Y Street ❘ Promoting a Healthy Virginia

James City County, VA. James City County Parks & Recreation is committed to promoting 100% tobacco-free outdoor environments by partnering with Share The Air, a campaign by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY), and its largest youth-led movement, Y Street. Share The Air aims to create 100% tobacco-free parklands across the Commonwealth by supporting local parks and recreation departments in adopting voluntary, comprehensive tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free outdoor policies.

Currently, James City County Parks & Recreation encourages visitors to refrain from smoking, including e-cigarettes, within 25 feet of certain facilities like athletic fields, sports courts, playgrounds, and more. This forward-thinking policy not only reduces tobacco and vape litter but also minimizes residents’ exposure to secondhand smoke and vape aerosol. It also promotes positive role modeling for youth who visit the county’s parks and outdoor recreational areas.

As part of its partnership with Share The Air, the department will receive free tobacco-free signage to post to remind park visitors of the policy.

James City County Parks & Recreation strives to create dedicated spaces that allow residents to be active, relax, and gather outdoors and joins the growing list of localities with tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free outdoor policies, becoming Share The Air’s 22nd partner. Park Director John Cornifax shared, “James City County Parks & Recreation’s mission is to work in partnership with citizens to ensure responsive programs, facilities, and open space which promote personal growth, social development, and healthy lifestyles. Our participation in the Share the Air campaign to promote a smoke and vapor-free environment in our parks is an excellent example of another partnership that will educate and improve the health of our community, residents, and visitors.”

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About the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY)

Established in 1999 by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth empowers Virginia’s youth to make healthy choices by reducing and preventing youth tobacco and nicotine use, substance use, and childhood obesity.

VFHY takes a comprehensive approach to prevention work that includes reaching about 50,000 children each year through classroom-based prevention programs in public schools, after-school programs, community centers, day cares, and prevention programs across the state. VFHY’s award-winning marketing campaigns deliver prevention messaging to more than 500,000 children annually. In addition, VFHY’s research program provides scientific insight on methods to effectively reduce tobacco use. Since 2002, VFHY has funded 40 large research projects at universities throughout Virginia. For more information, visit www.vfhy.org.

Press Releases

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