News and Events
Leaders of the Indian River Students Working Against Tobacco Chapter (SWAT) Continue with Summer Training
May 27, 2021
Summer vacation is often a time for youth to kick back and relax after a challenging school year, but not for these Students Working Against Tobacco Leaders. Throughout the year, several SWAT students have shown exorbitant leadership. They have been selected to participate in summer intensive training opportunities to expand their skills and prepare for the following school year.
During the first two weeks of June, the first training will take place, hosted by the Dover Youth 2 Youth group from Dover, New Hampshire. The Dover Youth 2 Youth group offers a 4-session intensive training on youth presentation skills. The training sessions focus on improving presentation skills such as timing, volume, and engagement to prepare youth to give their presentations on various topics. Five of the SAFIR-SWAT youth received the training in February and will train five other youth at the June session.
The SWAT Statewide Training will be the second training that two SWAT leaders will participate in. The training will focus on addressing tobacco-related issues at the local level by equipping youth with various media, leadership, and advocacy skills.
Lastly, SAFIR-SWAT youth leaders will close out the summer by attending the CADCA youth training in July. The Youth Leadership training is a highly interactive and participatory course that teaches an introduction to prevention and coalition work and guides youth leaders and their adult advisors through the Strategic Prevention Framework. The course is designed to encourage youth to think critically about their roles as leaders in social change. Five youth have been selected to participate in the training and hope to learn a lot from the interactive experience.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has created significant barriers for Students Working Against Tobacco this year, the SAFIR-SWAT leaders have overcome these challenges with determination and grace. We are proud to support these SWAT leaders as they continue training this summer and continue to play an active role in tobacco control in the upcoming school year. For more information on the SWAT program or learn how you can get involved, please contact Kyleigh Savoie at ksavoie@quitdoc.com.
