Future Plans

Tobaccofree Earth is making the transition to a staffed organization with Patrick Reynolds as Executive Director. Plans also include the hiring of a full-time Administrator, and a three-quarter-time Program Director. With staffing and an office to handle public response, the organization will develop and implement programs in the tobacco education area. We will research and use the most effective existing programs. Tobaccofree Earth will:

• Provide school-based programs to educate children through smoking prevention activities and educational materials.
• Enact peer-teaching programs designed to help youth recognize they are the targets of tobacco advertising. Nearly all are surprised to learn that tobacco companies pay stores a monthly fee for all in-store tobacco displays.
• Enhance the present Foundation websites, and offer smokers online resources to help them quit successfully.
• Design Public Service Announcements (PSAs) with celebrities to send powerful anti-smoking messages to youth. These will be shown in movie theaters among previews.
• Establish a Hollywood for Teens group, which will empower young people to advocate de-glamorizing smoking in films by movie stars.
• Establish an anti-smoking campaign for Universities and Colleges, which will include posters, tobacco-free days, and educational speakers on campus.
• Design educational materials for legislators regarding current tobacco laws, cigarette taxes, and the dangers of tobacco use and second hand smoke.
• Implement programs to encourage physicians to take a proactive role with their smoking patients, to intervene and ask them to quit.

The outcome expected from this comprehensive campaign will be to reduce smoking and tobacco use among youth by at least 10% at the end of 3 years. By the end of the first year, the Foundation expects to have raised sufficient funds to support 3 full time staff members, establish an Advisory Board and a Youth Board, provide at least 10 speaking engagements at high schools and universities, research and purchase educational materials for high schools, mail flyers to Legislators, establish a Hollywood for Teens group, and contact celebrities to appear in PSAs to be run in movie houses among the previews. An outside evaluator will be hired to evaluate the effectiveness of the activities and programs proposed. Process and outcome measures will be evaluated, and changes will be made to the program accordingly. For more detailed information, please see our Programs, Goals and Gift Request.