Have you checked out The Road to Wellness: Driving Tobacco and Cancer off the Map? This educational supplement developed by CADCA and the Geographic Health Equity Alliance is aimed at teaching young people and parents about the harms and effects of tobacco use. The supplement explains the science around the effects of tobacco use and its link to cancer and other chronic diseases and conditions.
The supplement can be published in any newspaper in America and is an ideal teaching tool to spark a conversation on tobacco use. CADCA assisted many coalitions with getting the supplement included in their local newspaper to coincide with Kick Butts Day on March 18. Coalitions can do the same for World No Tobacco Day, observed May 31st.
The Coalition, Inc., from Lufkin Texas took it a step further by tailoring the content from the Road to Wellness supplement to create a magazine for students in Angelina and Nacogdoches County to help increase youth involvement in Kick Butts Day. They printed 15,000 copies of the magazine and delivered it to all 15 school districts in their two-county area. The magazine targeted grades 5 through 9, but some magazines also went out to students as young as 3rd grade and up to high school. Read the magazine here.
“In anticipation of Kick Butts Day, the Tobacco Prevention and Control Coalition of Angelina and Nacogdoches Counties wanted to provide students and parents with additional information about the dangers of tobacco use. The Road to Wellness supplement was a great publication with super information, but we also wanted to be location-specific and give information about our local coalitions and our state-wide youth movement. By combining information from The Road to Wellness with our local initiatives, we feel that we published the best-possible product for our area,” explained Susan Kruk from The Coalition, Inc. “The feedback from recipients has been superb! We are looking forward to increased participation rates on Kick Butts Day and higher registration rates for our TX Say What Action Summit.”
This is a great example of a creative and resourceful way to utilize The Road to Wellness supplement. Coalitions can use all or some of the information included in the supplement to enhance their existing publications. Feel free to contact Colleen Hopkins for questions about publishing The Road to Wellness educational supplement in your community.
