News and Events
Tobacco Education Delivered at the Annual DeSoto County Back to School Fair
July 27, 2019
On Saturday July 27, 2019, Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) and The Tobacco Free Partnership of DeSoto County (TFP) participated in the annual Back-to-School Health Fair sponsored by the DeSoto County School Board.
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 nearly 40 vendors in attendance and a grand total of more than 1,200 students who walked away loaded with back to school supplies.
The Back-to-School Health Fair was held in the cafeteria at DeSoto Middle 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.
Families were given information about the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke. There were several tobacco education items on display as well as Quit Your Way materials. Tobacco Free Partnership Members provided hand sanitizers to students, and SWAT Youth handed out palm recruitment cards with an attached highlighter pen. 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.
Attendees were not only receptive of the information they received about tobacco use and its consequences, but they were also very appreciative of the supplies given. 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 creating a healthier future in DeSoto County is encouraged to join our DeSoto SWAT Chapter, and/or attend a Tobacco Free Partnership Meeting. Our next meeting will be November 18th at noon in the Mosaic Community Room.
More information is available by visiting our website at https://tfp-desoto.org/
