White Pine Center for Healing

Meet Alex. She is a 7 year old in the second grade experiencing life in a way that many other children her age do.

At recess, instead of playing, she talks with her friends about what they don’t like about their bodies. They talk about the ways they can diet so that their bodies match the image in their mind of what is beautiful. At home, she stares at her body in the mirror, picking it apart and unable to name a single thing she likes about the way she looks. 

Body image begins forming as early as age 3, and research has shown that young boys are just as at risk for poor body image as young girls. By the time they reach school age, most children report feeling unhappy with their bodies. In fact, the 2024 BodyKind Youth Survey reported that more than half of the young people surveyed were unhappy with how their body looks, and 90% had some level of concern about their body image.

Poor body image doesn’t fade with time. It often grows, leading to depression, self-harm, substance use, and eating disorders — all of which can have lifelong consequences. Eating disorders alone have the highest mortality rate of all mental health issues. 

At White Pine Center for Healing, we are building something transformative that will allow everyone to have access to compassionate and inclusive resources that prevent and support healing from eating disorders, body image issues, weight stigma, and other related challenges.

Over the past 5 years, White Pine Center has provided in-person treatment, education, and prevention services to the Erie County community. Very few organizations in the U.S. offer support for eating disorders, and almost no one provides services for poor body image. Because of this and other outside factors, the demand for our services has continued to grow year after year, and we recognize the importance of expanding to reach the growing number of people in need.

Your support this Erie Gives helps us reach more people, earlier — before they are in crisis. Your gift can help:

• Reach people struggling with eating disorders, body image, and societal pressures by identifying what support they truly need through targeted surveys.


• Ensure that underserved communities have access to culturally inclusive, relevant digital tools for prevention, healing, and self-acceptance.


• Deliver life-affirming resources — from video programs and podcasts to blogs and virtual groups — that meet people where they are and offer hope, validation, and guidance.


• Build a national online hub where anyone, anywhere can access trustworthy, compassionate resources for eating disorders, body image concerns, and weight stigma.


• Help more people discover these resources through intentional outreach and visibility campaigns.


• Launch a storytelling platform that invites individuals to share their journeys and uplift others through real-life experiences of healing, resilience, and hope.


• Give individuals and families a voice by advocating for stronger policies, greater awareness, and systems that prioritize well-being over appearance.

You can help rewrite the future for people like Alex — one story, one body, one life at a time.