You’ve seen the ydouthink commercials on TV: the girl licking the garbage can that’s super gross, or the kissing commercial that everyone loves. Click here to check out all the ydouthink commercials. Well, ydouthink is working on their latest TV commercial and they need our help figuring out which tobacco fact to feature.  

Thanks to the YSLT and all of you, Y St’s new campaign is up and running!

The ActOut Campaign is about getting teens involved in physical activities to be healthy. It’s all about putting down the video games, turning off the TV, and having fun doing physically active things with your friends. The ActOut Campaign is what YOU make it.  Activities will be featured in...

Last year with the 86 campaign, Y St-ers rocked the project scene collecting surveys, pledge cards, and videos.  Based on feedback from your Y St. Leadership Team, we’re bringing back the Video Testimonial Measure of Progress!

At the Blacksburg Car Smash, we tested out the Video Testimonials for the Meltdown campaign. Y St-ers brought video cameras and filmed people sharing...

UPDATE: DEADLINES EXTENDED TO JANUARY 29th!

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids is getting ready to pick their 2009 Youth Advocate of the Year award winners and you can bet that Y St. deserves to be recognized!

Every year, CTFK picks one national winner, 4 regional winners, and one group winner based on their tobacco control advocacy efforts and accomplishments.  2009 was ...

Since Oakton’s new member training on October 1st, Patrick Kelly has been plowing ahead at full steam.  “My Y St. experience so far has been great, I’ve loved every minute of it,” Patrick told me, and it’s shown.

After just 3 months, Patrick has completed 4 projects and collected over 120 message stickers.  “My favorite part is that we act...

It always strikes me as odd just how far people are willing to go in order to smoke. On one hand, I fully understand that the addiction to nicotine is absolutely crippling and most smokers aren't strong enough to resist it but on the other hand, I want to just say "really??!!?"

Thanks to a technicality in VA legislation, certain bars in  Virginia are exempt from the...

Hey Y St.- this article was recently published in The Central Virginian about one of your own: Corey!

Bulldog appointed to state trustee board
By David DesRoches

For years, many young people have turned to cigarettes, trying to be cool.

Corey Howell is not one of those young people. In fact, he’s spent three years advocating healthy lifestyles and educating...

Hot off the drawing board, here’s your new Y St. shirt!  The design team took a look at the survey results, read your comments, and ended up combining features of your two favorite choices to bring you this!  The order’s been placed so expect to see the new Meltdown shirt dropping in the Y St. Store soon.

Thanks to everyone who voted and commented on their favori...

We hear about "change" everyday. Either someone wants us to change, we want to change, we want to change things around us, or vice versa of all the previously stated. As teens, sometimes we feel that we are powerless and that our actions go either unseen or unappreciated. YouthNoise seeks to defy these standards and create a network for teens that want change, to make change.

What’s up Y St.!

I decided that I wanted to take my Y St. experience to the next level, and I did just that this past summer.  As you may know, VTSF, which became the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, on July 1st of this year, is the organization that funds Y St. and I made it a goal to earn a spot on the Board of Trustees of the organization.  The Board of Truste...

On Tuesday, December 1st, restaurant-goers across the state breathed easier. Virginia’s new indoor clean air bill insuring for customers a clean and smoke-free dining experience finally went into effect. Governor Tim Kaine marked the occasion by visiting restaurants across the state and honoring all the efforts that went into this victory for restaurant customers and employees alike. An...

Y St. is 100% YOUR movement, so when Y St-ers asked for some new shirts to go with the Meltdown campaign, the creative team hit the drawing boards.  Hot off the wire, the new designs options are posted above!  The next step is up to you- click here to vote on your favorite t-shirt and help decide which design hits the Y St. store.  Plus you’ll get 2 points, redeemable AT ...

Can you imagine not being able to give or receive presents on Christmas morning? Not getting a big slice of juice honey ham on Christmas Eve? What about not having the access to read this very article? For millions families, that is their reality.

As the United States is experiencing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the homeless population has increased dramatica...

I suppose it was only a matter of time. Sly marketing has been the surprisingly spry crutch of the tobacco industry for decades despite a general knowing better. People get smarter - nay, more EDUCATED - but big tobacco also wises up as the sand trickles down the glass and they learn to combat new evidence with new marketing. The fact that not only do people still smoke but new smokers light ...

If you heard a loud smash on Friday, November 6th, don’t worry—it was just the sound of sledgehammers meeting steel.

Blacksburg High School Y St-ers held their first big Project Day for the Meltdown campaign—and it was a hit!  With their final football game against rival Christiansburg High, Y St-ers used the buzz and excitement to generate some attention for Me...

So what I did last week was something I have been waiting to do for a while now, and I mean a very long while. Somehow I just always seemed to have the worst timing and could not make it to these meetings.  However, last wednesday was different. I finally got to go to a Y St. training.

At my school there are about six or seven people who are in Y St, and until recently I was not ...

This generation has been handed some of finest technological advances with an earth that is technically dying and a country that is slowly conforming to the idea that we need to change to survive. We've seen the the highest gas prices since the seventies, we've seen our car companies bankrupt, our food sources contaminated, the explosion of organic everything and the launch of hybrid ...

Branding is important. If you’re going to sell something, whether it be a product or a service, the establishment of a brand identity is key. Endless research, testing and evaluation goes into the longevity of a good brand but what do you if all of the sudden, you’re not allowed to brand the way that has made you a success?

Simple. You redo it overnight.

Prevention Connections has selected Y St.’s very own Rima Patel as this year’s winner of the Virginia Youth Advocate of the Year Award and the $2,500 scholarship!

Rima has been a huge part of Y St. since she joined back in 2007.  After spending months collecting surveys and support statements for the 86 campaign, she contacted the local NBC station to see if they were...

After rolling out a redesigned ystreet.org, Helix, and Y St. Points Store, MeltdownVA.com is joining the party.  Based on input from your Y St. Leadership Team, the Meltdown minisite has been edited and updated with new information on these smokeless and dissolvable products. Comment here and tell us what you think!

Visit www.meltdownva.com to read up about the Tobacco Industry&r...

New Member Trainings are in October! Y St. Members cause REAL change in their communities. And they have fun while doing it!

Click here to apply for a training

Hurry, space is limited. you must attend a training to become a member.

Our long battle to get restrictions on tobacco companies has finally paid off as the FDA announced an official ban on fruit-, candy- or clove-flavored cigarettes. This is a huge milestone for youth because the number of young people who begin smoking will dramatically start to decrease.

According to research, flavored cigarettes have been found to be more appealing among adolescent...

Teens today are packing on the pounds more than ever before. Today 65% of adults are classified as overweight or obese. The rate of obesity has risen even more sharply among teens specifically and this is a serious problem because obesity persists into adulthood for 70% of teens. As a result, one third of kids in the United States will be expected to develop type 2 diabetes!

Now is th...

Y St. has a brand new website!  The summer was spent redesigning the website with input and feedback from Y St-ers, so we hope you like the new look. Comment on this blog and tell us what you think.

Check out some new features:

Blogs – We want to hear what you have to say. Projects, events, campaigns -  whatever’s on your mind. Email me if you’re interested in writing a blog.

Top Members – If you’re a stud when it comes to projects, take your place on the podium!  The home page is gonna show off the top 5 active Y St-ers.

Polls – Soon, you'll be able to vote on Y St. topics, like new gear, new projects, and other various topics. Let us know if you have an idea!

Everybody likes rewards, but we’ve heard from a lot of Y St-ers that they want more options. So we spent the summer revamping the Y St. Helix system to get you what you want: reward options.

Here’s how it works...

Summer may be over, but the fun doesn’t stop there. We’ve heard a lot from you guys that Y St. should be more out there with bigger events. Well, you asked for it, you got it! This year, Y St. is making events and group projects a big focus. We’re starting with an events calendar to plan out the events, and need your ideas.

Skate jams, music fests, car shows,...

Y St-er Jennifer Lu rocked it in August with a series of completed projects.  Despite spending a month having a blast in China this summer, Jennifer came back ready for action.  “Aside from all of the food and fun, something else had an even deeper impact on me- the amount of smoke in the air.”...

The summer may be over and everyone’s headed back to school, but Y St. is gearing up for some big stuff. Be on the lookout for a new ystreet.org, Helix, Y St. store, and awesome project days.

We also have tons of trainings coming up in October. Tell your friends and get them to apply! Send them to ystreet.org/training or click here and send them the link.