Photo by Mickey Krakowski

Make one phone call and plant the seed with a likely local sponsor. You might wish to print this page. Thanks for making a difference in your community!

1. Perhaps the best funding source for both Patrick Reynolds' youth talk and his university program is a local hospital. Call one and ask for the Marketing Director. If they are not available, ask for the person under them, the Community Relations Director. But the Marketing Director is perhaps the best person to suggest the idea to. Use the talking points below.
   
   Hospital executives often sponsor Mr. Reynolds' talks as a bridge-builder to their local community. Usually they will invite local press, and understand they will benefit from the goodwill generated. Sometimes two or three hospitals join together and tour him for several days.
   
   The hospital staff member you call may be concerned about the added workload of contacting schools in the area. The tobacco control coordinator in the local health department will often offer support. They often help select and book local schools, and even enlist other hospitals to co-sponsor, when the hospital is open to that.
   
   
2. A second funding possibility is your local tobaccofree coalition. Your local branch office of the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association or American Heart Association can give you their phone number. All three branches usually belong to the local tobaccofree coalition. Tobaccofree coalitions are frequent contributors to Mr. Reynolds' talks.
   
   
3. Call the tobacco control officer in your local public health department. Suggest that they enlist a local hospital, and assist the hospital by helping to book Mr. Reynolds into local schools. Health Departments in states with strong tobacco prevention funding set aside by the State Legislature will often co-sponsor Mr. Reynolds' talk at middle and high schools. To see whether your State has strong tobacco prevention funding, click here and click on your state.
   
   
   
4. Colleges Call a local college, and ask for the Student Activities Director. They often have funds available for guest lecturers, or can at least provide an auditorium. Ask for the e-mail of the student lecture chairperson, who makes the final decision about booking guest speakers. Click here for info on Mr. Reynolds' college talk.

Photo by Mickey Krakowski This well known tobacco prevention speaker has delivered his powerful motivational talk to thousands of children and teens. These are the critical years: after age 19, almost no one takes up the smoking habit. Additional sponsor ideas

Talking points Let your enthusiasm show — it's catching! Say you have an excellent speaker you'd like to bring in to the community to speak in middle and high schools. Let them know he can also give a community talk at a local college or hospital. Tell them it's Patrick Reynolds, the well known smoke free advocate and grandson of the tobacco company founder, R.J. Reynolds. Patrick turned his back on the family's company after losing his father to smoking, and became a nationally known champion of teen tobacco prevention. Mention that his talk receives strong and positive local media coverage, which will build community goodwill for the sponsor, and bring the message to the wider community. If desired, two or three hospitals may join together to tour Mr. Reynolds for several days. Tobacco control staff in the local county health department may offer support by booking local schools, and enlisting other hospitals to co-sponsor, if desired. Give them our phone number, (310) 577-9828, and the web page, www.tobaccofree.org/infopack. Suggest they may wish to print out the information there. Cost For two middle or high school assemblies, the fee is $3,000, plus travel expenses from Los Angeles. Additional talks are $1500 each. For a college / community lecture, the cost is $3,950 for one 90 minute program, about half of which is Q&A and audience participation. These rates are for schools or non-profits only. Pending availability, Mr. Reynolds can go on tour for several days. Click here for additional cost details. If time permits, read them a quote from our page What past clients say. See in particular the comments by past hospital sponsors. Ask if they would like you to e-mail them about your idea. If so, send them this link, or just leave it on their answering machine: www.tobaccofree.org/infopack/ Leave our phone number, (310) 577-9828. If you need a cover letter to e-mail, copy the top of our www.tobaccofree.org/infopack9.html page; it has a good cover letter to paste into your e-mail. Add a note at the top, asking them to circulate your message to appropriate staff.

Thank you! We acknowledge your caring, and are grateful for your phone call. By educating our youth early about smoking, we can make a real difference in their lives. We're all fighting on the same team, for the same goal. Mr. Reynolds' closing promise and vision in all his talks is that we will have a smokefree society in the 21st century. Thank you for helping to make that dream come true.