The Tar Wars Project in Kansas City was implemented in 2006 with a grant from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. Local family physicians and other health and community professionals are visiting schools with the Tar Wars message. They presented to students in Cass, Jackson, and Lafayette counties in Missouri and in Allen, Johnson, and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
“This project presents Tar Wars to a more diverse student population than we’ve ever reached in Kansas City,” said family physician Julie Wood, MD, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, a Tar Wars program adviser. “We’ll have greater diversity among our presenters as well.”
In the past, some Kansas City schools did not have the resources to offer the Tar Wars program to students, Wood said. With more than $118,000 in funding from the Health Care Foundation of Greater KC, the AAFP can now offer the program guide online and in hard-copy format. Schools participating in the program receive a classroom kit with posterboard, crayons, activity materials, Tar Wars awareness bands, and a parent information handout. Kansas City schools with Hispanic students have access to handouts in Spanish and English.
The Tar Wars program aims to encourage kids to become peer advocates against tobacco use. “Peer influence is a strong motivator in this age group,” Wood said. “Kids acting and speaking against tobacco use will serve as positive role models for other children.”
Each year, Tar Wars reaches approximately 500,000 fourth- and fifth-grade students nationwide. Since its inception in 1988, the Tar Wars program has been implemented in all 50 states, as well as internationally, and has reached more than 8 million children worldwide, with volunteer presenters delivering the Tar Wars message to students.
About the Project
