Hello, my name is Phylisha! I am a freshman at Hopewell High School.  I joined Y Street this school year.  Share The Air is one of Y Street’s campaigns aimed to create 100% tobacco-free and vapor-free outdoor public spaces across Virginia. Share The Air is important to me because as a person who has asthma, we need safe places to breathe.  Youth and adults who have asthma shouldn’t be worried about having an asthma attack in outdoor public areas due to exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol from vape products.

About 6.2 million children in the U.S. have asthma and approximately 125,000 children in Virginia have asthma.[1]  Secondhand smoke is a common asthma trigger, which can be life-threatening. [2]. When children with asthma are exposed to secondhand smoke they are more likely to have severe asthma attacks.[3]  Tobacco smoke is not only unhealthy for people with asthma, it is unhealthy for everyone to inhale.  All Virginians should be completely safe from exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol.

Share The Air has influenced me to advocate for clean, healthy, and safe environments in my community.  We all should stand up to create smoke-free, tobacco-free, and vapor-free outdoor public spaces across the commonwealth!

Tell us why you support Share The Air by clicking here to fill out a message of support.  Be sure to use my Member ID# → 18008.

[1, 2] Share The Air Campaign. (2019). Share The Air [Fact sheet].  Retrieved from https://sharetheairva.com/

[3] Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Tobacco Smoke and Asthma. Retrieved from https://www.aafa.org/secondhand-smoke-environmental-tobacco-asthma/#:~:text=Secondhand%20smoke%20can%20trigger%20an,them%20get%20more%20ear%20infections.

Hello! My name is Aliyah and I am currently a sophomore at Granby High School in Norfolk. This is my very first year joining Y Street! So far, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in many opportunities to promote our campaigns Share The Air and Rev Your Bev. Participating in campaign activities has provided me with a more in-depth understanding of the issues within my community and methods in which I can bring about positive change.

The Share The Air campaign focuses on creating cleaner, healthier public spaces free of tobacco litter and secondhand smoke and aerosol. Secondhand smoke from tobacco and e-cigarette products has harmful effects on people’s health, especially individuals with asthma.  Tobacco smoke is one of the most common asthma triggers.[1]  Children with this condition are at risk for asthma attacks and other dangerous symptoms, which can be fatal.[2]

Since the age of five, I’ve experienced the effects of having asthma.  Exposure to secondhand smoke has been a significant trigger, yet a difficult one to avoid in some outdoor public areas. Thus, upon being introduced to the Share The Air campaign, I was immediately interested and desired to contribute to an initiative that would benefit those vulnerable to this issue, including fellow asthma sufferers.

In participating in Y Street in the future, I look forward to communicating with policymakers and other key decision-makers to promote policies that create 100% tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free outdoor public areas and other important needs of my community. I also hope to take on more leadership roles to help lead the effort to make Virginia a healthier place. Overall, I’m grateful to be able to use my voice to enact change!

Want to help support Share The Air?  Click here to fill out a Support Card and be sure to use my Member ID# → 18168.

[1, 2] Share The Air Campaign. (2019). Share The Air [Fact sheet].  Retrieved from https://sharetheairva.com/

Hello!  My name is Max and I am a sophomore at Charlottesville High School.  This is my first year in Y Street.  I feel it is important to talk about how tobacco products are the most littered item nationwide. Did you know that 40% of all littered items are tobacco products?[1]  That is a statistic that we need to work to change.  When I go to my local park with family and friends I see cigarette butts, which once or twice may not seem so bad, but when you can’t seem to find any clean space to sit down, it can get a little frustrating.  I like having clean outdoor spaces to enjoy and that is why the Share The Air campaign is so important to me. 

Share The Air promotes tobacco-free and vapor-free outdoor spaces and raises public awareness on the issue.  The campaign is striving to create 100% tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free outdoor public spaces across Virginia, which is a very important goal. The fact that Share The Air is helping with this issue speaks volumes as to why I chose to participate in Y Street.

Overall, I can confidently say that Share The Air has changed my life in many ways, the most important of which is opening my eyes to all the harmful effects of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol.  I look forward to the rest of the year because I have a feeling that change is coming, which is always a good feeling.

To help support this superb effort, please take a minute or two and fill out a message of support here, and be sure to use my Member ID# → 18071.

[1] Share The Air Campaign. (2019). Share The Air [Fact sheet].  Retrieved from https://sharetheairva.com/

Hi! My name is Savanna and I am a junior at Hopewell High School.  This is my second year in Y Street and my first year on the Y Street Leadership Team (YSLT).  Being a leader in school is a very crucial thing as it sets you up for success in high school and beyond.  There are multiple things that make an exceptional leader such as integrity, setting clear goals, and being able to work well with others.  A good leader also looks out for other people before themselves.

Being a part of YSLT has helped to grow my leadership skills tremendously.  There are many opportunities that you can participate in and experience on the Leadership Team.  I now have the confidence to do so many things that I would never have done before like public speaking.  The first time I felt like a leader was during youth recruitment at my school last fall. I learned new ways to engage and recruit my peers with finding that the most efficient way was reaching out to freshmen and sharing my great experiences on being in Y Street.  In speaking with so many students and encouraging them to join Y Street and become leaders themselves, I have learned that being a leader is not only about speaking to new people, it’s about stepping outside of your comfort zone and taking initiative.

From being on YSLT, I am also learning that there are leaders all around me, myself included, and that being a leader can be as simple as motivating others to get involved or even setting a good example for those around you.  By knowing what skills make up a leader, I act more like a leader in my school and community than I ever have before.  I know I will use these skills in the future by making sure my voice is heard when spreading awareness on important issues and applying them to my future career.

I am proud to be a YSLT member.  This experience has taught me so much about how to lead, how to improve my physical and mental health, and how to be a better person overall.  If you are interested in learning leadership skills, don’t miss out!  Sign up for the Leadership Team today at www.ystreet.org.

Hi, my name is Ella and I am a sophomore at Charlottesville High School.  This is my first year in Y Street!  Share The Air is an extremely important campaign to me.  There are so many facts about smoking that had not really come to my attention before joining Y Street.  For example, did you know that someone exposed to secondhand aerosol smoke produced by the exhaled particles from electronic cigarettes could be exposed to particles similar in size to tobacco smoke and diesel engine smoke?[1]

On a more personal note, something that I really enjoy doing is babysitting.  Earlier in the year, I had a routine with a neighborhood family where I would babysit their son for about 2 hours every Friday.  He loved to go to the park, so that’s what we would often do.  It’s extremely shocking to think that we could have been exposed to secondhand smoke and aerosol. 

With Share The Air and all of the incredible Y-Sters, I believe that we can really make a difference in our communities by advocating for voluntary policies to create 100% tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free outdoor public places across Virginia.  Hopefully, this would not only decrease the number of people using tobacco and electronic cigarettes but also help to make outdoor activities and family experiences more enjoyable.

To show your support for Share The Air, click here to fill out a message of support, and be sure to use my Member ID# →18070.

Thanks so much for reading!

[1] Share The Air Campaign. (2019). Share The Air [Fact sheet].  Retrieved from https://sharetheairva.com/

Hi, Everyone!  My name is Abby, and I am a senior at Fauquier High School.  I have been a part of the Y Street family for two years and this is my first year on the Y Street Leadership Team (YSLT).  The scientific fact of water aiding digestion speaks personally to me.  As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder in my past, a part of recovery is learning how to intuitively take care of my body.  My digestive tract has a hard time processing foods as a result of my past condition, even though I have been in recovery for two years.  Drinking water helps to ease things through my system.  Not only does it help to regulate my digestive system, but it also helps with my acne that I have developed as a result of my disorder.

The Rev Your Bev campaign is important to me because of how much it has impacted my life.  I especially love sharing the science behind why water makes me feel so fulfilled on so many levels.  I would not be able to exercise regularly to reach my fitness goals if I did not fuel up on water!

I am looking forward to graduating and receiving a scholarship from Y Street for all the activism I have done.  I am also very excited to see what May brings for YSLT as the school year comes to a close.  Rev Your Bev has made me so knowledgeable about the importance of water and this knowledge will carry over into my next chapter in university! 

Want to show your support for Rev Your Bev?  Click here to fill out a message of support, and be sure to use my Member ID# → 15969.

Hello, my name is Lily and I am a junior from Fauquier High School. This is my second year in Y Street and my first year being on the Y Street Leadership Team (YSLT).  I have found that Y Street is an amazing place to learn leadership skills. 

I have learned how to lead and motivate others to get involved from the activities we held at my school last year.  We talked to our peers about the Share The Air and Rev Your Bev campaigns and encouraged them to take action, while creating a sense of community by involving the entire school.  For example, we held a water bottle decorating event during our school lunches to promote healthy hydration for the Rev Your Bev campaign. This activity brought together different people from all over my school. We decorated water bottles together and asked school participants to fill out surveys.

Another leadership skill that I have learned is leading by example. For example, I drink water around others to motivate my fellow students and my community to choose water.  Leading this way provides me with the skills to help influence others even outside of Y Street activities.  I am learning more about how to be a leader from being part of the Leadership Team.  Not only have I received training from attending the annual Summit but from our monthly meetings.  The Summit was an amazing experience!  We were trained and given tips to help develop our leadership style and participated in fun activities to apply what we learned.  

As a YSLT member, you are a representative of the youth in your school and community.  For example, I had the opportunity to meet with the Fauquier County Parks and Recreation Director to discuss how the Share The Air campaign can help parks in my area become tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free by adopting a voluntary policy. The opportunity taught me how to interact with key decision-makers in my community who are in positions of authority and can influence change, and advocate for tobacco-free outdoor parks.

If you are a student who is looking for leadership experience, then check us out at ystreet.org and apply today!

Hello, Everyone!  My name is Cheyenne and I am currently a junior at Central High School.  This is my third year in Y Street and my first year on the Y Street Leadership Team!  I had the fantastic opportunity to participate in the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth’s Empower Series. This opportunity was truly a once-in-a-lifetime event where I was able to share my ideas, advocate for change, and let my voice be heard. 

For the first webinar “Youth Empowerment: When Youth Talk, We Listen – Passing the Microphone to the Next Generation”, I worked alongside youth leaders Sydney (Potomac HS) and Yvonne (Granby HS) to speak on how adults can build better strategies that work when talking to today’s youth.  We each were able to share our powerful thoughts on why adults need to listen to youth and how to communicate with young people.  Leading up to this event I was very excited to work and speak with people across Virginia and the United States.

For the second webinar “Youth Empowerment: When Youth Talk, We Listen – Pushing Policy for Youth Advocacy”, I facilitated the entire webinar by myself, which I found not only educational but very empowering!  I led a discussion with advocates from Virginia Hunger Solutions and 6 Wheels Consulting LLC on how young leaders can engage with local policy-makers about decisions that impact their communities.  During the session, we also talked about community leaders and how they too can develop strategies to connect youth to policymakers.

Overall, the topics we discussed relate to me on a personal level because each was specific to my interest in serving others and advocating for change when it is needed.  I walked away wanting to have more conversations about youth engagement and a feeling of wanting to do more in my community and get other youth involved.  I’ve always felt, and continue to feel, empowered to have the opportunity to use my voice in a positive manner to make a difference locally, statewide, or globally. I look forward to participating in more opportunities like this in the future!

To view VFHY’s Youth Empower Series, click here. 

Hi! My name is Felecia and I am a junior at Greensville County High School in Emporia, VA.  I have been a member of Y Street for two years and this is my first year as a Y Street Leadership Team (YSLT) member.  Although I have only been a part of the leadership team for a short amount of time, I feel as if I have learned quite a bit already.

Not only has Y Street taught me leadership skills but it has also helped me brush up on my social skills, which is always a good thing. Throughout my time in Y Street, we have worked on two major campaigns, Share The Air and Rev Your Bev.  Share The Air is about promoting and advocating for tobacco-free outdoor spaces across the state and Rev Your Bev focuses on increasing water access, consumption, and promotion in schools. 

In October 2020, I met with my school division’s Nutrition Director.  The purpose of our meeting was to discuss the Rev Your Bev campaign and share information about the Y Street program. I was extremely nervous because I wanted to make an amazing impression on the Nutrition Director.

During the meeting, I began to calm down and finally breathe with each piece of information that was ushered out of my mouth. We talked about the purpose of Rev Your Bev and ways that youth gather support and feedback from the community such as through online surveys. We also discussed the previous achievements and milestones of our partner schools and shared awesome pics from last year’s annual Rev Your Bev Day activities.

When the meeting was over, the Nutrition Director was really impressed by the information that was presented and by how well the campaign was put together.  She agreed to support Rev Your Bev and help with raising campaign awareness any way that she could. It gave me great satisfaction to know that I had just made a big contribution to the campaign.

That meeting taught me that you don’t have to be an adult to make a big contribution to your school and community.  Activists come in all shapes and ages.  I was extremely proud of myself because I had set out to make a good impression and inspire the Nutrition Director, and that’s what I did.  I hope this meeting encourages the school division to take in the information and incorporate Rev Your Bev’s best practices into schools’ efforts. I look forward to more meetings just like this in the future.  Who knows…. maybe one day a Y-Ster will be meeting with me as a chairwoman of some sort. The sky’s the limit from here!

To learn more about Rev Your Bev, visit revyourbev.com.

Hey!  My name is Yvonne, and I am a rising senior at Granby High School.  I have been a part of Y Street for two years and the Y Street Leadership Team for a year!  During the months of January and February, I had a fantastic opportunity to be a part of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth’s Empower Series. It was a four-part series that involved my fellow YSLT leaders, Cheyenne and Sydney. 

“Passing the Mic to the Next Generation” was the first webinar that we participated in that was held in January. All three of us were asked questions about how our individual lives changed in 2020 due to the pandemic and how it affected our communities.  We were also asked questions on how adults should engage young people such as, “Why is it important for adults to listen to youth before they make decisions on our behalf?” and “What strategies can adults use to work together with youth to make a better future?”  This webinar gave us the chance to speak to adults and change their perspectives on youth involvement. 

The other three webinars were hosted by each of us individually on a specific topic, and mine was called “Effectively Communicating in a New Virtual World.”  This was the perfect webinar for me to host!  The aim of the webinar was to inspire and provide the audience with specific examples of how they can connect with more young people in their community in an engaging way within virtual spaces.  2020 was the year of significant adjustments, and communication was greatly affected.  For years, we have engaged in human interaction and in a blink of an eye, we were isolated.  The pandemic caused all communities to quickly shift to a virtual space with schools, events, and activities.

During the webinar, I interviewed Laura Furr from Laura Furr Consulting, Regen Johnson, Alternatives Inc., and Kareeshama Ali from Greater Good Studios who shared their experiences on youth advocacy.  The audience received guidance, advice, and examples of ways to connect to youth and engage them in new virtual activities.

The best part about this whole opportunity was that I was a voice for the youth community.  My voice was heard by adults not only in the state of Virginia but throughout the United States.  I shared my opinion and gave adults insight into opportunities they could be missing when engaging and connecting with the youth. I’ve always wanted to make a change and be a voice for those who did not believe they had one or were too afraid to use their own voice, and with this event, I was able to check that off my goal list. To the youth, I want you to know that adults are willing to listen to you.  You know something that they don’t, and they need your help to make sure that your future is just right.  Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion or scared to be a voice for others.  Everyone deserves for their voice to be heard!

To view VFHY’s Youth Empowerment: When Youth Talk, We Listen webinars of this series, please click here.