News and Events
The Tobacco Free Partnership of Desoto County Attends Back to School Fair
July 23, 2016
On Saturday July 23, 2016, Students Working Against Tobacco and The Tobacco Free Partnership of DeSoto County participated in the annual Back-to-School Health Fair held by the DeSoto County School Board and DeSoto County Health Department.
This event serves as a means for local agencies to provide families within our community with free school supplies. It also serves as a great way to promote services provided to families within DeSoto County. There were over 35 vendors in attendance and a grand total of more than 900 students who walked away loaded with back to school supplies.
The Back-to-School Health Fair was held in the gym at DeSoto High School. Parents and children were lined up outside the gym an hour before the event started waiting for the doors to open. This is an event that surely gets better and better each year.
Students Working Against Tobacco Member, Myha Mendoza and Tobacco Prevention Specialist, Jodie DeLoach pause for the camera just before distributing school supplies.
The Tobacco Free Partnership (TFP) handed out Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) palm cards with an attached highlighter pen promoting the program. Families were also given information about the dangers of second hand smoke and 3 Ways to Quit. In addition to giveaways, both TFP and SWAT had sign-up sheets available for individuals wanting more information about what we do as an organization.
The families that visited our booth were not only receptive of the information they received about tobacco use and its consequences, but they were also very appreciate of the supplies given. We had numerous individuals sign up to receive more information from our organization, and while there were a few individuals uninterested in what we had to offer, overall we felt welcomed by the families in attendance. We will continue to work on changing the social norms amongst our rural community and gain a positive presence within DeSoto County.
Anyone interested in assisting in creating a healthier DeSoto County is encouraged to attend a Tobacco Free Partnership Meeting. The meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of every month at DeSoto Memorial Hospital. More information is available by visiting our website at https://tfp-desoto.org/ or by emailing the Partnership at info@tfp-desoto.org.
