Oakton,
Va., Aug. 5, 2005-Northern
Virginia Family Service (NVFS)
will continue to educate local
youth through its anti-tobacco
program, with help from a
grant from the Virginia Tobacco
Settlement Foundation (VTSF).
The Tobacco Use Prevention
Program for Youth (TUPPY),
which has shown dramatic positive
change regarding youth and
tobacco use, recently received
a grant for $62,704. This
is the third grant received
from the foundation.
"We
are very grateful for this
grant and excited about the
opportunity to provide tobacco
use prevention education to
more Northern Virginia youth.
We would like to thank the
foundation for continuing
to support our work on this
issue, and we look forward
to working with administration,
teachers, counselors and students
in the upcoming year to help
the youth of Northern Virginia
stay smoke-free," said
NVFS President and CEO Mary
Agee.
TUPPY
began in June 2002 with a
grant from VTSF. Since that
time, NVFS has provided tobacco
use prevention education to
nearly 3,000 students. An
evaluation study conducted
by NVFS of the youth tobacco
use for the 2004 and 2005
program years indicated a
continuing need for programs
such as TUPPY. The study's
results, which are comparable
to those of VTSF's Virginia
Youth Tobacco Survey 2001/2003
Comparisons, indicate a considerable
overall decrease in youth
smoking rates. For instance,
55 percent fewer youth were
smoking cigarettes and there
was a decrease of more than
50 percent in the number of
youth who ever tried a cigarette.
TUPPY
will continue to focus on
middle school youth during
the upcoming year. The program
uses the Get Real About Tobacco
(GRAT) education-based curriculum
to teach groups of young people
about the harmful effects
of tobacco, what makes them
vulnerable to tobacco use
and skills for making healthy
decisions. GRAT focuses on
three core elements, including
helping youth to understand
they are vulnerable, even
if they don't use tobacco
and don't plan to; helping
youth to realize they are
influenced to use tobacco
by identifying the sources
of influence; and becoming
critical of pro-tobacco messages.
NVFS
has partnered with several
organizations that continue
to support NVFS' anti-tobacco
efforts, including Arlington
County Public Schools; Arlington
County Department of Parks,
Recreation, and Cultural Resources;
Fairfax-Falls Church Community
Services Board; Fairfax County
School's Safe and Drug Free
Youth Program; and Fairfax
County Public Schools' Alternative
School Program.
Established
in 1924, Northern Virginia
Family Service is a private,
non-profit community service
resource dedicated to helping
individuals and families find
new paths to self-reliance
and brighter futures. Each
year, NVFS helps more than
27,000 people find affordable
housing and health care for
their children, earn a living
wage and much more. For more
information, visit www.nvfs.org.
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