Orange County Insight April 2022

Local Youth Create Ads to Snuff Out Tobacco Use in Office on Youth ’ s Inaugural Take Down Tobacco Contest

By: Orange County Communications Department

The Orange County Office on Youth offers many grant - funded programs to expand the opportunities available to youth and families in our area. Some of these programs are supported by the Virginia

Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY). Established by the General Assembly, VFHY is responsible for statewide efforts to reduce and prevent youth tobacco use and childhood obesity. In accordance with that mission, the Office on Youth hosted their inaugural Take Down Tobacco Day Contest. This contest was created in response to increasing tobacco use, particularly of flavored products, among Orange County youth. It encouraged middle and high school aged students to create and submit original advertisements with messaging discouraging the use of tobacco products by young people. Entries were accepted February 14, 2022 through March 14, 2022. Those submitting entries were encouraged to be creative. Contest rules were very open - ended in regards to style, format, and medium. Organizers hoped to receive fifteen (15) entries, and were thrilled to exceed that goal by twenty percent (20%). A panel of four (4) judges reviewed each of the eighteen (18) submissions with an eye for message, creativity, presentation, and impact. The competition was very close in both the middle and high school divisions. So close, in fact, a tie resulted in two (2) high school winners being recognized. The winners were:

First Place Entry, Middle School Division Julia Painter, 8 th Grade, PHMS

th Grade, PHMS

First Place Entry (Tie), High School Division Nicholas Edelman, 12 th Grade, OCHS

Julia Painter, 8

th Grade, OCHS

Nicholas Edelman, 12

• th Grade, OCHS To help them continue to pursue their creative ambitions and education, each winner received an iPad Pro and a $250 scholarship to apply towards photography or video - editing software. The winners were invited to attend the Board of Supervisors ’ meeting on April 12, 2022, to be recognized for their achievement. John Mason Vines, 12 The organizers and judges were blown away by the creativity and effort demonstrated by contest participants. The Office on Youth plans to use many of the submitted advertisements to help combat youth tobacco use in Orange County.

First Place Entry (Tie), High School Division John Mason Vines, 12th Grade, OCHS

For more information about this and other grant - funded Office on Youth programs, please contact Ashley Jacobs at (540) 672 - 5484 or ajacobs@orangecountyva.gov.

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