Updated at 2:15 p.m., Monday, January 22, 2007
Hawai'i anti-smoking efforts secure $8 million in grants
Advertiser Staff
The Hawai'i Community Foundation this afternoon announced awards totaling $8 million in community-based grants to 18 nonprofit organizations from across Hawai'i that provide services for tobacco prevention and cessation.The grants from the Hawai'i Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund will span over three years, marking the first time that the Hawai'i Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund is making long-term grants of this size to these service providers.
"There is clear evidence today that smoking rates are falling," Hawai'i Community Foundation Vice President of Programs Christine van Bergeijk said in a press release. "What these organizations, and many others throughout the state of Hawai'i, are doing is having an impact, and they are creating major change in the health of our communities."
The recipients and their programs include:
"Crossroads" program, which uses drama and media to prevent youth tobacco use in Hawai'i
Improving Access to Tobacco Treatment program for low-income families and adults in Kalihi-Palama
E Malama I Kou Ha, a cessation program for Native Hawaiians and homeless adults in Wai'anae
Youth Health Corps-TeenBEAT (Teens Being Educated About Tobacco) program
Tobacco prevention and cessation services program in Kaua'i District Schools
Program aims to prevent initiation of tobacco use among youth in Kalihi Valley
Program provides interventions, community outreach and public housing screenings
(Coordinated Strategies for Tobacco Cessation in Kalihi Valley)
Tobacco cessation services program for women and their families in Kalihi Valley
Lei Ilima Girls Tobacco Prevention Project
Not-On-Tobacco (N-O-T) program
Adult Cessation of Tobacco program
Word of Mouth-A youth tobacco prevention program
H.O.T (Hands Off Tobacco) Project: Youth tobacco prevention-education for the Puna District on the Big Island
SMART KIDS MAKE SMART MOVES Tobacco Education Program
SMART Moves Tobacco Prevention program
Smart Moves Towards No Tobacco Program
Hawai'i Island Community Cessation and Healthcare Provider Project
Kaua'i Family Center Tobacco Cessation Program
Program that aims to reduce first-, second- and third-hand smoke exposure in Hawai'i's pregnant
women and their infants
The HEALTHY Women and Children's Program: Healthy Elimination and Lowering of Tobacco in Households for Youth
Primary Care Tobacco Cessation Network
Community Clinic of Maui Tobacco Treatment Program
MEO-Youth Services Program Preventing Tobacco Initiation Among Youth and Young Adults
Project Toward No Tobacco Use
"In conjunction with these awards, we are launching a unified data collection process that will enable us to report the programs' outcomes back to the community in an efficient and effective manner," van Bergeijk said.
Recipients received the first installment of their total grant award today and the remainder of the grant award is contingent on the programs' progress over the course of the three years.
Hawai'i Community Foundation invests and administers the Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund, which was created by Hawai'i's legislation that devotes a significant portion of Hawai'i's tobacco settlement money to public health efforts.
The fund's purpose is to reduce cigarette smoke and tobacco use among youth and adults. It focuses on education and enforcement activities in controlling and preventing chronic diseases when tobacco is a risk factor.
Since the fund was created, the Hawai'i Community Foundation distributed more than $15.6 million in community grants to nonprofit organizations statewide, and additional tobacco prevention and control-related programs such as the Hawai'i State Quitline and anti-smoking media campaigns.
Established in 1916, the Hawai'i Community Foundation is a statewide, charitable services and grant-making institution endowed with contributions from many donors.
The foundation is a steward of more than 400 donor funds, including more than 100 scholarship funds, and distributes charitable funds to Hawai'i's nonprofit organizations through a variety of programs.
