A change in the air continues as Coahoma Community College has been awarded its second Tobacco-Free grant by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi in recent years.
The grant, a component of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation’s Healthy School Awards, recognizes and rewards public schools with health policies and programs that promote healthy eating, physical activity, staff wellness, tobacco-free lifestyles among students and staff, and parental and community involvement. The criteria for the award was based on state and national school health standards.
Karen Woods-Done, director of the Division of Student Engagement, is grateful of the recent award. She says that this is an opportunity continue to educate students on the dangers of smoking, building upon tobacco-free initiatives already in place.
“Colleges and universities are ideal places to promote healthy behaviors that can continue for a lifetime, including being tobacco-free,” said Woods-Done. “Tobacco-free campus policies and initiatives help reduce tobacco use and provide people with a healthier environment to live, work, and learn.”
According to Woods-Done, the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation is providing ongoing support to Mississippi’s universities and colleges by encouraging strengthened tobacco-free policies that align with the Model Policy for a Smoke-free College/University as published by the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation (ANRF).
“Tobacco use is a major cause of preventable disease and death. Smoking, tobacco use, and exposure to second-hand smoke have been found to cause heart disease, cancer, asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory problems,” said Woods-Done. “Electronic devices, more commonly referred to as electronic cigarettes, pose health risks and contain detectable levels of carcinogens and toxic chemicals. The purpose of our efforts are to provide reasonable protection of the health of all members of the Coahoma Community College from the effects of all forms of smoking and tobacco use.”
The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation used a tiered approach for awarding grant funds to universities and colleges willing to adopt tobacco-free policies that include 100 percent of the elements in the Model Policy. Grant funds are provided for support of general health and wellness at the university or college, excluding support of athletic teams.
“Several years ago, the college was a recipient of a grant from the Truth Initiative to begin the process to make our campus smoke free. Making our campus Smoke-Free has been a focus of the college for several years now,” Woods-Done added. “With this grant, a task force comprised of all sectors of the campus was organized to continue to market and push the needle on making our campus a Tobacco-free campus.”
The goal of these awards is to motivate Mississippi schools and colleges as they create and maintain healthy school environments. Healthy schools help students achieve full academic potential and support them in developing lifelong healthy behaviors. The Healthy School Awards will assist school leaders in their efforts to make their schools, and ultimately our state, a healthier place to live.
“Students will get involved in helping us to market our campus as tobacco-free via social media. Additionally, all programmatic activities will be for the entire student body as well as faculty and staff,” said Woods-Done.
For more information on Coahoma Community College’s tobacco-free initiatives, contact the Division of Student Engagement at 662.621.4155.