SAVE A GIRL, SAVE A WORLD (SAGSAW) has received its second $500,000 two-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support its SPEAK UP! (Smoking Prevention Education Awareness and Knowledge) program. The program aims to educate, train, and mobilize young Black women on Health & Wellness by raising awareness and education on tobacco prevention and control on Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campuses and surrounding communities. The schools selected are in “The Tobacco Nation States”: Alabama State University, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Benedict College, Bennett College, Clark Atlanta University, Grambling State University, North Carolina A&T, Tennessee State University, and Wilberforce University.
The SPEAK UP! tagline “Not just talk about it but be about it.” is for young women leaders to
collaborate, have open dialogue on the tobacco industry's predatory marketing tactics, build advocacy and organizing skills, and create campaigns on their campuses to promote safe and healthy habits. Young women Ambassadors receive a monthly stipend to lead the SPEAK UP campaigns with the intent to help young women grow personally and collectively to have a voice on solutions/resolutions to our community's health disparities and concerns. The project partners are Black Dr. org, Cafe Mocha, Rolling Out, CTFK and Black Women’s Roundtable.
“The Predatory marketing tactics of the tobacco/vaping/hookah industry have gotten more
aggressive in targeting the young Black community. For far too long tobacco and now E-
cigarettes are being pushed as socially attractive, a lifestyle choice, with a certain coolness,
utilizing candy flavored vapes and positioning the product next to candy counters at many
establishments in the black community. As an organization that mentors young women, its
SAGSAW’s goal is to help young women build a healthy lifestyle of physical, mental, spiritual,
and financial health and to have critical thinking skills about predatory practices, said Glenda
Gill, SAGSAW Founder & President.
The CDC states e-cigarettes are unsafe for kids, teens, and young adults, and most e-cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s and can have other harmful substances besides nicotine. Young people who use e-cigarettes may be more likely to smoke cigarettes in the future.
About RWJF:
RWJF is the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated solely to health. The foundation works with organizations to identify, understand, confront, and remove the structural barriers to health and well-being, including racism, powerlessness, discrimination, and consequences. “RWJF conducts this work by supporting research, programs, policies, and practices aimed at bringing about meaningful change and improving the lives of everyone in our nation now and for generations to come,”. https://www.rwjf.org
About SAVE A GIRL, SAVE A WORLD
A non-profit multigenerational mentoring organization focusing on impacting young women’s
lives around the globe by providing educational support, experiential training, and experiences, giving leadership tools, nurturing unconventional talents and skills, building self-esteem, and establishing well-being that supports and enhances young women's growth. The organization’s foundation is representative of four pillars: Career & Entrepreneurship, Financial & Wealth Literacy, Health & Wellness, and Lifestyle & Leadership.
For more information about SAGSAW, “SPEAK UP!” and its health awareness campaigns, visit www.saveagirlsaveaworld.org.