Hello,
My name is Romi Eldah and I am a graduating senior at
Avon High School in Connecticut. Growing up, I always ate
breakfast while watching the news before going to school. Last Fall
I noticed vaping had begun to be in the headlines almost every
morning. From discussing new vaping related illnesses and even
reported deaths, to the concern of a new generation becoming
addicted to nicotine, I knew something needed to be done and this
was the perfect idea for a mastery project. Around the same time, a
family member began vaping. Every time I saw him, he would have a
different vaping device and he'd vape no matter who was around him
or where he was. I remember him saying it wasn't bad for you at all
and that it was just vapor. He now understands a lot more about it
and wishes he had never started vaping because he is now faced with
overcoming a nicotine addiction.
Programs like CATCH My Breath can help prevent kids from developing an addiction by educating them with the facts about e-cigarettes and discouraging them from ever trying it. I completed my Senior Mastery Capstone project on the effects of vaping and the impacts it has on the health of today's youth. Over the past 6 months I have spent over 200 hours researching, planning, designing, meeting with advisors, developing a presentation, and so much more. In order to help spread the message and raise money in support of CATCH My Breath, I decided to design a bracelet with the message: "Health Is Your Wealth, Don't Get Sucked In." I have been selling these bracelets to my friends, teammates, classmates, family members, neighbors, and others in my community with the goal of fundraising and spreading awareness about health concerns related to vaping in order to discourage its use among kids, teens and society as a whole. Every donation goes directly to support the CATCH Your Breath program. In conclusion, I am happy to report that I was able to meet with my principal and my high school is now officially part of the CATCH My Breath movement. Thank you for your support and remember: "Health is your Wealth-Don't Get Sucked In".
CATCH My Breath is a youth vaping prevention program that has been shown to greatly reduce the likelihood that young people will try e-cigarettes. More than 1,300 schools across the U.S. have implemented the program, with dozens more signing up every week. The funds raised through this student-led campaign will help keep the program content up-to-date and ensure that all schools are aware of and have access to this program.
The program is distributed by the non-profit CATCH Global Foundation and was developed by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health.
