NEW YORK, April 12, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over half of Americans think a tobacco-free campus is important when applying to a college or university. But did you know that 3,273 campuses still allow tobacco on campus? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, secondhand tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and about 70 that can cause cancer. That's why actress Sari Arambulo has teamed up with DoSomething.org and the CVS Health Foundation to celebrate the "Save The Mascots" campaign, which has young people taking action to illustrate the effects of secondhand smoke.
The campaign, which launched February 1st, has already activated almost 70,000 young people to take action, ahead of its ending on April 30th. A school mascot is a symbol of school pride, and young people have such respect and admiration for these iconic figures, which is why students are rallying support to ensure their campus and school community is tobacco free. To participate, DoSomething is asking young people to tweet their school or a school that isn't tobacco-free urging them to pledge to join the movement towards making every college campus tobacco-free.
Sari, an actress on NBC's new series, AP Bio, has created a PSA for the campaign which can be viewed here.
"I'm thankful that I attend a tobacco-free campus and don't have to worry about avoiding secondhand smoke," said Sari. "By partnering with organizations like DoSomething.org & the CVS Health Foundation, I hope we can reach more young people encouraging them to advocate to make their campuses tobacco-free too!"
Students in college and high school can tag local colleges that aren't tobacco-free in a picture of or with the school mascot and tell them to go tobacco-free. Those who submit their photos to DoSomething will be entered for a chance at a $5,000 scholarship.
"We work with young people to be change makers, and through this partnership with the CVS Health Foundation, we're helping young people realize the dangerous effects of smoking and encourage more college campuses to go tobacco-free," said Aria Finger, CEO at DoSomething.org.
In 2016, CVS Health expanded its commitment to helping people lead tobacco-free lives by introducing Be The First, a five-year, $50 million initiative to help deliver the nation's first tobacco-free generation. To date, the CVS Health Foundation has helped 146 colleges and universities advocate for, adopt and implement tobacco-free policies. For more information, please visit cvshealth.com/bethefirst.
To sign up, people can visit DoSomething.org or text MASCOT to 38383 by April 30.
About DoSomething.org
DoSomething.org is the largest tech company exclusively for young people and social change. We're activating 6 million young people (and counting!) to do good in every US area code and in 131 countries. Using our digital platform, members join DoSomething's volunteer and civic action campaigns to make offline impact at scale. Our members have clothed half of America's homeless youth. They've cleaned up 3.7 million cigarette butts. They've run the world's largest youth-led sports equipment drive. And more! Young people have the power and the passion to transform their communities -- we help them get it done. Let's Do This.
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SOURCE DoSomething.org