First Tobacco Initiative Grant Goes to American Lung Association
$2.3 Million Grant Will be Used to Reduce Exposure and Educate Teens
St. Louis, February 15 -The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) has awarded a $2.3 million grant to the American Lung Association as part of its Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Initiative.
The initiative is a nine-year, multi-phase program that includes grantmaking, policy and communication activities. The American Lung Association (ALA) of Missouri received a regional umbrella grant, a large grant given to sizeable organizations to support the development of a structure that provides coordination of specific strategies for tobacco prevention and cessation. Later this year, smaller agencies are eligible to apply for community implementation grants, which will be used to implement tobacco prevention models and activities designed in conjunction with the regional umbrella grant recipients.
The American Lung Association of Missouri plans to use the grant funds to implement several strategies. Working at the state level, an increase in the sales tax will be encouraged in order to enable the state to provide tobacco prevention and cessation programs and help address the high costs of smoking-related diseases. ALA will also work with Missouri companies and community groups to establish smoke-free environments and increase the availability of and access to adult smoking cessation programs. The organization will also expand its current smoking-prevention program aimed at teens to 80 high schools in 26 priority counties.
Established in January of 2000 through the for-profit conversion of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri, MFH is the largest health care foundation in the state and the second largest health conversion foundation in the country. Its vision is to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves. The Foundation is in its fourth year of grantmaking. Current assets are approximately $1.1 billion.
For additional information regarding MFH, call (314) 345-5500, (800) 655-5560 or visit the Web site at www.mffh.org.
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