Country of Residence
United States
Age
17
Project title
Allerbusters
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
“Allerbusters” is focused on increasing allergy awareness and allergic reaction prevention for children and their caregivers, bridging gaps in allergy-immunology healthcare, helping young people and their communities understand allergies and building habits keeping youth safe. My solution provides allergy alert bracelets and supporting protocols. Allerbusters isn't just a product; it's a small, wearable layer of protection that travels everywhere a child goes.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Website: www.allerbusters.com | Instagram: @aller_busters
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Established (We have regular weekly or monthly impact that we are reliably measuring)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
I founded Allerbusters, when I was 9 years old, after a life-threatening anaphylactic allergic reaction. In that situation, unable to speak up for myself, surrounded by people who did not know what to do — I understood something that has driven many of my decisions that I have made since: a child’s allergy is only as manageable as the environment around them. I’ve seen how serious allergies can be for children and teens, primarily because I have experienced them firsthand. Personally, living with tree-nut allergies and having gone through multi life-threatening anaphylactic reactions is the reason I care so deeply about Allerbusters. This is not abstract or hypothetical to me; it’s about fixing a problem I face daily, and I believe allergies should be understood and respected like any other safety issue. The bracelet, the EpiPen, the action plan — none of it works if the adults in the room are unprepared, undertrained, or simply unaware. My focus is to reduce the number of youth impacted by anaphylactic reactions and ensure they’re urgently treated when incidents occur.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Pediatric allergies are a public health issue today: one in three children have allergies, one in twenty have a diagnosed food allergy. These can trigger life-threatening reactions and cause social issues. Most people don’t understand the severity and consequences of allergic reactions; even when schools and childcare centers have official allergy policies, students and caregivers often never get the required education to make policies effective. Community awareness, prevention methods and broader education are needed to reduce allergy incidents that are as extreme as death. I’ve seen both sides: when things go wrong and relief when a community gets it right. Allerbusters allows me to help control something that feels uncontrollable. Allergies can make you powerless; you depend on other people’s choices. I’m turning my hardest experiences into something useful for others. Allergies are a specific challenge, but underneath, are bigger questions: Can we change our habits to keep others safe? Do we make room for everyone when it requires effort? For me, Allerbusters is my answer to those questions. It’s a project about allergy awareness and prevention, but also about empathy, responsibility and community. I live with the problem I’m solving, and that’s my motivation to work on it. A better, kinder world, is one where everyone is aware and empathetic to people with allergies.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Allerbusters addresses a few problems. First, people don’t always understand the difference between a mild allergy and life-threatening ones. Second, normal habits—like sharing food, eating on the bus, or grabbing team snacks—can accidentally put someone at serious risk. Third, students with allergies can feel left out and be teased. Finally, even when schools, camps and other youth locations have official allergy policies, students themselves often never get real, youth-friendly education to make those policies work. Allerbusters tackles this by making allergy education youth-centered and practical, through simple tools like reminder bracelets, the protocols along with them and collaborations with groups. I turn big medical ideas into clear, memorable tips people our age can use. My goals are to: - Raise allergy awareness so people understand what allergies are and their severity. - Build everyday prevention habits in youth spaces and respecting allergy-safe zones. - Reduce the loneliness and stigma that students with allergies feel, by promoting inclusion, kindness, and being a good ally. - Create and share clear, visually engaging resources—starting with our bracelets and then posts, checklists, guides—that clinics, schools, camps, and families can easily use. - Over time, help prevent avoidable reactions and help children with allergies feel safer, more confident, and more supported. Allerbusters isn’t just a project. It's a way to bridge gaps in allergy-immunology healthcare by helping young people and their communities understand allergies and build habits that keep allergic youth safe on a daily basis. My solution includes allergy alert bracelets for children and supporting protocols (material and processes) for reaction prevention and treatment.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
So far my work through Allerbusters has created impact in a few different ways. I’ve distributed over 3,500 teal allergy alert bracelets to children through 65+ partner organizations — pediatric clinics, schools, daycares, summer camps, allergy labs, and foundations — across many locations in Georgia, 20 other states and 8 countries. I also serve as a Teen Advisor for FARE.org, the world’s leading food allergy research and education organization to support and extend their impact. I was selected as a Riley’s Way Foundation Call for Kindness Fellow receiving a $5K grant to expand and grow Allerbusters. I was recently awarded the Let’s Choose Love $1K grant to try a few new things with Allerbusters and I received the Daily Points of Light Award which helps to expose the impact Allerbusters has had and drive more support. Through my Allerbusters work I’ve engaged a lot directly with the community. I was interviewed for a podcast about youth leaders impacting change and I have spoken with doctors (including working closely with Dr. Seidu in Atlanta), allergy-immunologists, children, parents, caregivers, and school administrators about what allergy management looks like on the ground — not in policy documents, but in real clinics, classrooms, cafeterias, and youth centers.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Most allergy awareness and reaction prevention efforts fall into two areas: products that are sold directly to parents, or broader awareness campaigns that are aimed at adults. Both can miss moments and protocols that matter a lot — the awareness that needs to be shared to a child’s broader community and tools exist to manage day to day incidents. Allerbusters is different because I go directly into pediatric allergy clinics and partner with allergist-immunologists themselves, so bracelets reach kids at the exact moment a doctor is already explaining the risk. That clinical partnership also gives us credibility a random nonprofit wouldn't have; allergists trust us to put a safety tool directly into a family's hands during the appointment. We're also different in where else we go: daycares, summer camps, and schools – the everyday places kids actually spend time outside a doctor's office, not just medical settings. And everything is donated, not sold, so cost is never the reason a family goes without one. The real innovation isn't a new device — it is the distribution networks: treating allergy clinics as partners and treating awareness as something that has to live in a kid's daily environment, not just a pamphlet in a waiting room.
How many people are on your team?
5
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
The Allerbusters team I lead has four volunteers. Each has a specific role (one manages bracelet assembly and inventory, one manages the financials and additional assembly / mailing, one handles our social media and content, one coordinates partner outreach to clinics and camps and is a mentor). I share leadership by letting each volunteer run their areas. We meet monthly to set priorities together, and volunteers pitch which new partners or ideas we pursue next.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
I am considering three areas to expand Allerbusters’ impact: 1. I’ve received feedback from parents and medical professionals to provide customized Allerbusters bracelets allergy type, including sensors and QR codes for updates. I’d explore partnerships with my bracelet suppliers to see how we can lower costs, decrease shipping times and expand bracelet types. 2. I’d like Allerbusters to enter daycares, church facilities and after school programs for lower income youth or in lower income locations. These children may not have access to the same facilities and care as others with more allergy awareness. I’ll start in Georgia and I’d target organizations like the YMCA, BrightHorizons, and the various churches within certain parts of the state. I hope to be able to expand into colleges given my FARE.org network when I attend next year and understand the food and allergy protocols. 3. Currently, the high cost of epi-pens can be prohibitive for families, schools, teams, restaurants, airlines, etc to have for emergencies. I’d plan to understand how to lower costs or use subsidies so organizations and families have access to them, reducing impact and saving lives from allergic reactions. I’d work with FARE.org and other allergy advocates given this requires state government or allergy manufacturer partnerships.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Currently, I’ve grown Allerbusters through direct partnerships, reaching out to pediatric clinics, schools, camps, and allergy labs myself. This is how we've built relationships with 65+ partners across 20 states and 8 countries. I also post regularly on our social platform, where we've engaged 35K+ people, and I manage a small team of four volunteers who help with bracelet assembly and outreach. My idea for the future is an Ambassador Program: recruiting teen volunteers to support partner sites or locations (eg in locations hosting allergy camps, with allergy clinics, schools that we support) and to run a mini bracelet drive locally instead of relying on me alone. I'd train ambassadors virtually, give each starter kits of 25 bracelets and simple outreach materials, and track impact through a shared sign-up form. To fund this, I'd apply part of our existing grant money toward ambassador kits and use our FARE Teen Advocate network to recruit the first 5 ambassadors. Over a year, even 5-10 ambassadors reaching 10 partners each could double our current reach without me personally expanding to new cities. I'd check in with ambassadors monthly, which also builds a pipeline of future volunteers and keeps the program from depending entirely on me.
