BOCA RATON – Boca Raton resident Alison Miller, a 17-year-old senior at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, has partnered with the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation and the EB Project to provide nutritional, ready-to-use, therapeutic foods to the underprivileged in Haiti.
The EB Project, a Boca Raton-based corporation, was started by EB Performance LLC and a group of doctors, food scientists and nutritionists to address the global issue of severe acute malnutrition in children.
The Miller family has been volunteering their time and providing medical relief to Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. After hearing the stories and seeing the photos, Alison went down with her family and volunteered as a physical therapy assistant for those injured after the earthquake. When she witnessed first-hand the overwhelming spread of cholera and the devastating effects of malnutrition, she knew she had to make a difference.
“It’s one thing to listen to stories and see photos of individuals affected by malnutrition in Haiti, but seeing it up close, I developed a real desire to improve the lives of these amazing people,” said Alison. “I want to help the injured heal, the children to be healthy and for everyone to get the nutrients they need to survive.”
Upon returning, Alison and her father, Dr. Jeffrey Miller, a urologist on staff at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, turned to the EB Performance group for help in developing inexpensive, easily storable protein gel packets that can be used to rapidly nourish those in need.
During their last trip, she and her father accompanied 35 boxes (700 pounds) of the protein gel packs to Cap Hatien and distributed them to the Hôpital Sacré Coeur, a 73-bed hospital and cholera facility, in northern Haiti, for patients, families and a local orphanage.
“We are planning to keep the project local for the time being,” said Dr. Miller. “The gel packs are delivered from the Boca Raton-based EB Project Corporation to our Boca Raton medical office and then to Haiti via the Boca Raton Airport.”
Alison said she hopes to ship the gel packs on a regular basis. EB Performance is working to mass produce the gel packs later this year. She hopes to obtain a college degree in World Health and Politics and continue her interest in nutrition and serving others.
Donations are being accepted through the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation, the Haiti Fund, and are 100 percent tax deductible. Contact 561-955-4142 or visit the website: http://www.brrh.com/Foundation.aspx to make a donation online.