A tobacco prevention club was formed after Venice High School was presented with a grant. This club was formed with the support of the ALPS counselor Ms. Ivey Willwerth and the World Language Magnet Counselor Ms. Cynthia Vivar.

“I agreed because as an educator, there’s a need for students to learn about tobacco and its effects,” said Ms. Vivar.

This club is known as the Advocates for Healthy Choices Program and is currently run by facilitators from the district. The goals of the club are to make a difference in the lives of others, raise awareness, learn about the causes and effects of vaping and tobacco and to provide students with healthy alternatives to smoking. The club meets every Wednesday after school in room 110.

The selected leaders will have the opportunity to participate in a student-led conference where they will present a campaign that will feature what they’ve learned in the program about tobacco and how to prevent its spread. This club is to be run by students who were chosen because of their leadership and interest on the topic of tobacco.

“The club sounded interesting and I wanted to understand the effect of e-cigarettes,” said senior Marlene Martinez. “I wanted to work with other people that also wanted to learn what e-cigs were about.”

Student participants  have the opportunity to earn community service and be a student leader.

“I needed something for college applications, and I wanted to learn about e-cigs and their effect on society and people,” said senior Cameron Nelsen.

With the anticipation of the success of this club and its members, the program is going to remain on campus for many other students to join when Club Expo comes around.