| May 2018 | SAFE TNT partnered with Bishop Brown, a local African American pastor to send No-Menthol Sunday information to local churches and create social media messaging related to this topic. |
| Spring 2018 | SAFE TNT sponsored our Third Annual Kick Butts Day Poster Contest. Seven winners were selected and posters were published in the Richmond Times Dispatch. |
| May 2018 | SAFE sent a letter to all local pediatricians to educate them about JUULs and other electronic cigarettes, including the American Association of Pediatrics recommendations related to this topic. |
| March 2018 | Recognizing the proliferation of JUUL use among youth in our County, SAFE TNT developed a Vaping: The New Gateway parent/adult education handout and disseminated it throughout the community. |
| January 2018 | SAFE TNT did social media posts related to resolving to quit smoking in the new year. |
| November 2017 | SAFE TNT hosted a Great American Smokeout Event for County and School Employees and Community Members in the Chesterfield County Government Complex. In addition to cessation resources, community organizations and local businesses provide wellness information, resources and activities. Posters were hung in County Government and School Buildings and emails were sent to County and School employees and retirees. |
| Summer 2017 | SAFE TNT supported Chesterfield Mental Health’s Counter Tools Initiative, conducting retail environment assessments and merchant education at all local tobacco retailers. |
| May 2017 | SAFE TNT reached out to all faith-based congregations within Chesterfield County to share the No Menthol Sunday 2017 Community Action Toolkit. The toolkit is a free resource to educate African American Faith Communities about the disproportionate marketing of mentholated tobacco products to African American communities and provide them with support and resources to prevent or quit usage. This toolkit is provided free of charge as part of NAATPN’s Faith-Based Initiatives. |
| Spring 2017 | SAFE was awarded a $250 grant from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to provide funding for SAFE TNT’s Second Annual Kick Butts Day Poster Contest. Our contest focused on electronic nicotine delivery systems to help raise awareness of the harmful effects of e-cigarettes marketed to youth. Chesterfield County middle and high school students were provided an opportunity through their health classes to create an original poster depicting how electronic cigarettes are not a replacement for traditional combustible tobacco. Of the 141 posters submitted, a panel of coalition members selected 18 finalists and invited them and their families to an awards ceremony. Local businesses and community partners donated prizes. Copies of some of the winning posters were displayed in Chesterfield County middle and high schools and community buildings. |
| Fall 2016 | SAFE TNT partnered with C-FIT on Virginia Quit Day. Posters were placed in all County and School buildings. Chesterfield Mental Health put a cessation display in their lobby. |
| Fall 2016 | SAFE TNT created quarter-sheet sized Tobacco Cessation Resource Cards, which promote several free national and state cessation resources. These palm cards have been made available to all schools across Chesterfield County, and have been handed out at community events and trainings. |
| November 2016 | SAFE TNT hosted a Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth training event titled “Understand the New Emerging Triangle: Tobacco, Electronic Cigarettes, and Marijuana.” Two workshops were offered to train participants on new electronic delivery systems, their health risks, and how youth are changing the landscape of these products. This training also covered the new FDA regulations on deemed tobacco products. |
| Summer 2016 | SAFE TNT supported Chesterfield Mental Health’s Counter Tool Initiative, conducting retail environment assessments and merchant education at all local tobacco retailers. |
| Spring 2016 | SAFE TNT sponsored the first Kick Butts Day Poster contest for middle and high school youth in Chesterfield County. The focus was on the consequences of electronic cigarette use. A training was conducted for the lead Health and PE teachers to educate them on this topic and the poster contest. A recognition ceremony was held for the winners with prizes provided by local businesses and community partners. Approximately 70 students participated in this contest. Seven winning students’ posters were printed and hung in school and community buildings and posted to the SAFE website to further the spread of their messages. |
| Fall 2015 | Monitored and supported the continuation of the implementation of Project Connect. |
| August 2015 | Provided tobacco prevention materials to be distributed at National Night Out events in local communities. |
| Spring/Summer 2015 | Supported Chesterfield Mental Health’s implementation of Counter Tools Retailer Verification Project, developing a list of tobacco and electronic delivery system retailers in Chesterfield County. Additionally provided merchant education to tobacco and electronic cigarette retailers. |
| December 2014 | Supported Chesterfield County Health Department Publish Health Nurse School Team and Caron Foundations implementation of Project Connect Adolescent Tobacco Cessation Program in county high schools. The program was initiated in one high school in school year 2014-2015. |
| November 2014 | Tobacco Task Force members met with school board personnel to obtain approval for use of posters and post cards from the Real Cost Campaign in Chesterfield County Public Schools. Ten posters will be hung per site in November to promote “The Great American Smoke Out”. |
| September 2014 | Monitored and increased Task Force awareness of Chesterfield County School Board Policy 5130, Tobacco-Free School Division for Staff, Students and Visitors, revised June 2014, effective July 1, 2015 All campuses and school events will now be tobacco free, including use of electronic cigarettes. |
| September 2014 | Collaborated with C-Fit, Chesterfield County’s Employee Wellness Program to implement “Give Your Heart a Break” adult tobacco cessation poster campaign. |
| July 2014 | Provided Merchant Education to over 20 retailers that sell tobacco products about the new law, effective July 1st, making it illegal to sell electronic cigarettes and alternative nicotine products to minors. |
| Spring 2014 | Advocated for changes in King’s Dominion Vaping Policies |
| Spring 2014 | Child Safety Office program worked with two VCU graduate students to enhance the 5th grade STEPP curriculum to include emerging forms of tobacco. The revised STEPP curriculum was implemented by Child Safety Officers, reaching over 4,000 5th graders. |
| March 2014- October 2014 | Implemented youth led Store Alert environmental scan project of tobacco retailers. Fifty-eight Chesterfield County tobacco retailers were visited to evaluate the display and advertisement of tobacco products. Letters were sent to the stores with their results and recommendations. |
| April 24, 2013 | Sponsored “Emerging Forms of Tobacco: A Cause for Alert?” Professional training |
| April 17, 2012 | SAFE Tobacco Taskforce Established |