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DPH revs up for Kick Butts Day
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Posted on Mar 31 2008
To encourage the youth to take a stand, speak up and seize control in the fight against tobacco, the Department of Public Health Community Guidance Center will be holding its 4th Annual Kick Butts Day rally tomorrow, from 5pm to 8pm.
Like the three previous KBD events, this year’s event will include participants from public and private schools, youth centers, children and youth programs, and agencies and organizations—all linking up to promote a “drug-free CNMI.”
The Kick Butts Day will include a march from the Garapan Fishing Base to the Carolinian Affair’s Office, where various presenters will feature their Drug-Free programs.
All schools participating in this event are encouraged to bring their school banner as a show of school spirit and representation.
Schools will also compete for 10-year Perpetual Plaques. There will be four events during the event: Most Butts Collected for 6th-8th graders; Most Spirited Dance Contest for 6th graders; Most Spirited Dance Contest for 7th to 8th graders; and Most Spirited Dance Contest for 9th to 12th graders.
The school that collects the most cigarette butts come April 2 will receive a 10-year Perpetual Plaque for the “Most Butts Collected.”
Schools that win the “Most Spirited” and “Dance Contest” will each receive the 10-year plaque.
Incentives such as wristbands, sports water bottles, and t-shirts will be given out to the first 200 people who come to the event.
According to Ricky Itibus, chairperson of the Kick Butts Day Committee, KBD aims to raise awareness about the large number of youth at risk of tobacco use in the CNMI.
Tobacco use is one of the Top 10 causes of death in the world, said DPH, and at least 50 percent of high school students in the CNMI were found to be regular tobacco users, while 30 percent of high school juniors in the CNMI have been smoking for a long time.
The previous three KBD events drew hundreds of community members and this year’s organizer is hoping for an even bigger turnout.
