September 1, 2006
Contact: Bev Pfeifer-Harms
314.345.5500 office

Foundation Awards Eight School-Based Anti-Tobacco Grants

TATU and Project Smokebusters Programs to be Implemented in 39 School Districts

St. Louis -Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) has awarded grants totaling more than $669,000 to eight groups throughout the state to implement tobacco control programs in the schools. The funding is part of MFH's nine-year, $40 million Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Initiative. The groups receiving the two-year grants are: Lincoln County Health Department, $162,929; St. Francis Medical Center, $141,563; Kirksville R-III School District, $106,072; Clark County Health Department, $74,088; Knox County Health Department, $63,998; Institute for Family Medicine, $61,147, and Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center, $6,106.

The grantees will implement one of two anti-tobacco programs in a total of 39 Missouri school districts. Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) is a peer education program that trains high school students to teach the dangers of tobacco use to middle and elementary school students and to serve as examples to the younger students. Project Smokebusters is a three-year youth education and advocacy program designed to influence youngsters to be critical thinkers, to avoid tobacco use and to advocate for tobacco-free environments.

In central eastern Missouri, Lincoln County Health Department will use TATU to train 200 high school students who will then make presentations about the dangers of tobacco to 3,000 third and fourth grade students in four county school districts.

TATU also will be used by St. Francis Medical Center's to reach more than 6,000 elementary and middle school students in eight Cape Girardeau-area school districts.

Nearby in the Charleston and East Prairie school districts, the Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center will implement the TATU program, reaching 500 elementary students with tobacco information.

In northeast Missouri, three separate efforts are expected to reach more than 3,000 youngsters. The Kirksville R-III School District will use Project Smokebusters to train high school students to then present tobacco education programs to more than 2,000 area students. The Clark County Health Department expects to reach more than 400 students with its Project Smokebusters effort. And Knox County Health Department will use its grant to bring the Project Smokebusters program to more than 550 Knox County School District students through classroom activities focusing on the benefits of smoke-free environments.

In 10 St. Louis City public schools, the Institute for Family Medicine will implement the TATU program, with the goal of training 100 high school students to serve as teen mentors and present tobacco information to 5,250 elementary school children.

MFH's Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Initiative focuses on grantmaking in three areas - school-based prevention programs, workplace cessation programs and an increase to the state tobacco tax. Funding for the program began in 2004.

Established in 2000, MFH is the largest non-governmental funder of community health activities in the state. The Foundation is in its fifth year of grantmaking, having issued more than $167 million in grants and awards to date. It is dedicated to serving the uninsured and underserved in 84 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis. For more information about MFH, visit www.mffh.org.

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Editor's Note: For more information on a specific grantee, please contact the organization directly at:

Lincoln County Health Department:
Ellen Sullivan, RN
636.528.6117
sullie@lchdmo.org

St. Francis Medical Center:
Nicole Thieret, Development Officer
573.331.5994
nthieret@sfmc.net

Kirksville R-III School District:
Barbara Rice, LPN
660.665.3793
Brice@kirksville.k12.mo.us

Clark County Health Department:
Janet Ramsey, Administrator
660.727.2356
ramsej@lpha.dhss.mo.gov

Knox County Health Department:
Carol White, RN
660.397.3396
whitec@lpha.health.state.mo.us

Institute for Family Medicine
Hannah Gilk, Program Manager
314.849.7669
HannahGilk@irefm.org

Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center
Dr. Martha Ellen Black
573.649.3731
mail@swfl.org

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