"Kids 4 Kids" Draw for a Smoke-Free World

RADA Hosts Anti-Smoking Drawing Contest

New York, NY- The Russian-American Dental Association (RADA) will hold a second annual awards ceremony for the winners of the "Kids 4 Kids" Anti-Smoking Drawing Contest on Thursday, June 10th at 5:30pm at Manhattan Movement and Art Center www.manhattanmovement.com , 248 West 60 Street New York, NY 100239( btw West End & Amsterdam Ave.).

In honor of the winners and all student participants, parents and children will gather at the prestigious public ceremony and support the RADA campaign against smoking. During the ceremony, the association will publically announce and award nine winners and 10 drawings for honorable mention. The winning works have been published in the distinctive Kids Say No catalogue of drawings which will be distributed to attendees of the function for free. The ceremony will further offer entertainment, featuring a performance by The Children´s Acting Company, with an enactment of skits and songs incorporating an anti-smoking theme.

Judges selected first, second and third prize winners and will issue American Express gift cards with $200, $100 and $50 prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Winners were chosen in three categories; grades 1-3, 4-5, and 6-8.

The "Kids 4 Kids" Anti-Smoking Drawing Contest is a creative outlet that reinforces RADA´s mission of spreading awareness about the Oral Cancer Project, which expands its outreach each year. The influence of the project is evident as this year RADA received substantially more submissions than last year: a thousand drawings from students in grades 1-8. "I am always impressed by these contestants´ incredible talents and ability to make the connection between smoking and an unhealthy lifestyle. This goes to show that children do pay attention to what is harmful to them at an early age, and hopefully they will choose to be smoke-free," says Dr. Sumareva, President of RADA. With such an immense participation, RADA persists in sending its profound anti-smoking message to children as young as six years old regarding the perils of smoking.

The campaign creates a tremendous impact on today´s youth. It enables them to be actively engaged in society´s fight against tobacco. RADA´s philosophy is that to succeed in this fight, we must begin with educating today´s youth, urging them not to smoke. With RADA´s mission to inform children of the deadly affects of smoking, the organization is succeeding in taking the necessary precautions of preventing smoking before it begins.

Everyday children face peer pressure, witness tobacco ads, and/or live in a smoking household. Therefore, RADA´s educational outreach is ever more crucial. According to The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, "Each day more than 4,000 people under 18 try their first cigarette." What is even more staggering is that "children and adolescents consume more than one billion packs of cigarettes a year," according to the Final Report of the National Commission on Drug-Free Schools. Despite these grim statistics, one thing is undeniable: The "Kids 4 Kids" Drawing Contest educates children to reconsider the devastating side effects of smoking.

Russian American Dental Association (RADA), www.russianDentists.org, is a national nonprofit organization with 501c (3) charity status. RADA is devoted to humanitarian and community work, as well as assisting dental professionals in their career goals, and providing education and research in the dental field. RADA sponsors and organizes charity events, holds medical professional conferences, offers Continuing Education courses and advises practitioners and organizations on the medical profession.

For more information, please contact:
Irina Shmeleva: is@via3pr.com or (212) 802-1446.
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