Montgomery County, North Carolina
World No-Tobacco Day Softball Fun 2002
Press Release
May 2002
For Immediate Release
Contact:
India Foy
Montgomery County Health Department
910-572-1393
Montgomery County Health Department Wins A National Grant to Support
World No Tobacco Day
Local
Organization Raises Awareness About the Dangers of Tobacco Use and the
Benefits of Quitting
The Montgomery County Health Department received a $1,610.00 grant from
The Coalition for World No-Tobacco Day to help educate youth for World No
Tobacco Day (WNTD), observed annually on May 31st. The grant will
support World No Tobacco Day Softball Fun 2002, a smoke-free event
targeting girls 10 to 16 years old who play or are interested in playing
softball. The goal of the
project is to increase the awareness among youth (and their caretakers) of
the harmful effects of tobacco use, including its potential to inhibit their
playing skills.
The June 1st event will include several softball skill
workshops and tobacco education sessions.
Montgomery County Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) will act as peer
educators and group facilitators.
Softball team members from North Carolina Universities are invited to
speak on Tobacco Use and the Game.
“Tobacco use affects our entire community.
We are especially concerned about the impact of secondhand smoke on
the health of our youth,” said Kathleen DeVoreJones, health director.
“Receiving a grant for this year’s World No Tobacco Day activities
has helped our community take a step toward becoming tobacco-free.”
To reinforce its commitment to WNTD to work toward a tobacco-free world,
the Coalition provided seed grants to 52 organizations from 20 states around
the country. Applicants were
awarded grants to implement WNTD initiatives. The Coalition received more
than 120 applications for the seed grant program.
“We are pleased at the response we received for this program,” said
Reverend Jesse Brown, chairperson for The Coalition for World No Tobacco
Day. “Local organizations play
a critical role in spreading the word about World No Tobacco Day, and we
were excited to have been able to support a variety of activities all over
the country.”
Since 1999, the Coalition for World No Tobacco Day has conducted national
activities reaching people across the country.
Last year, the Coalition reached more than 39 million people through
national and local initiatives including a public service campaign with
Major League baseball players urging tobacco users to quit and to encourage
non-users not to start in observance of WNTD and the community grant
program.
Created by the World Health Organization in 1988, World No Tobacco Day is
the first and only global event established to raise awareness of the
international impact of tobacco use and promote a tobacco-free environment.
The Coalition for World No Tobacco Day is a nonprofit organization
comprised of more than 30 esteemed nonprofit and for-profit organizations
and esteemed thoughtleaders, including the American Cancer Society, the
American Heart Association, American Lung Association and the Pan American
Health Organization, who recognized that enormous losses suffered as a
result of tobacco-related death and disease, and decided to unite to bring
an end to tobacco use. For
additional information about The Coalition for World No Tobacco Day, visit
www.wntd.com, or call (212) 601-8245.
For more information about World No Tobacco Day Softball Fun 2002,
please call India Foy at (910) 572-1393.
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