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| Abbreviation | Lung Association |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1904; 122 years ago (1904) (asNational Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis) |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Purpose | Preventing lung disease and promoting lung health |
| Headquarters | Chicago,Illinois, United States |
| Membership | 32,000 |
National President and Chief Executive Officer | Harold P. Wimmer |
| Website | Lung.org |
Formerly called |
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TheAmerican Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventinglung disease through education, advocacy, and research.[1]
The organization was founded in 1904 to fighttuberculosis (TB) as the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis (NASPT) byEdward Livingston Trudeau,[2] Robert Hall Babcock, Henry Martyn Hall,Lawrence Flick, andS. Adolphus Knopf. Earlier in 1892, Flick had founded the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, the world's first society dedicated to the preventing TB. In 1907, the Lung Association began theirChristmas Seal campaign to raise money for a small TB sanatorium in Delaware.Emily Bissell, a Red Cross volunteer at the time, created holiday seals to sell at the post office for a penny a piece. By the end of her fundraising campaign, she had raised more than ten times the amount needed to save the sanatorium, and the tradition of Christmas Seals was launched.[3]
The NASPT was renamed the National Tuberculosis Association (NTA) in 1918, and then the National Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association (NTRDA) in 1968; it adopted its current name in 1973.[4]
The association is a defender of theClean Air Act.[5]
In October 2018, the association launched its school-based initiative, "Yoga Power", a program designed to increase awareness of the importance of lung health, at Woodward Elementary School in Delaware, Ohio.[6]
A modified version of theCross of Lorraine serves as the Lung Association's logo.[7] The Paris, France, physician Gilbert Sersiron suggested its use in 1902 as a symbol for the "crusade" against tuberculosis. The double barred cross was originally used in the coat of arms ofGodfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, a leader of the first crusade and elected ruler of Jerusalem after its capture in 1099.[8][9]
The national tagline "Fighting for Air" was introduced in 2010 to emphasize the organization's role in reducing particulate pollution in the atmosphere and in public places.[10] While the Cross of Lorraine was colored red since its adoption, it was changed to blue in 2021.[citation needed]
The American Lung Association is a public health organization funded by contributions from individual donors, corporations, foundations and government agency grants. One of its best-knownfundraising campaigns is itsChristmas Seals program, which has been an annual fundraising and public awareness tool for tuberculosis andlung disease since 1907.
TheLake Tour Bike Trek is an annual bicycle ride held atIllinois in early June with all donations going towards the American Lung Association of Illinois.[11] TheTrek Across Maine, a similar bicycle ride in Maine, has raised more than $24 million since 1985.[12]
Annual fundraising events includeFight for Air Climb in the Spring andRun the Rocks in the Fall.
The National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis held their ninth annual meeting in Washington, D.C., May 8 and 9, 1913. In attendance were Association President Homer Folks, Honorary Vice PresidentTheodore Roosevelt, Vice Presidents Robert Hall Babcock,Sir William Osler andEdward R. Baldwin, Treasurer William H. Baldwin, SecretaryHenry Barton Jacobs. Notable life members includedAndrew Carnegie,Henry C. Frick, Mrs. H. Knickerbocker,Louis Marshall, Francis E. May,Cyrus H. McCormick,Henry Phipps,John D. Rockefeller,Rodman Wanamaker,Felix M. Warburg. The association members recommended a public health committee be formed by The National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis and be officially sanctioned by theUnited States House of Representatives. In addition, they adopted the double red cross emblem formally as the symbol for the association and its fight againsttuberculosis. The National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis executive offices were located at 105 East 22nd Street, New York, New York.[13]Henry Martyn Hall ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of the ten original founders and was honored at the 50th Anniversary Annual Meeting of the National Tuberculosis Association atAtlantic City, New Jersey, in 1954.[14]U.S. PresidentGrover Cleveland was an honorary vice president from 1905 to 1908; U.S. PresidentTheodore Roosevelt was an honorary vice president from 1905 to 1919.[15]
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