Experts from Des Moines Coming to our Meeting

Please join us on June 11 for one of the most important meetings for of the year for tobacco control in our area. At noon at the Jefferson County Health Center, 200 W. Briggs in Fairfled we will review our progress and plan for the coming year with special guests Maggie O'Rourke, who coordinates activites of community partnerships throughout our region, and Garin Buttermore, who coordinates JEL activities throughout the state. We will serve pizza. Let John Revolinski know if you're coming by emailing him at tobaccoprevention@hotmail.com.

JEL Students Get the Word Out

JEL students at every school in the area have been busy promoting their tobacco-free message to their peers and the general public. On May 1, 18 students from Fairfield, Pekin and Keota Schools came together on the Square in Fairfield for the Art Walk. In addition to marching through the crowd of about 1000 with the hazmat costumes shown in the above photo, the students carried dolls with gas masks to depict the dangers of secondhand smoke to infants. At the JEL table they used the JEL button making machine to make buttons with JEL messages.

Students at Sigourney JEL Club have also been busy. In addition to “cupping” school fence with a JEL message (see below), they gave presentations about tobacco to 4th and 5th graders at Sigourney Elementary School. The same grades also received presentations by local JEL chapters at TriCounty Elementary, Lincoln Elementary in Fairfield, and Libertyville Elementary. 

Pekin students (above) held a JEL party at the Hedick community center that was attended by over 50 young people. They had a lot of fun sharing their message with their friends.

Area Employers Continue to Sponsor Tobacco Cessation

We added two area employers recently to our list of companies who will sponsor toabcco cessation classes andf products for employee. We will announce who they are at our meeting! Ou total is not 14 area employers who offer this benefit to support a healthy lifestyle for their employees.

Smoke-Free Home and Car Pledge Drive Nearly Reaches Its Goal

This year our goal of collecting 300 smoke-free Home and Car plegdes in the two counties was surpassed when students at Sigouirney Hogh School collected 85 pledges from parents at parent-teacher conferences. Our total now stands at 289 pledges. We hope to top 300 with the booth we will man at Jefferson County Fair at the end of June.