Road of Life has exceeded their 2007 goal of 10,000 children served. As of Friday, May 25, the organization is serving 11, 931 children around the state of Ohio.

The mission of Road of Life is to eradicate preventable cancer and diseases of excess by educating children about the tobacco use, fitness, and nutrition decisions they can make to lead a healthier life. The delivery mechanism for this information is the organization’s Integrated Elementary Health Education Curriculum, which is downloaded or purchased b y teachers, and then integrated into the classroom.

This surge in children served by the organization was due to marketing campaigns targeted towards elementary school teachers, administrators and school nurses in the state of Ohio. The organization estimates contacting over 15,000 individuals with information on the Free Integrated Elementary Health Education Curriculum using this method alone.

Other important contributors to the large number of children served include strategic partnerships and funding from grantors in the organization’s target areas, such as Cleveland. Road of Life was able to reach approximately 3,000 children located in Northeast Ohio as a result of a grant from the Gries VI fund.

MBA students at Dingman Center in University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business have valued the curriculum’s impact to be $300 per child. This value the total impact of the curriculum on the over 11,000 children served well over $3,500,000.

The Road of Life staff is ecstatic that the curriculum is currently benefitting over 11,000 children. "The vision of our board, the financial support of our contributors, and the hard work of our staff have allowed us to meet this goal seven months ahead of schedule," said Executive Director Shane Hankins, "We will continue to conduct aggressive outreach efforts for the remainder of the year."