Thursday, January 28, 2010

Town Hall Meeting

The Van Buren County SAFE Coalition will be holding a spring town hall meeting on underage drinking.
The coalition is currently seeking idea's and suggestions for this event. If you have a suggestion for a speaker, incentives, meals, or anything to make this event successful the coalition would love to hear from you. You may call at 319-293-6412 or email at info@vbsafecoalition.com
The coalition is also looking for suggestions for dates that are "good" for the community.
Please feel free to contact us with any ideas and suggestions.
-VB SAFE Coalition!

Monday, January 11, 2010

No Smoking Week Jan 18- 23

What have you got to lose?
Besides being terrible for your health, did you know smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable home fire deaths?

National Non-Smoking Week
was started about 30 years ago in Canada by the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control. The goals of National Non-Smoking Week are:

* To educate people about the dangers of smoking.
* To prevent non-smokers from picking up the habit.
* To help people quit smoking.
* To promote the right of every individual to breath clean, unpolluted air.
* To help make our society smoke-free.


Why is smoking so bad?

Tobacco use is the main cause of preventable disease, disability and premature death in North America. If you’re exposed to second-hand smoke (smoke from a smoker’s cigarettes), you may also have risks to your health, including a greater chance of getting bronchitis, penumonia, ear infections and asthma.

How to help someone quit smoking

If someone you know needs to quit smoking, there are things you can do to help them:

* Tell them how much you love them and how proud of them you’ll be if they stop smoking.
* Tell them about some of the ingredients in a cigarette – acetone (found in nail polish remover), ammonia (found in cleaning products), rat poison – and ask them if they would drink those poisonous things on their own.
* Whenever they are smoking, ask them to stop and, if they won’t, move to another room or go outside.
* Tell them about Quitline Iowa- a free service to help those interested in quitting smoking.
www.quitlineiowa.org or 1-800-quitnow (1-800-784-8669)

The Van Buren Middle School JEL will have a tobacco display at the Van Buren High School during the home basketball game on Tuesday, January 19th in honor of National No smoking week. Come check it out.

Monday, January 4, 2010

SAFE Volunteers

Are you interested in Making Van Buren County a SAFE Place to live?

We encourage you to join the SAFE Coalition! Maybe one of your New Years Resolutions was to make a difference in your community or to volunteer more of your time. If this is true the SAFE Coalition is for you!

The SAFE Coalition is always in need of new members, especially parents of teens! We want your input on our activities and projects. Are we making a difference in the community and the lives of teens? We need your help to be sure that we are.

The SAFE Coalition is designed to unite the communities of Van Buren County and provide information and various resources to aid in the fight against substance abuse.

By becoming a member, you will be informed of Coalition activities; have the chance to contribute ideas, suggestions, and feedback; and have opportunities to offer your own abilities to help make Van Buren County a safe place to live. Becoming a member is free and the time commitment can be as minimal as reading email updates or as much as heading up a committee or event, depending on your own preferences.

We encourage you to check out our website at www.vbsafecoalition or contact us at 319-293-6412 for more information how you can get involved with the coalition.

Join us for our next coalition meeting:
January 12th
2:00pm
Van Buren High School Library