Mission Statement
The purpose of Comprehensive Health Education Foundation (C.H.E.F.®) is to promote health and quality of life through education.

History
In 2004, we celebrated our 30th anniversary of helping people and communities improve the quality of their lives through health education.

Like many nonprofits, C.H.E.F. started small, fueled more by passion than dollars. A handful of early volunteers quickly made our vision a reality, and we grew into an organization with a respected staff and a vision for the future.

We share our success with the many individuals and organizations that have been instrumental in helping us pursue C.H.E.F.'s mission. Below is a brief, decade-by-decade history of our organization. Read on to see how C.H.E.F. has changed the way health education is taught.

1970s
C.H.E.F. was incorporated on October 2, 1974, as a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of health through education. Our first venture into publishing came with Here's Looking at You®, a drug prevention and education curriculum.

1980s
C.H.E.F.'s innovative curricula sold well, and we invested excess revenue in an endowment fund that was established by the board of directors in 1981. By 1986, this fund had reached $1 million.

Following up on our earlier successes, C.H.E.F. released several new curricula in the '80s, including Natural Helpers® and Here's Looking at AIDS and You™ (later retitled Get Real about AIDS®).

In 1989, C.H.E.F. developed and hosted the First Northwest Wellness Conference for Seniors.

C.H.E.F.'s work began to earn nationwide recognition in the '80s. In 1983, the first Health Education Leadership Award was presented to founding C.H.E.F. board member Marjorie Griffin. Two years later, First Lady Nancy Reagan visited Island Elementary School in Mercer Island, WA, to observe a class using Here's Looking at You, Two®.

1990s
In 1994, C.H.E.F. released Get Real about Violence®, a comprehensive violence-prevention program. In 1997, we released Get Real about Tobacco®.

The 1990s saw C.H.E.F. forging new partnerships with other like-minded organizations. In 1995, the Washington State Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse awarded C.H.E.F. a two-year contract to coordinate the state substance-abuse prevention conference.

Also during this time, C.H.E.F. was busy hosting a number of major health education events, including the First Annual National Prevention Institute (later renamed the National Prevention Symposium™) in 1996, the 20th Annual Washington State Health Education Conference in 1999, and the 10th Annual Northwest Wellness Conference for Seniors in 1999.

2000s
In 2000, we launched the Institutes on School Health and Fitness in partnership with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Association of Washington School Principals.

Since then, we've inaugurated five new projects: Calming Ourselves in Stressful Moments™, an interactive training program that helps early childhood caregivers, teachers, parents, and children manage stress; Healthy Beginnings™, a training for childcare providers; Rx for Communication®, a program designed to help older adults get the most from their health care providers; Social Beginnings®, a program to encourage prosocial skills in early childhood; and Youth Matters®, a modular discussion-based prevention program for creating healthy schools and communities.

The innovative FUEL™ and Chill™ series are our latest products. The FUEL series is the first youth-inspired educational approach to fighting the obesity epidemic affecting America’s youth today. Designed for kids ages 10–18, this four-part series profiles what real kids are doing to address obesity and improve their own lives. The Chill series empowers teens in grades 7–12 to recognize the stress in their lives and manage it effectively. Not only are these products available as Educators’ Kits, but also as DVDs as we explore entry into the consumer/home market for the first time.

In April 2005, we announced that Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc., acquired intellectual property rights for six of our school-aged youth prevention products. This will allow for expanded reach of these highly respected curriculum programs into schools using the latest in video streaming technology. It will also give us the opportunity to expand our mission-focused work, continue to give back to the communities we serve within Washington state and nationally, and develop new educational products and programs, such as the FUEL and Chill series.

We ended 2005 with the launch of our newest service, MissionWise™. MissionWise is a division of C.H.E.F. that works with health and human services nonprofits to help them become financially stronger, which in turn helps them better achieve their missions.

As we move into the future, we will continue to pursue partnerships and develop curricula, programs, and services that advance our mission of improving health through education.