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Alumna Fighting Food Allergies

When her daughter had a violent reaction to eggs and was diagnosed with a food allergy, Robyn McCord O’Brien, Class of 1993, says she wanted to tattoo a warning across her daughter’s forehead so that people would be aware of the danger that certain foods posed for her. That was the start of Robyn’s work on the children’s food allergies. Not only did she design a universal food allergy symbol (an exclamation point inside the stop sign octagon) but she has also founded an organzation calledAllergyKids, appeared on several national TV shows and written a book, The Unhealthy Truth, that  will be published by Random House early next month. As described on the AllergyKids Web site, Robyn’s work focuses on “creating universal awareness of food allergies, educating the population about the severity of food allergies and the important role that diet can play in healing these children.” AllergyKids also funds the AllergyKids Foundation, which has a goal of finding a cure for food allergies. Robyn has assembled a pretty impressive “inspiration team,” individuals who support the AllergyKids work. Members of that team include Prince Charles, Erin Brockovich, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. You can read more about Robyn on the About the Founder page of the AllergyKids Web site where you can watch an interview on CNN.

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