Youth & Young Adults In Action

Here are few questions to keep in mind when planning an activism:

1. Who is your target audience (your peers, neighbors and community, state or federal legislators)?
2. What information is most important for your audience to know about the issue? Be sure to check out the Passion section above for facts and resources to help support your activism.
3. How will you share the information with your audience? (social media, tabling at an event, PSA, letter to the editor, etc.).
4. Get more ideas from the activism examples from our youth engagement movements listed below. They may call them by different names, and can focus on different topics, but they all engage youth, their peers and their communities in fun and interactive ways.

Examples of activisms/storms/commotions/activities:

• RAZE West Virginia
• TRU Pennsylvania
• FACT Wisconsin 
• Write your key messages on the sidewalk with Chalk Talk
• Place your message for all to see with Cups in the Fence
• Create a human billboard

Here are some additional resources on engaging youth:

• CDC Best Practices Youth Engagement
• Knowledge Institute: Health Benefits of Engaging Youth
• Youth Engagement Toolkit – WI

As a youth advocate, you:

• Speak on behalf of an affected group to demand action on an issue—this goes beyond education in that it demands change of a policy, situation, or issue
• Raise awareness by directly promoting a cause and by providing information about the threat and consequences of a problem in order to influence opinion or behavior
• Build momentum by rallying a base of supporters around a specific cause by bringing people together from different organizations and backgrounds who share a common interest in that cause

Check out ways that some of our youth empowerment groups have been strong lung health advocates:

• RAZE – West Virginia: In Action
• TRU – Video challenge
• 5Ps for persuading policy infographic
• TRU Advocacy 101
• TRU in Pennsylvania Advocacy Toolkit
• California Youth Advocacy Network
• Raze West Virginia: Liquid Lies
• Reality Check – Youth Summit 2022
• Host a Youth Summit
• Organize a Day at the Capital and schedule meetings with legislators.
• Submit Letters to the Editor

Picking a topic that you are passionate about and that is personally relevant to you can help you produce more interesting and poignant blog posts. For some local group members writing one blog post per year is part of the requirements for their involvement.

• Whenever possible, include personal stories and anecdotes to make the blog relatable to the audience.
• Include references for any statistics, facts, etc. that are not common knowledge.
• If including a personal story from a friend or family member, be sure to obtain their permission before sharing their story.
• Blog posts should be at least 5 paragraphs in length.

Here are a few blog examples from Raze:

• How Tobacco-Related Diseases Have Huge Impacts on Families
• How to Fight Peer Pressure
• The Impact of Tobacco Usage on Daily Life

Getting local media coverage, including tv, radio, and newspaper, is an effective way to educate your community about important issues.

1. Educate yourself
   Before you can talk to the media, you have to understand your advocacy issue. It’s important to educate yourself so that you are able to talk confidently to others about the topic.

2. Practice with family and friends
   Now it’s time to share the information you’ve learned with family and friends. The more you talk about these advocacy issues, the better you will understand them and the more confident you will feel speaking about them. Ask a family member or friend to help you practice speaking to a reporter. When you are done, ask them if they have any questions or if you explained everything clearly.

3. Find media contacts
   Start by asking around to see if anyone you know has media relationships. If they do, ask if they would introduce you.

   If you are starting from square one, establish a relationship with the media by calling the reporter first. Then, follow up with an email.

   If you do not hear back, reach out to other individuals who work at the media outlet, like an editor, sales representative or promotions director. Be persistent, stay positive and always be polite.

4. Participate in the interview
   Have written talking points and any other necessary materials available for easy reference during the interview.

   Share personal examples will give the reporter the information needed to write a newsworthy article. Concise talking points that can be read off in one or two sentences could be used as a quote.

   Repeat the main point early and often in an interview.

   If you genuinely don’t know the answer to a question that is alright, but do not guess. It is absolutely okay to say, “I don’t know the answer to that, but I can find out and get back to you with that information.

5. Follow up
   Ask the reporter when the story will air or be published. If a link to the story will be available, plan to share it on social media and tag the reporter/their news outlet.

   Exchange contact information with the reporter so they can reach out to you if they have additional questions or would like another interview. Send a thank you email after each media interaction and let them know you will be in contact for future stories.

Talking with a decision maker like a mayor, city council, senator or representative can feel intimidating at first. But remember, they are people too and they do want to hear from you.
Before meeting with them, it’s important to prepare for your meeting. You want to be factual and persuasive:

• What is your position on the issue?
• What facts and data support your opinion?
• Why should this person listen to you?
• What is the ask?

For a legislative visit, whether it’s over the phone or in person, here are few things you might want to keep in mind:

• Remember: It’s more than ok to meet with staff. They will communicate the meeting to the legislator.
• If your meeting is cancelled – try to reschedule-do not just do a “drop off.”
• It’s ok if they only have 5 minutes – give them a brief summary and make your ASK!
• If your meeting starts to go in another direction – pivot back to the talking points. “I could talk all day about the new coach of the Eagles, but I really need to discuss this important lung health issue with you.”
• The non-answer – it happens. They may not give you any indication how they feel or if they support you. That’s okay.
• Legislators that have a history of opposing public health legislation can be swayed. So never underestimate the power of education.
• Make sure to follow-up:
• Personal letter
• Thank the legislator for their time
• Remind them of the issue and its importance
• Offer additional information and ongoing assistance

Are you or is someone you know a Youth Lung Health Champion? We want to hear from you!

Please go to the Youth Champions for Lung Health Testimonial Form to submit. This link allows us to capture stories, testimonials and successes from youth, program facilitators, community partners, schools, and others to highlight youth-related individuals and programs as told by Lung Health Champions from American Lung Association programs and activities. These stories may be used to feature program successes, for promotional use, newsletters or media responses.

How can you recruit new members? See how these groups do it:

• RAZE Recruitment Kit
• TRU Recruitment for Advisors
• FACT Recruitment Ideas 

Once you’ve got them, how can you keep them involved? Here are some suggestions for keeping members engaged:

• FACT Retention Tips 

It's important to listen to and empower youth to lead - this includes helping them setting guidelines for groups and meetings, ensuring each meeting is in a safe space, offering youth ownership (allowing youth to set guidelines, plan events and activisms, and decide on topics that are important to them and their peers).

Here are some ways that our groups support adults who are building a youth empowerment movement:

• Adult Advisor Resource Guide
• TRU - Become An Advisor
• Advisor Orientation