News and Events
COVID and Social Distancing Can’t Keep DeSoto SWAT Youth from Advocating for The First Tobacco Free Generation
May 20, 2021
SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) is Florida's statewide youth organization working to mobilize, educate and equip Florida youth to revolt against and de-glamorize Big Tobacco. SWAT is a united movement of empowered youth working towards a tobacco free future. SWAT works to change the social norms associated with tobacco. This means we want to change the way people think about tobacco… making it less desirable, less acceptable, and less accessible.
DHS SWAT Youth conducted a teddy bear drive to donate to local law enforcement officers to hand out to kids on emerging calls.
SWAT Youth accomplish this by advocating for change in local policies that affect how tobacco is marketed, how it is sold, and where it can be used. SWAT members can typically expect to participate in a wide range of activities including community education and outreach, public speaking, collecting data, and media advocacy.
DMS SWAT Youth inform our community that DMS is a Vape Free Zone
While the 2020-2021 year was challenging on many levels, our clubs did their best, while being respectful of social distancing measures, to remain as active as possible getting valuable information out to their peers and our community. A few local projects our SWAT Youth were able to conduct this past year included a teddy bear drive for local law enforcement officers, educating peers about various national tobacco control holidays, including Not A Lab Rat Day, hosting educational bulletin boards in their schools, sponsoring anti-vaping fence messaging at DeSoto Middle School, and many more.
DHS SWAT Seniors received honor cords for their dedication to the SWAT program and working to end the trend of tobacco use in DeSoto County.
We are proud of our entire DeSoto SWAT chapter, especially our seniors who met the necessary requirements and were honored at our end of the year celebration. Seniors were given green SWAT cords to proudly display at their high school graduation. DeSoto SWAT is also a proud partner of the 2021 Drive Thru Project Graduation Event. We can not wait to celebrate these youth.
We are beyond proud of the effort our SWAT youth exerted advocating for their health over the past year. These youth pushed past the excuses of a nationwide pandemic and dedicated themselves to ending the trend of tobacco use and creating the first tobacco free generation.
DMS SWAT Youth worked to educate their peers by sponsoring a bulletin board at their school.
We currently have SWAT clubs at DeSoto Middle School, DeSoto High School, and the Lewis and Gloria Flanzer Boys and Girls Club of Arcadia. To learn more about SWAT visit our website www.swatflorida.com or contact Jodie DeLoach at jdeloach@quitdoc.com.
