Youth smoke-free grants offered
A statewide coalition is offering mini grants of up to $1,250 to support youth-led tobacco prevention efforts.
The Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition, Inc. will use that money to help “engage youth in implementing education and media strategies.”
“This process will help Kansas teens make reasoned decisions on the importance of avoiding a product that kills 1,200 of its customers every day in the United States,” said TFKC executive director Mary Jayne Hellebust.
Tobacco use remains a leading public health issue in Kansas, Hellebust said. The 2007 Kansas Youth Risk Behavior Survey found 21 percent of Kansas high school students smoke and 16 percent of boys use smokeless tobacco. Currently only 18 percent of Kansas adults admit to smoking according to the 2008 Kansas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Hellebust said the mini-grant program will encourage creativity in youth-led projects that focus on protecting their peers from becoming addicted to cigarettes and tobacco products. One objective is to increase the number of school districts with policies for tobacco free school grounds.
“These youth mini-grant projects will help teens in Kansas design youth-developed media ads and activities that promote their own version about the truth of tobacco use,” she said.
The money for the grant program comes from the Kansas Health Foundation.
By The Capital-Journal
November 22, 2009
