Truth Initiative youth fellows visit Capitol Hill

Thirty youth fellows visited Capitol Hill Thursday as part of their year-long fellowship with Truth Initiative®.

Truth Initiative’s Youth Activism Fellowship is a 12-month training program for 18 – 24 year olds. Fellows meet throughout the year and receive training on the public health impact of tobacco, community engagement, communications, and policy and advocacy.

Throughout the year, the 2015 – 2016 fellows created and collaborated on local initiatives that engaged more than 10,000 youth and young adults in 13 states in efforts to end tobacco use in their communities.

As part of the final meeting for the 2015 -2016 class, the fellows participated in 40 meetings that included 12 scheduled and drop-in meetings with members of Congress.  

The fellows had the opportunity to educate lawmakers on an array of tobacco control issues, including smoke-free campus policies, smoke-free communities, disparate rates of tobacco use in minority and low-income communities, and effective ways to help smokers quit, tobacco use in video games and youth smoking.

Truth Initiative is currently accepting applications from young adults who aspire to be agents of change as part of the 2016 – 2017 Fellowship. Applications are due July 31.