Ahead of the Irish Cancer Society’s X-HALE Youth Awards, Kilrush Youthreach and North West Clare Family Resource Centre Youth Club in Ennistymon are looking for local support to help them win the online award on offer at the national event.
Kilrush Youthreach have entered their film project ‘The Other Side’ into the awards while North West Clare Family Resource Centre Youth Club Ennistymon is competing with its film ‘The End of the Line’. The youth groups are calling for public support via online viewing to win one of the top awards on offer.
X-HALE is an initiative of the Irish Cancer Society which aims to empower young people to tackle smoking in their communities and raise awareness about the dangers of smoking among their peers. The X-HALE Youth Awards national showcase event in the Light House Cinema in July will be the finale of months of hard work by youth groups nationwide in preparing short films and projects to encourage young people to be smoke free.
Ahead of the national event which will see the entries judged by an independent judging panel, the youth groups have an opportunity to win the public vote via online viewing on You Tube. Kilrush Youthreach and North West Clare Family Resource Centre Youth Club in Ennistymon are calling on people in Clare to support their entry as they compete for the Online Award. The entry with the most views will win the Online Award as well as a ‘Go Pro’ camera for their group.
Sarah Chadwick, Cancer Prevention Officer at the Irish Cancer Society told The Clare Herald “We are so proud of everything that the young people from Clare have achieved. They have educated themselves about smoking, learned new skills and worked together to create a piece of work that will inform and inspire other young people across Ireland and beyond. They are leading the way in the movement towards a tobacco free society and improving the health of their local communities. We commend their commitment to establishing Ireland’s first smoke free generation. We are asking the public to get behind their local group or favourite entry by watching and sharing the X-HALE 2016 playlist.”
This is the sixth year of the X-HALE Youth Awards and smoking rates among young people continue to decline. In 2016, 33 youth groups from around the country are participating in the initiative. Entries submitted show that young people truly understand the dangers of smoking and the power of the tobacco industry.
To vote for the Clare youth groups simply press play below on each video and click the YouTube icon in the bottom right corner. Voting ends on June 29th.