Empowerment and Recruitment

Empowerment

Youth movements that follow a youth empowerment model are the reason for many successful efforts within the tobacco control community. Youth are involved in all aspects of tobacco control programs, from the early planning to actually bringing the programs to life. They have developed effective messages that have motivated thousands of youth across the country to take action in the fight against tobacco. This creative input and peer-to-peer messaging has helped the anti-tobacco industry message resonate with so many youth throughout the movement. They are not only designing messages that work, but also spreading those messages far and wide through advocacy events, activism, viral marketing and word of mouth. They do whatever it takes to get their messages out and recruit new advocates and leaders to sustain the tobacco control movement.

Recruitment

To make any activity a success on Kick Butts Day and throughout the year, recruitment is extremely important. It is key to getting community members, friends, parents and legislators informed and outraged. It will show them how important this cause is and how many people are affected by it EVERY DAY! Events get the word out about your mission, get press coverage and enhance public awareness. The bigger the event, the stronger the youth and their message become.

A few benefits participants can expect to gain are:

• Leadership skills
• Recognition
• Personal satisfaction
• New friends
• Community Service credit
• Knowledge gained from other exciting and talented youth

When recruiting new members:

• Use hard-hitting facts that will get teens psyched up.
• Expose the lies of the tobacco companies.
• Include EVERYONE, even smokers.
• Make it clear that the goal of the group is not to target smokers, but to inform youth about the harmful effects of tobacco use and about the tobacco industry’s lies and manipulation.
• Get new members actively involved in planning and working on events to keep them engaged.
• After recruitment, the next step is to organize a session where the new members can be trained.

 

Staying Involved

• Empowerment and Recruitment
• Youth Advocates of the Year Award
• 2012 Photo Contest