Brennen Hysell (not pictured: Gabriel Camp)
Teens Take Action to Create Change in their Communities
Members of the New York State youth movement, Reality Check, recently came together at Cazenovia College for the annual Youth Summit. This year the Youth Summit was an opportunity for youth to develop and use the personal skills and talents they possess to help shape the statewide movement toward a tobacco-free generation.
The theme for the summit was “iAM Building a Tobacco-Free Generation.” Group activities and workshops prepared youth advocates to stand up to the tobacco industry and play a major role in creating change in their local communities by educating elected officials and working with key community leaders to address the problem of youth smoking and its causes.
Teens at the Youth Summit took part in group activities helping them creatively plan community events throughout 2017. “In New York State, 7.3 percent of high school students still smoke and the average age of a new smoker is just 13, so we still have a lot of work to do. After coming to Youth Summit, I know we have the power to make our vision of a tobacco-free generation a reality,” said Jordyn Camp of Reality Check.
The Youth Summit featured presentations from keynote speaker Shaun Derik. “After seeing so many young people at this conference on fire in the fight against Big Tobacco,” said Derik, “I’m inspired, more than ever, to continue to my work in effective youth development.”
Follow the work of Reality Check and learn about future tobacco control events at RealityCheckofNY.com and on social media @RealityCheckofNY