Kicking 4 Celiac: A Story of Devotion to Celiac Awareness

As I was working feverishly to get  my 3rd book, Gluten-Free Living 101: A Step by Step Handbook , to the editor, I was also trying to figure out how I wanted to honor May's, Celiac Awareness Month .
This morning I was reading the article, Craig Pinto, Kicking 4 Celiac in Simply Gluten-Free Magazine. This was the first time I had heard of Craig Pinto and I wanted to know more, so I went to his website. 

After reading the information on Craig's website, it was easy to decided how I want to honor Celiac Awareness month, by honoring the people in the forefront of the awareness movement.

What I discovered was a truly wonderful man and his journey to developing and supporting Celiac Awareness. Craig Pinto was diagnosed with Crohn 's at the age of 12 and celiac at the age of 22 years old. Though Craig went through both physical and emotional challenges after being diagnosed, he still became a professional indoor football player and later achieved 2 Guinness Book of world Records.

In 2010, Craig decided to bring awareness to celiac disease and raise money for the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University by kicking the most field goals kicked in 12 hours. He achieved this by making 717 forty yard field goals." He repeat this in 2011by making 1,000 forty foot goals in 18 hours. (source)

He called the Guinness Book Record challenge, Kicking 4 Celiac, a name he soon gave to his foundation.
Now almost 3 years later,  Kicking 4 Celiac, will be renamed, National Celiac Disease Society. Craig hopes that the name change will give it global awareness.

Kick 4 Celiac has 3 programs under it's umbrella:

Cleat's for Kid's: 
Pinto wanted to educate children about celiac disease and the need for exercise and healthy eating. Cleat's for Kid's, is a fairly new program that collects soccer cleats for children in under-served areas.
" Each organization that receives these items not only will get some great equipment to enjoy, but will also learn about nutrition, proper eating, as well as living healthy through our guest speaking engagements with them." (source)

College Scholarship Program:   In 2012, Kick's 4 Celiac started a college scholarship for new college students with celiac disease. The scholarship is meant to help the student offset the cost of living gluten-free at college.Currently the scholarship program is able to choose 2 students each year. With our support, this number will grow.

Student Ambassador Program:
"Our Student Ambassador Program works with students interested in reaching out to their local elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as to those in college, to discuss the importance of allergy awareness and tolerance in schools." (source)

Kicking 4 Celiac Facebook page
Kicking 4 Celiac Homepage

Thank you to all the people out there who are making such an incredible difference. 

Photo: http://www.kicking4celiac.org/?page_id=213