On April 9, 2014, the American Cancer Society sponsored Relay For Life to support people who have battled cancer, who have lost loved ones, and who will continue to fight against the disease. This event was a good fit for our tobacco team because it allowed us to promote an educational campaign about the harmful dangers of smoking or chewing tobacco. After several preparatory meetings, our group was able to participate in Relay For Life and obtain effective tobacco awareness activities, interactions, results and analytical data. Starting with our first activity, Dear Tobacco, our idea was to get students to actively participate in expressing their opinions/experiences about tobacco use, both positive and negative, by writing a letter to tobacco companies. Preparing for Dear Tobacco was very simple because the only things needed were notes, paper and pens. At first it was difficult to attract participants to complete the activity, but as a group we had to make it clear that this was an activity where they could be known or unknown, positive or negative, explicit or implicit, and that they could write as short as a word or as long as an essay. The aim of Dear Tobacco was to give participants the opportunity to express their opinions/experiences about tobacco without any restrictions. As the students made their rounds around the room, our group had to be creative yet quick in how to attract the audience before they walked right past us. Luckily, we had several options, so if anyone tried to ignore us, we would try something new and get them involved the next time they showed up. Once one of our team members caught their attention, we would offer the Dear Tobacco What If...... activity in the center of the card...... interesting facts on our poster or tri-fold booklet. After completing their membership card, our group gave them a pamphlet containing more information about tobacco and ways to seek treatment. All membership cards were placed in a similar mailbox which gave our business a realistic touch. Successfully, our activity garnered 31 participants and placed third among the rest of our four activities. In conclusion, our group gained valuable experience by presenting an educational campaign at Relay For Life. We were able to work together as a team and achieve our goals of creating creative activities that would inform others about the harmful risks of tobacco. Overall, the outcome of our project was effective in raising awareness of tobacco prevention thanks to the collaboration of activities and interactions of our team.
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