are able to help local kids with asthma.”
Ohio school-based health professionals, like school nurses, have access to free asthma resources and training, including:
- Controlling Asthma: What You Need to Know Flipchart: A tool that helps professionals teach school-aged youth how to better manage their asthma.
- Training in Open Airways for Schools and Kickin’ Asthma.
- A sports pack with school supplies and education around asthma management and control.
These resources are available for free by contacting Patty Inman at [email protected] or at 248-220-5210.
In Addition, the Reid Wiley Charitable Foundation is hosting the Reid Wiley Charity Golf Outing on Monday, May 11 at the Westfield Country Club in Westfield, Ohio. The event is held during May for Asthma Awareness Month, and brings together friends, family, and community members to honor Reid’s memory while raising funds for asthma education, supplying Albuterol inhalers and spacers to schools, and youth hockey scholarships. Learn more and donate here.
About the American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to champion clean air for all; to improve the quality of life for those with lung disease and their families; and to create a tobacco-free future. For more information about the American Lung Association, which has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and is a Platinum-Level GuideStar Member, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org. To support the work of the American Lung Association, find a local event at Lung.org/events.
About the Reid Wiley Charitable Foundation
The Reid Wiley Charitable Foundation was created by Reid's parents, Glenn and Mary, along with their daughter Erin, to provide funding for the American Lung Association to specifically create in school educational and support programs on Asthma for school age children in NE Ohio through The Wiley Asthma Program. In addition, the Foundation funds youth hockey players in the Strongsville and Parma Youth Hockey Programs through The Reid Wiley Memorial Scholarship.
