Who We Are...
Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails, founded in Sacramento in 1917 as the Sacramento Society for the Prevention and Cure of Tuberculosis and then the American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails, has been a champion in fighting for clean air, healthy lungs and the elimination of lung disease in the Sacramento Region. Because of our strong commitment to local, grassroots prevention and education programs, we have changed our name to Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails. As an independent nonprofit focused on our communities, we ensure that 100% of your donations will be put to work to improve the health of our residents.
Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails is the same organization that pioneered smokefree workplaces and restaurants, reduced smoking by 37%, helped phase out rice straw burning in the Sacramento Valley, helped bring light-rail to Sacramento, created the Asthma Tool Kit for children, parents, schools and health professionals, and pioneered innovative youth programs like Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down!. We are the same organization we’ve been since 1917 and we’re still the Clean Air and Healthy Lungs People!
As we look toward the future, Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails will continue to be the leader in creative and successful local programs and initiatives that will ultimately ensure that every breath we take in the Sacramento region is a healthy one.
Why We Do It...
Lung disease is the third leading cause of death in the United States
440,000 people die each year from smoking related illnesses
3000 children start smoking each day
45,350 children in the Sacramento Region suffer from asthma
Programs Your Donations Support...
Early on, we understood the importance of involving youth in all aspects of our organization. At the heart of that involvement is the Youth Advisory Board, a unique program designed to enhance our projects by including the youth voice. Our most innovative programs, including Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down! the School Based Air Quality Assessment Project , and the Teen Asthma Project are based solely on youth research, leadership and advocacy.
BCSET teamed with a panel of local health-care professionals including physicians, school nurses, pharmacists, health care administrators and parents to create the Asthma Collaborative. This dedicated group focuses on the particular asthma needs of our communities. Together, we have created a booklet and wallet-sized card to help Sacramento Region residents receive proper care and to manage this disease. “Your Asthma Book” and “Asthma Self- Care Plan” are available in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese (and soon Hindi) and are free, just for the asking.
For years, our region has been listed as being one of the dozen most polluted metropolitan areas in the country. That ranking doesn’t detail the good news: The air here is improving. However, we have a long way to go, and we are doing something about it with these innovative programs: Clean Air Agenda includes a list of simple, effective actions that you, your neighborhood, local governments and organizations can take to make a positive change. BCSET and the Metro Chamber of Commerce founded the Cleaner Air Partnership, which works with business, transportation, public health and environmental communities to help minimize transportation related emissions, and now has expanded to include Valley Vision.
The work of our Health Effects Task Force has resulted in the extraordinary solid documentation of Sacramento Valley air pollution and the resulting health impacts. In May, we recognize the best of the best with our Clean Air Awards, honoring local individuals, organizations and businesses for taking appropriate steps toward cleaning our air. Finally, our School Based Air Quality Assessment Project helps students learn what is really in their air on their campuses.
For a decade, hundreds of teenagers in our Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down! program have monitored the gratuitous tobacco scenes on the big screen. We have launched a Web site – www.scenesmoking.org – that offers reviews of current movies for their tobacco content, and are allowing schoolteachers, parents and anti-smoking organizations to use this data to help in our fight of teenage tobacco use, and in spurring the Motion Picture Association of America to include tobacco in the movie ratings.
For more information on all our programs and services, visit www.sacbreathe.org.
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