Headstart Students Learn that Tobacco is "Yucky"

Learning that Tobacco is bad for them!

November 15, 2011, headstart students colored the Act 811 activity book and learned that cigarettes are bad for them.  The little poems were read to them by the coordinator and all students chimed in saying that cigarettes are "YUCKY"!  Parents are signing the Smokefree Home/Car pledge and sign-in sheets will be picked up when finished.

MISRGO Grantee Shares Major Accomploshment

Katherine Donald of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas spearheads a system change for the Law Enforcement Training Academy in Camden.  Below Katherine shares her success with the team here at MISRGO:

New Advertising Features NBA Star!

The Minority Initiative of Stamp Out Smoking will launch this year’s public education efforts with new television and radio advertising featuring former Razorback and current Chicago Bulls player, Ronnie Brewer.

Entitled I Can’t Imagine, the TV/radio advertisements highlight Ronnie in the element that has deemed him a star - basketball. Leveraging this star power and appeal to the Minority Initiative of Stamp Out Smoking’s target audience (African American males, ages 18+), the TV/radio advertisements feature Ronnie reminiscing on the path he has taken to pave his career while underscoring how life may be totally different had he chosen to smoke.

“It was indeed a pleasure to work with Ronnie for this creative initiative,” stated Toni McCastle, Media Liaison for MISRGO and the Addiction Studies Program. “With our charge to create healthier lives in our state by sharing the life-saving benefits of tobacco cessation and encouraging minority populations to quit tobacco use, we could not have chosen a better advocate to carry this message.”

The new ads are scheduled to air in October and will run through June 2012. Click here to view photos from our exciting creative shoot with Ronnie.  Be on the lookout for the advertisements and we welcome your feedback!

Highlights from 1st Quarter 2011 – 2012

We have definitely kicked off the 1st quarter with a bang! One of our grantees, the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas (CTFA), began this fiscal year by acknowledging the institution of the new second-hand smoke law, Act 811, and the fifth anniversary of Acts 8 and 13. July 27th, CTFA successfully executed a press conference at the State Capitol Rotunda that garnered significant media coverage and support from anti-tobacco advocates across the State of Arkansas. Take a look at this link to review footage of the press conference.

Congratulations to the State of Arkansas for continuing its efforts to secure healthier futures for our valued youth!

Your MISRGO team has been busy advocating tobacco-free lives via a series of community-outreach events. Most recently, we participated in:

• UAPB Arkansas Classic Golf Tournament – September 2nd 

Toni McCastle, UAPB/SOS Media Liaison
and Chancellor Davis stand proud on the course

Toni McCastle, UAPB/SOS Media Liaison
and our golf team prep for tournament

  

• Delta Classic for Literacy “Old Skool” Concert – September 2nd 

Ruthie Johnson and Connie Robinson of MISRGO
manage booth at concert

• Mexican Independence Day – September 16th 

Yolanda Amaya and Sue Espinoza (MISRGO grantee)
manage booth at festival

Youth dancers prepare for performance

During each of these events, our dedicated team educated both African Americans and Hispanics about the ills of tobacco consumption and the availability of quitting resources via the Quit Line. From the distribution of educational materials from our booths to on-stage announcements, these events allowed us to direct our anti-tobacco messaging to our target audience in support of our on-going public education campaign. We are proud of our execution of these events and look forward to successful execution into the next quarter! 

Madison County Health Coalition Congratulates Rusty Johnson

Sergeant Rusty Johnson of Madison County wins the Trail Blazing Award during the Striking Out Tobacco Conference, August 26, 2011 in Little Rock. He works for the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission and is a native of Madison County. He is a certified car seat installer and volunteers his time to install car seats. Madison County Health Coalition is very proud of what Rusty does in the county by Volunteering his time to make our little citizens a lot saver and buckled up the proper way in a car seat. As the car seats are installed, parents are educated about the dangers of smoking in the vehicle with children present, secondhand smoke and the new Act 811.

Smokers are Cutting Back Even if It is Just a Little

To find this article on THV's website, click here.

MISRGO Sub-Grant Award Ceremony a Huge Success

Last Thursday, (July 14) at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) North Little Rock Campus (1333 Main Street, North Little Rock), the Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant Office (MISRGO) awarded anti-tobacco grants, ranging from $35,000 - $65,000. Eighteen organizations from across the state received funding to support their leading efforts in effective community-based tobacco prevention and cessation strategies.

The MISRGO at UAPB was established in 2002 as an initiative of the Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement. The Office is responsible for addressing the devastating effects of tobacco consumption within Arkansas’ minority communities by preventing the initiation of tobacco use among youth, promoting cessation among youth and adults, eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke, and identifying and eliminating disparities from tobacco use among different population groups.

“While we’ve made considerable strides in educating communities about the devastating effects of tobacco consumption, our fight is far from over,” stated Dr. Calvin Johnson, MISRGO Program Director. “However, each year, we look forward to awarding organizations that have clearly proven a commitment to joining us in this fight. We know there are more organizations that share our passion for securing healthier lives in the State of Arkansas. Our hope is to identify additional partnerships to further our mission.”

MISRGO 2011-2012 grant award recipients included:
· Arkansas Human Development Corporation (Little Rock)
· Asian Pacific Resource & Cultural Center (Little Rock)
· Calhoun Heights Community Outreach, Inc. (Magnolia)
· Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas (Little Rock)
· Evergreen Baptist Church (El Dorado)
· Family Service Agency (Little Rock)
· Family & Youth Enrichment Network, Inc. (Helena-West Helena)
· Future Builders, Inc. (Wrightsville)
· Garland County C.A.R.E.S. (Hot Springs)
· In His Image Youth Development Center, Inc. (Little Rock)
· Legacy Initiatives (DeQueen)
· Madison County Health Coalition (Huntsville)
· Mississippi County Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Arkansas (Blytheville)
· St. Francis House Northwest Arkansas Tobacco Free Coalition, Inc. (Springdale)
· Southwest Arkansas Community Development Corporation (Magnolia)
· We Care of Pulaski County (Wrightsville)
· Wells Bayou Youth Development, Inc. (Gould)
· Women’s Council on African American Affairs (Little Rock)

“We were extremely proud of each of this year’s sub-grant award recipients,” noted Dr. Marian Evans, MISRGO Program Coordinator. “Our number of recipients continues to increase each year, and this demonstrates that Arkansans not only recognize the harmful effects of tobacco consumption but are willing to bind together to combat them. We have fought for this cause for nearly a decade, and we will continue to do so with the great support of our community.”

Guest speakers included Dr. Calvin Johnson, Program Director, Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant Office; Miriam Karanja, Interim Chief, Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program of the Arkansas Department of Health; and Dr. Marian Evans, Program Coordinator, Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant Office.

For more information about the Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant Office or to learn more about the recent awards ceremony, call 870.575.8923 or visit www.misrgo.org.