Dear John,

I’m Allyssa Williams, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' 2020 Barrie Fiske National Youth Advocate of the Year.

Growing up, I saw how Big Tobacco took advantage of communities of color by relentlessly targeting us with ads for menthol cigarettes. Then when I got to high school, I saw so many of my classmates using e-cigarettes and getting crazy addicted. So I decided I’d had enough. I was determined to take action, but I couldn’t do it alone.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids was there for me with the resources and training I needed to amplify my voice and make real change. Working with Tobacco-Free Kids, I helped pass a landmark law through the U.S. House to ban flavored tobacco products! 

Help aspiring young leaders like me discover their voice and create lifesaving change. I’ll be so grateful if you make a monthly donation by September 29, when we will celebrate the 2021 Youth Advocates of the Year Awards.

Tobacco-Free Kids is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and I want to take a moment to applaud what they’ve accomplished.

The Tobacco-Free Kids team has been taking on Big Tobacco and winning since the day they opened their doors, and the results speak for themselves:

They’ve helped reduce youth smoking by 84% and cut adult smoking nearly in half. And together, we’re making real progress to stop the industry from targeting communities like mine. The FDA recently announced it intends to eliminate menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars!

But Tobacco-Free Kids was only able to engage with me and other young advocates because of their sustaining supporters.

And right now we’re still short on our goal of adding 250 new monthly, sustaining donors to keep this work going. So please, join me by making a monthly, sustaining donation. Your support will make a huge impact in kids’ lives, just like it has in mine.

P.S. – Make sure to RSVP to join me live on September 29 for Fighting for Change, the 2021 Youth Advocates of the Year Awards!