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2025Annual Report

CATCH Global Foundation

Letters from Leadership
Duncan Van Dusen, MPH
Founder & CEO
CATCH Global Foundation

Dear CATCH Supporter,

I hope that you too have discovered the time-saving joy and utility of composing letters with ChatGPT! I mention that not only because it helped me compose the following, but to illustrate a small example of how CATCH Global Foundation is staying current with our times – in pedagogical, organizational, and technological ways.

This report contains a recap of some of the awesome accomplishments of our team and the communities we work with during the 2024-25 school year, which I’ll summarize in alignment with our 4 strategic priorities.

Connecting Mind–Heart–Body

Science shows that wellness behaviors are interrelated, and that outcomes are driven by a holistic approach. CATCH is thus uniquely positioned to connect the mind, heart, and body in school and community wellness.

This year, an important part of our work in this category was to expand our curriculum & training offerings to help educators support their students’ mental well-being. We released new Middle School Health Ed Journeys lessons aligned with mental health education requirements in California and New York, and launched professional development offerings which have so far reached 100 educators in-person and over 1,000 virtually, outpacing our targets. We thank Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, the Moody Foundation, The Meadows Foundation, and others for their invaluable support of this project.

We also continued to expand the reach of our Substance Misuse Prevention program, which includes our acclaimed CATCH My Breath module. Over the past 12 months, the effectiveness of this vaping prevention offering was the subject of four published studies, all of which demonstrated excellent outcomes. CATCH My Breath remains the only program with published evidence of changing behavior to reduce youth vaping.

Driving Systems Change

CATCH not only works at the program level, we help schools, districts, and agencies institutionalize wellness through their policies and systems. This year CATCH was officially adopted at a state level in Idaho, Massachusetts, and Utah, and our Community of Practice (co-delivered with MD Anderson Cancer Center) expanded to the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas with strong success.

In FY25, our model was adopted by many new districts around the country, quadrupling our reach in Massachusetts alone, and CATCH was selected for use in KIPP Texas, which educates over 32,000 students. We have also secured a provisional systems-level award to bring CATCH My Breath to schools throughout another state, which we hope to announce this fall.

Going Global

Internationally, CATCH PE was implemented in 10 schools in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with expansion to 100 planned for 2026 and beyond. We also kicked off CATCH My Breath dissemination and research projects in Canada, Colombia, and Brazil. In the coming year, we expect to launch additional collaborations to bring these vital programs to more underserved parts of the world.

Future-Proofing Our Mission

Just as CATCH supports communities in building infrastructure to sustain their wellness work, we do the same within our own organization. This year we focused on fully implementing our Salesforce CRM system to coordinate communications internally and externally with all of our communities and partners. We also rolled out cybersecurity enhancements, deployed an AI-driven customer service bot on CATCH.org, and reorganized internally to elevate emerging leaders and improve efficiency.

We’ve never been more confident in CATCH’s ability to deliver youth wellness resources, training, and support to communities at scale. With your continued support, we’ll continue to reach more schools and educators, validate our impact through research, and build enduring systems that help children thrive wherever they are.

With gratitude for journeying with us in this mission,

Duncan Van Dusen, MPH
Founder & CEO
CATCH Global Foundation

Kevin Ryan
Chairman
CATCH Global Foundation

Dear CATCH Community,

In a year marked by instability and unprecedented change across our nation and civil society, CATCH’s mission has never been more important or urgent. As we witness the challenges facing our young people today, our commitment to building healthier communities and empowering children with the tools for lifelong wellness becomes not just a goal, but an imperative.

Picture a typical school hallway today: nearly 2 out of every 5 students walking those corridors report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. In the bathroom, some are secretly vaping flavored products designed and marketed to hook their developing brains, while others struggle with anxiety that makes it hard to focus in class. This isn’t the adolescence many of us remember. Today’s young people face a convergence of health crises that would have been unimaginable just a generation ago. Where childhood obesity was rare in 1975, it now impacts nearly 1 in 10 young people. Mental health challenges that once flew under the radar now openly affect millions, with suicide tragically becoming the second leading cause of death for teens and young adults. Meanwhile, despite progress in reducing youth vaping, over 1.6 million students still use e-cigarettes, often unaware that each puff is rewiring their brains and potentially setting them up for a lifetime of addiction. This is the reality facing the students who walk into our schools every day-and it’s why our work has never mattered more.

Yet as external forces create turbulence and malaise, CATCH remains stable, resilient, and unwavering in our commitment to youth wellness. Over nearly 40 years, our evidence-based programs have expanded to reach more than 4 million PreK-12 students annually through 16,500 schools and childcare sites. Our proven effectiveness speaks volumes: 21% of schools met National P.E. recommendations for activity time before CATCH training, but 73% met them afterward. Students who complete CATCH My Breath are 46% less likely to try e-cigarettes compared to control schools, and those behavior changes persist three years post-implementation.

As the landscape around us shifts and transforms, we must remain stalwart in our support of the students, educators, community partners, and parents who depend upon us. They look to CATCH not just for programs and resources, but for hope, guidance, and the promise that their children’s futures can be brighter and healthier. We understand that without your health, you don’t have anything-but fortunately for so many students across America, and increasingly the world, they have CATCH. We will have their backs.

This is our moment to demonstrate that comprehensive, evidence-based health education can be the foundation upon which we build a more resilient next generation. Through our Whole Child wellness approach, we’re not just addressing individual health behaviors-we’re creating a movement that transforms entire communities. Our partnerships with organizations ranging from the University of Texas Health Science Center to local YMCAs prove that when we work together, we can create lasting change.

Looking ahead, I am filled with optimism. Yes, the challenges are real and the statistics sobering, but CATCH has always risen to meet the needs of our time. Our programs have evolved from addressing childhood obesity to tackling vaping prevention, from promoting physical activity to supporting mental wellness. This adaptability, combined with our unwavering commitment to evidence-based solutions, positions us uniquely to meet whatever challenges lie ahead.

The work we do today-in classrooms, gymnasiums, cafeterias, and communities across America-is planting seeds for a healthier tomorrow. Every child who learns to make better choices, every educator who gains new tools, every community that embraces wellness is a victory against the statistics that seek to define our young people’s futures.

Together, we are not just changing behaviors; we are changing lives. Together, we are building the foundation for a generation that will be healthier, more resilient, and better equipped to face whatever challenges come their way.

Thank you for being part of the CATCH family. Thank you for believing in the power of prevention, education, and hope.

With gratitude and determination,

Kevin Ryan
Chairman


Board of Directors

Colin M. Barton, (retired) Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC)

Ernest Hawk, MD, MPH, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Kayla Jackson, AASA The School Superintendents Association

Steven Kelder, PhD, MPH, UTHealth Houston, School of Public Health

Mariah Lafleur, Kaiser Permanente*

Jack Rupp, BMWC Constructors, Inc.**

Kevin Ryan, Delta Dental Community Care Foundation

Dr. Melissa Sadorf, National Rural Education Association

Allison Schnieders, Esq, FAIR Health, Inc.

Duncan Van Dusen, MPH, CATCH Global Foundation

* Joined in 2024
** Joined in 2025

Director Bios
CATCH Community
Impact Stories

Hear their stories in their own voice


Key Metrics

Annual Reach of CATCH Programs

4,300,000 kids
47% of whom are low-income

CATCH.org Digital Curriculum & Resources

Used by
16,500 educators
from all 50 states and 27 other countries in school year 2024-2025
2.1 million
digital lessons accessed cumulatively over past six years


Looking Back
School Year 2024-25 Highlights

Mission Statement

Through collaboration with staff and board members, we’ve updated our Mission and Vision statements to more clearly reflect our commitment to building educators’ capacity to support child health. We invite you to explore how these statements guide and ground our work.

Learn More
 

 

Breakthrough Impact: CATCH My Breath

CATCH My Breath, youth vaping prevention program, continued to expand. The program now reaches more than 2 million youth in more than 6,000 schools. Some highlights from CATCH My Breath in school year 2024-2025 include:

  • The program’s evidence base grew, with a randomized control trial, and three new peer-reviewed studies highlighting its effectiveness across diverse populations.
  • Program expansion across New York City Public Schools continues to grow. To deepen student engagement, we hosted a contest in collaboration with community partners. Youth advocates across all five boroughs of NYC created powerful posters and videos promoting a vape-free lifestyle.
  • Following incredible success with our CATCH My Breath Students-Teach-Students model in Idaho in 2023-24, this year we piloted the extension in California – designed to let youth lead the way in vaping prevention. The Orange County Department of Education helped bring it to life. Read what they had to say about its impact.

Making Health Education Meaningful: CATCH’s
Skills-Based Approach

Skills-based health education is a critical component of student success, with strong evidence linking it to improved long-term health behaviors and academic outcomes. Our Health Ed Journeys curriculum equips educators with the tools and resources needed to not only meet evolving educational standards but build students’ health literacy in an impactful, fun, and flexible way. Through a focus on skills-based learning, students gain the knowledge and practical abilities to make informed decisions and lead healthier lives.

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From Policy to Practice: Health Education Adoption in Massachusetts

We’re committed to meeting the unique needs of every school by providing programs aligned with the latest science and education standards. Massachusetts is the fourth state to formally recommend CATCH Health and Physical Education programs to its school districts – joining Texas, Idaho, and Utah – through its 2024 Comprehensive Health and Physical Education (CHPE) Curriculum Guide.

At least 164 schools in the state now use CATCH Health Ed Journeys. Boston and New Bedford Public Schools, two prominent districts, have led the charge with strong support from district leaders and widespread educator engagement. A comprehensive evaluation of curriculum implementation is planned for the 2025–2026 school year in partnership with Boston Public Schools and UTHealth Houston.

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Building Strong Foundations: CATCH’s Role in Tier 1 Mental Health Support

Thanks to support from Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, Moody Foundation, and The Meadows Foundation, CATCH Global Foundation is delivering evidence-based, standards-aligned resources and professional development to K-8 educators in Texas and California to build support for mental wellbeing into school environments.

By embedding Tier 1 mental health support into everyday learning, we’re helping schools create healthier, more resilient communities for all students, in mind, heart, and body.

Learn More
 

 

Continued Success in Building Health-Focused School Systems

With support from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation, CATCH hosted twelve School Community of Practice meetings across the Texas regions of Houston, Austin, and the Rio Grande Valley, engaging a wide range of student-supporting professionals.

Each meeting provided opportunities for attendees to build their network of peers across districts, collaboratively solve challenges, and ultimately catalyze systems change to institutionalize and sustain policies and practices for student health and well-being.

Additionally, we awarded $50,000 in grant funding to 11 school districts, including a project in Brownsville ISD, and reached more than 40,000 students with impactful and inspiring health and wellness initiatives in these regions.

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CATCH Healthy Smiles:
Where Oral Health Meets Academic Success

Since oral health issues continue to be a significant barrier to student attendance and success, prioritizing oral health as essential to overall well-being remains central to our mission.

Each year, educators, volunteers, dentists, and dental students bring CATCH Healthy Smiles to life in their communities, reaching Pre-K through 2nd grade students with engaging, impactful lessons. Since its launch in 2021, the program has reached over 260,000 students across more than 600 schools and organizations nationwide.

In the 2024–2025 school year, we made exciting program updates that make it easier than ever to deliver fun, effective oral health education.

CATCH Healthy Smiles was developed by researchers at the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, with funding support from the National Institutes of Health. The program is supported by the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation and is accessible for free through their generous funding.

Learn More
 

 

Elevating Health in Rural Texas for Years to Come: CATCH & H-E-B

Since 2022, H-E-B has partnered with CATCH Global Foundation to support physical health and mental well-being in underserved schools in select rural communities across Texas.

The partnership has provided professional development and program resources to educators from over 115 K–8 schools across a diverse range of rural Texas school districts, collectively serving more than 45,000 students. This includes implementation of two signature programs: CATCH PE Journeys and CATCH SEL Journeys.

Looking ahead, the partnership aims to reach 60 additional under-resourced rural schools in targeted communities across Texas by 2027. A few training participants captured the impact; see what they had to say.

Learn More

Helping our Neighbors: Latinoamérica

Since becoming an international arm of CATCH Global Foundation in 2021, CATCH Latinoamérica has brought our CATCH PE Journeys program to over 300 schools in Colombia and Ecuador.

Partnerships have been key in creating sustainable impact. In Colombia, the team continues to work with the Colombian Ministry of Education and Bogotá Secretaría de Educación. In Ecuador, support from El Club Rotario Internacional and Unidos por la Educación has enabled expansion into 10 schools in Guayaquil, with plans to reach 100 in the coming years.

Some highlights from school year 2024-2025 include:

Learn More
 

Financial Overview & Impact
School Year 2024-25

Financial Impact

$20.2 million
in youth health education programming delivered to communities over 11 years
(84 cents of each dollar goes to Program Services)

Revenue & Expenses

Note: As of publication, these figures have not been audited. See our Financials Page for a full list of audited financial statements.

Revenue $3,235,602
68%
Earned Services Revenue
19%
Grants & Donations
13%
Investments
Expenses $3,241,555
84%
Program Services
8%
Fundraising
8%
Management & General

Thank you to all CATCH supporters!

Our efforts are made possible due to our strong partnerships and support from donors. Join them by making a donation today!

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Founding Partners

Philanthropic Partners

Community Partners

Sample of School Districts


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