Key Points: Schools and communities need to work together to promote effective tobacco control strategies. Service-learning concept can provide an effective framework to structure interactions between schools, local tobacco control organizations, and youth. Students who participate in tobacco-related service-learning activities are more likely to favor tobacco control strategies and understand the effects of tobacco industry strategies; moreover, the tobacco control movement can afford imperative health information to students while providing them with opportunities to put classroom lessons into practice.

Learning Objectives: (1) Describe a current approach in the Midwest to increase participation of local schools in tobacco control programming, (2) Identify ways to involve youth in tobacco control advocacy through school-related projects, and 3) Explain the importance of service-learning activities and the benefits to the tobacco control movement. Participants will be able to use the information within their work to building relationships with local school districts. This is an innovative program that can help students understand and demonstrate tobacco industry targeting to youth and communities of color while allowing the students to use media advocacy to fight back.

Benefits: This workshop will provide practical strategies to participants based on a pilot program in Omaha, Nebraska on increasing school participation and curriculum involvement of tobacco control. It will demonstrate a mutually beneficial relationship that enhances a school's learning objectives while furthering local tobacco control objectives.