An estimated $235 million dollars is spent in New York each year on tobacco marketing. Youth in Broome and Tioga Counties have seen enough. Reality Check is inviting kids in grades kindergarten through 12 to stand up and speak out on Kick Butts Day.
Kick Butts Day is a national day of youth activism sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids in an effort to end youth tobacco use once and for all.
“If something doesn’t change, 280,000 kids under 18 in New York State today will die prematurely because of smoking, we can do something to change that,” said Joe Lloyd, a Reality Check youth advocate from Tioga Center.
On Monday, March 21 from 1 to 5 p.m., Reality Check of Broome and Tioga and the Tioga County Boys and Girls Club will host a Kick Butts Day Co-ed 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament for youth grades K-12 at the Tioga County Boys and Girls Club at 201 Erie St. in Owego, N.Y. Youth grades K-5 are invited to skills and drills sessions being led by members of the Tioga Center Girls Basketball team.
The co-ed 3 on 3 basketball tournament starts at 2:30 p.m. for sixth to eighth grade participants, and 4 p.m. for ninth through twelfth grade participants. Trophies and Medals will be awarded to the top two teams in each division.
T-shirts, refreshments and raffle prizes will be provided to everyone who participates in the tobacco prevention education activities. Registration forms can be picked up at the Tioga County Boys and Girls Club. Call Lisa at Cornell Cooperative Extension for more information at (607) 687-4020.
