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# of Schools 56
# of Kids Served 17183
Project Start 2017

Funders:

CVS Health


Project Summary

Reaching approximately 9,897 middle schoolers and 7,286 high schoolers, the CATCH My Breath program has expanded quickly throughout the state of North Carolina thanks to several key advocates at both the local and state levels. While implementation initially began in 2017, most of the state-wide growth occurred during the 2018-2019 school year after multiple trainings, presentations, and webinars. CATCH My Breath has collaborated and partnered with many North Carolina organizations, such as Youth Empowered Solutions and the North Carolina Division of Public Health, Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch, to support implementation efforts by providing educators with the information to confront the youth vaping epidemic through e-cigarette and JUUL prevention techniques.
To meet this state-wide demand for preventative programming, CATCH My Breath conducted personalized trainings for Winston-Salem Schools, Scotland County Schools, and Gaston County School District. The CATCH My Breath team also presented to five regional health department meetings, the North Carolina Association for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance Conference, and the North Carolina State Department of Health. This widespread coverage and support of the CATCH My Breath program ultimately led to multiple news articles and video reports featuring the curriculum on the local Fox News affiliate station.

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Outcomes

Since implementation in North Carolina schools in 2017, the CATCH My Breath program has yielded significant results, most notably a rapid growth in the number of students reached. At the end of the 2017-2018 school year, CATCH My Breath had officially been implemented in 10 schools across the state, reaching a total of 2,430 students. Over the past year alone, North Carolina has experienced a 607% increase in the number of students receiving the e-cigarette and JUUL prevention curriculum. This rapid expansion can be attributed to the countless presentations and trainings conducted by CATCH My Breath throughout North Carolina and the ongoing support of the North Carolina CATCH My Breath Ambassador, Bryan Austin of RHA Health Services.




Testimonials

“I know to say no by the name because I was taught that way but [now that I] know the consequences it’s totally a no.”

- Nelson Brokenborough, 7th Grade Student, Grandview Middle School

“They are leading the state in prevention [by] having all of their middle school students receive our program.”

- Marcella Bianco, CATCH My Breath Program Director, CATCH Global Foundation

“I know there are middle school students vaping and using e-cigarettes. We don’t see a lot of it in this school but we know it’s happening and we want to do what we can to make sure they make good decision.”

- Dr. Jennifer Griffin, Principal, Grandview Middle School

“We’re taking [prevention] a step further and educating the whole child.”

- Nala Sadler-Sherrill, Principal, Northview Middle School

“I enjoyed teaching the Catch my Breath program to my students. I thought the PowerPoints kept the students attention and gave them some good facts about E-cigarettes.”

- Anonymous, Teacher, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
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Funders


CVS Health

CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its 9,700 retail locations, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 90 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, expanding specialty pharmacy services, and a leading stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, the company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs.

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