But while schools themselves have many ways to fundraise and advocate for expanded federal, state and local budgets, it's parents who increasingly find themselves turning to innovative programs like Box Tops for Education to raise money for things like classroom supplies, technology, field trips and playground equipment. In fact, since its inception in 1996 -when only a select few General Mills cereals were part of a test launch - Box Tops for Education has raised more than $913 million for 70,000-plus schools just by paying 10 cents for every clip submitted from what's now a long list of participating food and household products.

Even better, a new app has simplified the entire process.

No longer do parents, teachers and other community members have to cut out and then physically drop off dozens, or even hundreds, of Box Tops clips at their local school. Instead, they're now able to use the Box Tops for Education app - downloadable for free via iTunes App Store and Google Play - to scan their receipts from any retailer right on their smartphones.

The app automatically recognizes participating products, and funds are instantly added to your chosen school's earnings online. Twice each year, schools receive a check from Box Tops for Education to buy whatever they need.

"When Box Tops for Education began 23 years ago, clipping and mailing Box Tops was the best way for us to run the program," said Erin Anderson, Box Tops for Education's platform manager. "But over the years, technology has advanced at incredible rates, opening up all kinds of new opportunities. By going digital, we will be able to create efficiencies in our fulfillment processes, better understand the health of the program, show supporters their contributions in real time, and attract more brands to participate."

Convenience aside, shoppers using the app have two big advantages:

* The ability to see for themselves, right on the app, how their shopping habits directly impact their schools.

* A chance to win one of five $20,000 makeovers for their school by scanning receipts containing at least one participating product between now and November 15, 2019.

Receipts must be scanned within 14 days of purchase. And as the program fully transitions to a digital format, traditional Box Top clips found on packaging will still be accepted until they expire.

And, yes, "double dipping" is allowed. Meaning, for a limited time only during the packaging transition, savvy shoppers can earn double the cash by submitting traditional Box Top clips to their school's coordinator and also scanning receipts containing participating items through the app. Those without smartphones are encouraged to give their receipts to a friend, neighbor or family member to be scanned on their behalf.

For more information, or to see a full list of participating products, visit www.BoxTops4Education.com.

Now in the seventh year of their partnership, the National 4-H Council and CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, are bringing their Commodity Carnival educational experience to 120 state and county fairs across the Midwest.

Commodity Carnival is an interactive game consisting of three activities that guide participants through the process of producing and selling livestock. The program aims to teach young fairgoers the dollars and cents of agriculture and test their knowledge of the risks of bringing food to market.

"There are a number of risks that must be managed before food reaches the consumer's dinner table. Commodity Carnival breaks down these complex topics and decisions by providing an engaging game for students to learn that farming is a business," says CME Group Managing Director of Agricultural Products Tim Andriesen. "CME Group's roots are in agriculture and we're proud to educate the next generation of farmers and ranchers on risk management in production agriculture."

CME Group and 4-H first joined forces in 2013, driven by the same mission to prepare future generations of farmers and food producers with respect to risk management in agriculture. Since then, Commodity Carnival has reached over 400,000 students across the country, including 77,000 last year alone.

"We are so pleased to continue our partnership with CME Group and help prepare today's youth with skills they need to be successful in the future," says National 4-H Council President and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo. "The focus and purpose of the Commodity Carnival is to strengthen our collective efforts to increase agricultural literacy and highlight the important role of agriculture commodities. Students get to take part in an interactive, hands on experience that allows them to learn by doing."

Those unable to participate at the fair can still join the fun by downloading Risk Ranch, the mobile companion app to Commodity Carnival.

To learn more about the Commodity Carnival, Risk Ranch and see a list of more than 100 fairs participating this season, visit www.cmegroup.com/4hcarnival.

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) from Amazon is one self-publishing option that offers editorial freedom and ease of use for busy parents looking to create something that meets their kids' needs.

KDP success stories include Handeep Dhoot (who writes as "Dr. Dhoot"), a mom with a Ph.D. in chemistry who wanted to introduce her young daughter to STEM topics.

Dr. Dhoot has self-published the growing Tinker Toddler series of STEM books aimed at young children, including Machine Learning for Babies & Toddlers.

"Becoming a parent helped me realize the urgency for introducing scientific topics, like STEM, to kids while their brains are still developing. KDP allowed me to self-publish books that portray these ideas in an accurate and digestible way for kids, including my own daughter."

Gabi Garcia, a long-time school counselor and mom, turned to self-publishing when she saw a lack of books for Spanish-speaking and bilingual children about how to understand their emotions and feelings.

"It's so important to engage with children early to discuss mindfulness. Self-publishing on KDP empowered me to take all that I'd learned and seen as a school counselor and make it accessible to more children, in both English and Spanish."

She has published several books on these topics through KDP, including Listening to My Body, published in both English and Spanish. She now writes full-time on mindfulness and social awareness topics for children, parents, and educators.

Brendan Kelso struggled with dyslexia as a child, but found learning and performing dramatic monologues helpful. He enjoyed Shakespeare, but, like many young readers, found the text hard to understand.

After a career in engineering, he became a stay-at-home dad and came up with an idea to write versions of Shakespeare's plays that were more accessible to kids. His loveof theater and writing led him to self-publish several works through KDP, starting with Shakespeare's Hamlet for Kids.

"I have the freedom to spend more time with my family, while pursuing my passion on my own terms with KDP."

These parents have been able to create the books they couldn't find for kids and found financial success - and sometimes a whole new career - in the process.

For those parents who are toying with self-publishing, but still have questions, consider this:

* KDP lets authors set their own prices and retain all rights to their work.

* As an author, you can publish your book in minutes, and these books are available to a worldwide audience through Kindle online stores in 24-48 hours.

* You can publish Kindle eBooks and paperbacks in multiple languages.

Visit kdp.amazon.com for more information about Kindle Direct Publishing.

(NewsUSA) - Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a common condition affecting more than 12 million people in the U.S.  However, symptom recognition is low: 50% of PAD patients have unrecognized symptoms, often brushed off as a result of aging. This September, during PAD Awareness Month, Dr. John Laird, vice president and chief medical officer of Peripheral Vascular Health at Medtronic, breaks down what to know about this common, but often misunderstood, disease.

PAD occurs when blocked arteries outside the heart limit or stop blood flow to the legs. When blood cannot reach the legs and feet, it can cause pain while walking, and even lead to amputation. PAD also increases risk for a stroke or heart attack. This is the reality for more than 140,000 people in the U.S.

“PAD is a serious condition, but due to very low awareness, people are often confused when first diagnosed,” Dr. Laird explains. “But because most people haven't heard of it, they may not realize it can have devastating impacts on a person's quality of life."

Systemic health disparities also play a significant role when it comes to risk for PAD, as it disproportionally affects minority communities. Studies show that Black patients are more likely to have critical risk factors, including diabetes and hypertension. Further, Black individuals have the second highest rates of PAD and are nearly four times more likely to undergo amputation than other races.

Assess Your Risk
Nearly 95% of people with PAD have at least one other chronic disease.  Smokers are at a four times greater risk of PAD.

Common risk factors include:    

• Diabetes    
• High cholesterol    
• High blood pressure    
• History of heart attack or stroke    
• History of smoking    
• Age over 50

Know PAD Signs & Symptoms
People with PAD often experience discomfort or fatigue in the legs when walking. This can impact daily activities. Symptoms include:    

• Cramping or pain in the legs when active    
• Numbness, tingly or burning in your legs and feet    
• A cold foot that is pale or changes in color    
• A sore or ulcer on your foot that is slow or fails to heal

When shared with your doctor early, PAD symptoms can be more easily addressed and risk of amputation is significantly decreased.

Treatment options may include different therapies used over time based on  severity of the artery blockage. These may include:        

• Lifestyle changes, including walking    
• Medication    
• Endovascular treatment    
• Surgical bypass    
• Amputation (as a last resort)

In cases where exercise and medical management fail, your healthcare provider may perform a procedure to help restore blood flow by reopening narrowed or blocked arteries. This can be done through atherectomy using a device such as the Medtronic HawkOne™ Directional Atherectomy System, and/or by using a drug-coated balloon (DCB), such as the Medtronic IN.PACT™ Admiral™ DCB or IN.PACT™ 018 DCB. Talk to your doctor about risks associated with these devices.

“There are many treatment options,” Dr. Laird says. “You can successfully advocate for yourself by asking your doctor about PAD screenings.”

Learn about PAD at Medtronic.com/PAD.    

(NewsUSA) - Seen one of those Camp Lejeune lawsuit ads lately?  Of course you have.  Lawyers seeking to represent victims sickened by the water at the North Carolina Marine Corps base have been running them seemingly non-stop ever since Congress passed a law last month allowing cases to finally proceed.

But a good ad doesn’t necessarily make a good lawyer.  Which is why any money you may be entitled to could hinge, for starters, on heeding Forbes.com’s advice to “do at least as much homework (in choosing an attorney) as you would do in buying a car.”

Here’s five questions you need to ask and have answered:

1.How many years have you been practicing complex toxic tort litigation?

A tort is defined as “an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability.”  What you have here – and it’s one heck of a tort case – is the government allegedly having harmed a huge number of military members and civilians who lived or worked at the base, from August 1953 through December 1987, by exposing them to dangerously toxic chemicals that the Marine Corps says it only discovered in the water in 1982.

But, again, this is the government you’re up against.

And so the strength of your particular claim depends on how convincingly your attorney can tie your exposure to the toxins to what you claim is the harm you suffered.    

Were you diagnosed with cancer or Parkinson’s disease, for example?  Are you a woman made infertile?  

Hiring a lawyer with only a few years of experience handling such cases to argue you deserve massive compensation for your life having been devastated would be like … let’s see, sending in a rookie to bat against Mariano Rivera in the ninth before the all-time great closer retired from the New York Yankees.

2.What’s your success in achieving monetary values for your clients?

Forget worrying about feeling crass.  The New York City Bar says you want to choose a lawyer “who inspires confidence.”  

Well, what’s more confidence-building than hearing the law firm you’re considering has won $19 billion – that’s billion, with a “b” – in total verdicts and settlements?

That would be Weitz & Luxenberg, with 34 years handling complex toxic tort litigation (see number 1 above).  In fact, feel free to use the firm as a benchmark for judging others since – along with having been named to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 “Best Law Firms” list and offering free consultations – its head of the Camp Lejeune litigation team makes a powerful argument for why these clients, in particular, deserve to be compensated.

“They and their families became sick while serving our country,” says Robin Greenwald, a partner at the firm.  “They drank the water, they bathed in it, and they used it to cook their food. And that water was contaminated with toxins at concentrations anywhere from 240 to 3,400 times the levels permitted by safety standards.”  

3.How many military veterans have you represented?  

Camp Lejeune is a military base.  Need we say more, other than Weitz & Luxenberg puts its number at more than 25,000?

4.How many cancer victims have you represented?

All kinds of cancers – breast, lung, liver, kidney and esophageal – have been associated with exposure to the chemicals in the base’s water.

See that aforementioned 25,000 figure?  You can more than double it for cancer victims.

5.Have you been in national mass torts leadership positions?

Go ahead, drop a few major cases like the BP Gulf oil spill and multi municipalities’ contaminated groundwater, both of which Weitz & Luxenberg led the way on, and see if others can match them.     

(Carrie Goux, EVP, GreatSchools) - Looking for good news about the state of your child’s education? It’s hard to find these days, but parents need hope now more than ever. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education released new data showing that two decades of progress in math and reading were erased. Two decades.     

Families need to know how schools are addressing this lost learning and preparing students for the future. They need good information and ways to support their child because they are not giving up the front-row seat to their child’s education that came with the pandemic.     Data offer an important way for families to understand how schools are supporting students. For over 20 years, GreatSchools.org has translated education data into actionable information for parents nationwide. We collect and analyze data from every state department of education and the federal government to support parents pursuing a great education for their child, schools striving for excellence, and communities working to diminish inequities in education.     

Parents often ask us what to look for in a school and how to know if it’s the right one for their child. Since no two children (or schools) are alike, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. When looking at data and information, there’s hope and opportunity that can point you in directions you may not have seen before. For example:     

1. College preparedness: For 5 years, GreatSchools has celebrated schools with the College Success Award recognizing public high schools that excel at preparing students for college. With this data-driven award, we have been able to connect high school and college success to award high schools doing a great job at preparing all students to walk out the door on graduation day ready to take on higher learning. This year, we are celebrating 1,742 high schools from 25 states -- each of which earn a special badge on their GreatSchools profile to easily identify winning schools.     

2. Advanced course offerings: Access to advanced academic courses in high school provide an opportunity for students to earn free college credits while gaining exposure to the intense academics they will experience in college. Parents can now view Advanced Placement (AP) course lists on GreatSchools.org school profiles and, in turn, support their child to take advantage of this rigorous academic program.     

3. Community perspectives: Who better to tell you about a school than your fellow community members with firsthand experience? The Community Reviews section of our GreatSchools.org school profiles allows parents and community members to share their school experiences regarding school safety, learning, social-emotional well-being and more. This is an excellent way for families to see how a school has supported students like their own.     

These are just a few of the ways GreatSchools is providing parents a richer picture of school quality. As parents evaluate what they’ve learned through pandemic learning -- what does (and does not) work best for their child -- these new data can highlight schools likely to meet their child’s needs.     

Learn more at GreatSchools.org.

Goux is the executive vice president of strategy and external affairs at GreatSchools.