BHS Elevate: The Lift Off!
Our plans for the BHS Elevate campaign rollout are well underway. The campaign aims to reduce initiation and use of alcohol, cannabis (THC) & tobacco/nicotine for our students. BHS Elevate will focus on helping students build their skills to make healthy decisions and normalizing non-use. We hope to engage many student voices and provide opportunities for peer support. This is a movement that we hope will encourage students to help each other remove barriers getting in the way of living healthy lives, achieving goals, and just getting through the day
This fall Evan worked with a team of 5 UVM undergraduate seniors as part of their Public Communications degree capstone course. Our UVM student team's experience just wrapped up a few days ago. Our current messaging focus will be on various stress and anxiety relieving exercises that BPHC staff and our UVM team have created for posters in the school and our Instagram account. They created a videographic project where "street-style" interviews of UVM students were conducted focusing on ways in which they de-stress and other related questions that are in a clip-worthy format for Instagram Reels. We're excited to have Marcus Aloisi, a South Burlington HS grad and athlete who joined BPHC's UVM team as part of his capstone project this semester, develop an increased understanding of and passion for youth health, wellness, and prevention. Through this work, Marcus got connected to Tobacco Free Kids for the S18 flavored tobacco bill this session. Marcus is planning to testify in Montpelier on behalf of youth and young adults across Vermont and we're excited that Marcus began his journey with us just a few months ago. Marcus recently shared his story with tobacco products with several news outlets. Read more about Marcus’ journey.
As part of our campaign strategy, there will be roles for everyone to play in making this a success. Students have the opportunity to become Campaign Advisors. They’ll give feedback on the campaign and can help design materials. Some students will even get an opportunity to be Elevate “brand ambassadors.” They can even earn community service hours, which are needed for graduation.
Staff can also participate in many ways. They can host an activity that fits into their curriculum and matches up the health, wellness, or substance use prevention goals and we can plan and provide resources for relevant hands-on learning or games. They can also become part of our Trusted Adults Messaging as we hope to feature faces, stories, and perspectives of staff and teachers. Storytelling and mentorship can have transformative power.
We’re excited to roll out our newest messaging and a big thank you to our UVM team who put so much effort into helping us plan and create our content for the upcoming semester.
