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No Smoke Carnival

According to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, the younger the smokers are, the more likely they are to become addicted to nicotine, with 32.3% of PA high school students using tobacco or nicotine products. An estimated 244,000 kids in PA will ultimately die prematurely from smoking if the current number of kids smoking does not change, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Students.

Our goal was to introduce the TRU (Tobacco Resistance Unit) Student Group and share the importance of a tobacco-free lifestyle at I-Lead Charter School in collaboration with I-Lead student groups. We sought to engage students through collaborative activities to encourage students to take the pledge to live a smoke-free lifestyle, to advocate for stronger tobacco control policies and promote youth empowerment.

What We Did

In 2018 and 2019, our team worked with currently enrolled students to develop an end of the year tobacco-free advocacy end of the year Carnival for students.  The ultimate goal was to promote amongst students and their families living a tobacco-free lifestyle featuring tobacco use prevention-related carnival games, prizes, performances from students, treats, and educational lessons dedicated to teaching students about the dangers of tobacco use.

How We Helped

The carnival was truly a student project, where we came in and worked side by side with students to bring their vision of an end of the year tobacco-free carnival to life. Along with HPC, we helped students secure additional donations from local businesses and additional sponsors to truly encompass an end of year celebration geared towards promoting positive and healthy choices for 400+ students enrolled. We were able to establish the TRU group at I-LEAD Charter school with 200+ active members. The school continues to use the teachings of TRU to promote a smoke-free lifestyle and engage students throughout the year.

Results

  • 200 TRU Group Members
  • 400+  in Attendance and 60+ Facilitators
  • Donations
    • Food
      • Funnel Cake
      • Popcorn
      • Snow Cone
      • Pizza
      • Burgers
      • Hot dogs
      • Cotton Candy
      • Chicken
      • Shrimp
      • Salad
      • Veggies
      • Hummus
      • Chips
  • Five Displays
    • Human body Effects
    • Tobacco Commercials
    • Lung Display
    • Bob, Blow bubbles not smoke
    • Podcast
  • 15 Items donated
    • Fightin’ Phils baseball tickets, popcorn, cotton candy, burgers, hot dogs, lung display, TRU gear, canopy, basketballs, McDonald’s giveaways, AETNA RV
  • 17 Anti Smoking Carnival Games:
    • Knock Smoking Out Bowling, Drop the Habit Plinko, Kick Butts Soccer, Smokes and Ladders, No Smoke Trivia Wheel, Bounce Tobacco, Blow Bubbles not Smoke, Tobacco Tower Jenga, Smoking effects face paint
  • 5 Student Designs
  • 2,000 Impressions FACEBOOK
  • 738 Instagram Impressions
  • Berks Regional News – WFMZ-TV 69News 

Sponsors

  • Aetna Better Health of PA
  • Latino Connection
  • Health Promotion Council
  • iLead Charter School
  • TRU PA

Donors

  • Christiana Hospital System
  • Maryland
  • Loomis Insurance
  • 5th and Spruce Deli Market
  • John F Martin’s
  • McDonald’s
  • Fightin Phils