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PAST EVENTS
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Virtual Day at the Capitol 2023
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On May 2, 2023, over 350 youth and adult advocates from across Pennsylvania joined us in Harrisburg to meet with legislators and advocate for crucial tobacco control issues. Thank you to all our TRU advocates who traveled to our first in-person Day at the Capitol since 2019!
Event Highlights:
- Advocates educated legislators on the importance of MSA funding, comprehensive clean indoor air policies, and the need for schools to stock asthma medication for students by sharing their unique youth-perspective.
- TRU members also took part in fun activities to get geared up for the day, including a leadership presentation with Patrick Perez, leaving their mark our TRU Turns 10 banner, and signing Lung Hero capes for our legislative speakers.
- Attendees gathered for press conference to close out the event, which featured speeches from Senator Jay Costa, Representative Dan Frankel, Department of Health Deputy Secretary Cindy Findley, and our very own TRU Ambassador, India Smith.
- Five TRU Ambassadors and one TRU Advocate of the Year were recognized during the Day at the Capitol press conference for their hard-work and dedication to carrying out TRU’s mission.
Media Coverage:
- 17th annual Kids and Anti-Smoking rally held at State Capitol – ABC27
- Lung advocates call on lawmakers to protect Pennsylvanians’ lungs – FOX43
- Pinky & Lobe attend Day at the Capitol – American Lung Association TikTok
Highlight Reel:
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Virtual Day at the Capitol 2022
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Nearly 400 youth and adult advocates came together virtually on May 3, 2022 to meet with legislators and advocate for crucial tobacco control issues throughout the Commonwealth! Thank you to all our TRU advocates who joined the legislative video calls and took part in our advocacy activities to raise awareness about comprehensive clean indoor air policies and MSA funding. TRU members had the opportunity to participate in the following activities:
- Advocacy 101 Webinar – A 40 minute webinar on the dangers of tobacco products and what it means to be a great youth advocate. Scroll down to view the webinar on this page.
- Legislative Visits – 37 TRU members had the chance to speak with state legislators via video calls to discuss why TRU mattered to them and how they’ve been affected by tobacco or e-cigarettes in their own lives
- Virtual Community Forum– a live event for Day at the Capitol participants and the general public to hear from lung health experts, legislators and 3 TRU Youth Ambassadors. Topics included: the importance of MSA funding in PA, tobacco-related health disparities, comprehensive clean indoor air legislation, and why these issues matter to TRU youth. Watch the full recording of our Community Forum here.
- At-Home Activities – Despite being virtual again this year, youth were able to get involved in two special activities designed to bring attention to our key advocacy issues: a clean indoor air petition and MSA Chalk the Walk.
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Virtual Day at the Capitol 2021
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On May 4, 2021, over 300 youth and adult advocates participated in our Virtual Day at the Capitol. Thank you to all our TRU advocates who joined the legislative video calls and took part in our at-home advocacy activities to raise awareness about MSA funding and comprehensive clean indoor air policies. TRU members had the opportunity to participate in the following activities:
- Advocacy 101 Webinar – A 40 minute webinar on the dangers of tobacco products and what it means to be a great youth advocate. Scroll down to view the webinar on this page.
- Legislative Visits – 25 TRU members had the chance to speak with state legislators via video calls to discuss why TRU mattered to them and how they’ve been affected by tobacco or e-cigarettes in their own lives
- Virtual Community Forum– a live event for Day at the Capitol participants and the general public to hear from lung health experts, a TRU advisor and 3 TRU Youth Ambassadors. Topics included: the health effects of secondhand smoke during COVID-19, the importance of MSA funding to PA, and the many ways TRU youth are helping to create a tobacco-free future. Watch the full recording of our Community Forum here.
- At-Home Activities – Despite being virtual again this year, youth were able to get involved in a number of Day at the Capitol advocacy activities, including:
- Showing their support for a tobacco-free PA on the #NoTakebacks message board
- Emailing local lawmakers using this template letter
- Completing the Clean Indoor Air coloring activity and the Raising the Bar (Graph) activity
For a complete list of activities, download the Day at the Capitol 2021 activity checklist. Plus, check out photos from the event!
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DATC2021 #SaveMSAinPA #NoTakebacks
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Advocacy 101 Webinar
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Watch the video below to learn more about being a tobacco-free advocate.
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Virtual Day at the Capitol 2020
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2020 DATC Flashback
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Nearly 300 youth participated in our first ever Virtual Day at the Capitol on May 5, 2020! Thanks to all of our amazing TRU advocates for playing a part in making it such a special event. TRU members had the opportunity to participate in the following activities:
- Advocacy 101 Webinar – A 40 minute webinar about the dangers of tobacco products (including e-cigarettes), what advocacy is, and different TRU activities to get involved in to become a great, tobacco-free advocate. Scroll down to view the webinar on this page.
- TRU Social Media – Students had the opportunity to engage in fun videos shared by TRU and our motivational speaker, Patrick Perez.
- #TheFaceYouFund Activity – Members used the resources found at the bottom of this page to create large picture frames using materials at home and took selfies wearing TRU gear. TRU youth shared their selfies on social media and used the hashtag #TheFaceYouFund to show legislators just where their funding goes to help students stay tobacco-free! Students also used the postcard template to write personal messages to state lawmakers and thank them for keeping youth tobacco-free through their funding and shared why they joined the tobacco-free movement!
- Legislative Visits – Several students had the chance to speak with state legislators over the phone to discuss why TRU mattered to them and how they’ve been affected by tobacco or e-cigarettes in their own lives.
- Virtual Town Hall – Day at the Capitol participants and the general public were able to listen to a panel of lung health experts during the Virtual Town Hall. Topics included: the connection between COVID-19 and tobacco use, the e-cigarette epidemic and the Lung Association’s current available programs, the history and importance of tobacco prevention and control funding, the experience and thoughts of current TRU youth and students in PA.
For a complete list of activities, download the Virtual Day at the Capitol checklist, below. Check out some of the photos that were shared during the online event!
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Advocacy 101 Webinar
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Watch the video below to learn more about being a tobacco-free advocate.
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Other Activities
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- Bonus activities included getting trained as a leader in Taking Down Tobacco for FREE and online through the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids! Get trained through their one-hour presentation at www.takingdowntobacco.org.
- Participants were also able to take a virtual tour of the PA State Capitol building to make it feel like they were actually there with lawmakers! http://www.pacapitol.com/video-tours/.
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Day at the Capitol 2019
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Another Successful Day at the Capitol!
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On May 7, 2019, we had a record attendance of over 700 youth and adult advocates who conducted more than 185 legislative visits to discuss preserving tobacco prevention and control funding and strong Tobacco 21 legislation at our annual Day at the Capitol in Harrisburg, PA. This year also marked the first year we outgrew our space in the Main Rotunda and instead held a rally in Soldiers Grove! Because of the outpouring of support statewide, media outlets from across the Commonwealth extensively covered our event – another first!
Together, our advocacy efforts made an enormous difference.
Here are a few highlights from the event:
- Four of our Tobacco 21 TRU Ambassadors from Northeast, Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast PA were awarded during the Day at the Capitol Rally for their hard-work and efforts with advocating for Tobacco 21 and one of our ambassadors was also awarded with our TRU Advocate of the Year Award scholarship! Congratulations to those students!
- Senate Leadership stated strong support in preserving funding for tobacco prevention and control programs as outlined in Governor Wolf’s budget for FY20.
- Quakertown High School Gay Straight Alliance students met with Representative Jeanne McNeill and because of their advocacy efforts, changed her mind from previously being opposed to now being supportive of Tobacco 21 legislation in Pennsylvania.
- Senator Camera Bartolotta stopped by for an impromptu speech in support of Tobacco 21.
#UpTheAgePA
#SaveMSAinPA
Take a look back at some of the media coverage from the day and see if you can find your TRU Group!
- More than 650 Youth Advocates to Rally at State Capitol; Raise Age for Tobacco Products to 21
- More than 600 PA students take stand against selling tobacco to teens
- Youth rally for higher tobacco minimum age
- Kids urge law makers to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products
- Students urge state lawmakers to raise minimum age to buy tobacco
- Hundreds rally to raise smoking age to 21
- Students lobby for tobacco law change
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Day at the Capitol 2018
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Another Successful Day at the Capitol!
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Each year, hundreds of TRU (Tobacco Resistance Unit) members from across the state of Pennsylvania rally together with adult lung health advocates at the State Capitol in Harrisburg to speak with their lawmakers about current tobacco control issues, such as Tobacco 21. On May 1st 2018, TRU youth had the chance to make their voices heard by advocating to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco and nicotine products from 18 to 21. They also had a lot of fun while gathering signatures for their post-it petition in support of Tobacco 21 and they also had the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt and win some cool prizes!
Take a look back at last year’s event!
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