As a reminder, tax-deductible donations must be postmarked on or before 12/31/21 to be claimed in the calendar year 2021. The Texas Campaign sends out a donor statement in February to summarize the cumulative total of donations, so please keep your eye out for this letter to assist with your taxes. Remember that raffle purchases and gifts made through third parties such as donor advised funds or Facebook will not be included.

If you need this information sooner, please contact Julia at [email protected]

Betty Draper may have smoked her way through pregnancy on the popular TV series Mad Men, but nowadays, the tide is turning.

Since 2003, birth certificates have reported tobacco use during pregnancy -- and we can see some fascinating trends over time. Mothers in their late teens and early 20s are the most likely to report having smoked at some point during pregnancy. But among 18 and 19-year-old pregnant teens, smoking rates have plummeted from 17% in 2003 to 7% in 2020. The decline has been especially profound in recent years, with a 50% drop in the last decade.

One caveat -- the birth certificate data only look at cigarette smoking, but not vaping, which is rapidly gaining in popularity among young people, and still comes with many health hazards.

Young Adult Consultants:

• Are 18-25 years old with lived experience in foster care
• Collaborate with other young adults from across Texas 
• Commit to 2-3 hours per month during 2022
• Receive a $500 stipend for the year 

Caregiver Consultants:

• Are foster parents, adoptive parents, or other caring adults 
• Commit to 1-2 hours per month during 2022
• Receive a $400 stipend for the year  

If you are interested in participating, please reach out to Sharon Hoefer at [email protected]

The 2021 Young Ambassadors met for the first time in November and will develop their personal goals in the program and project ideas with program staff this month. 

Ann - Sugar Land, Texas 
Ann is the co-founder of Fort Bend Students United for Reproductive Freedom and is passionate about communicating health information to young people. 

Brianna - El Paso, Texas
Brianna’s passion for social work was instilled in her by her family, who taught her the importance of helping others. Her dream is to get her Master’s in Social Work in Minnesota. 

Daniela - El Paso, Texas
Daniela is a proud El Pasoan and loves to help her community flourish. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she hopes to go to law school to pursue a career in family law. 

Dyvia - McAllen, Texas
Dyvia is a high school senior passionate about increasing sexual health resources. She hopes to become a macro social worker to advocate for useful public health policies when she graduates from college. 

Elizabeth - San Antonio, Texas 
Elizabeth is no stranger to collaborating with peers to improve access to equitable healthcare and is the Team Lead of the Youth Advocacy Council at Healthy Futures of Texas.

For more information about the Young Ambassador Program, contact Carolina Salmeron, [email protected], or Ana Belén Zelaya, [email protected] or visit txcampaign.org/about-2/young-ambassadors/.

The Texas Campaign hosted our 3rd TEKS Talk on Wednesday, Dec. 1.

School districts and other community organizations tuned in for the following:

• Recap of the Health Education TEKS updates and textbook adoption
• Next steps for districts
• Options for Health Education curriculum
• Understanding evidence-based sex education programs
• Overview of the iCHAMPSS resource

The Texas Is Ready Coalition (NTARUPT, Healthy Futures of Texas, and the Texas Campaign) met in Austin on Monday, Dec. 13, to continue their strategic planning for 2022.

Exciting things are ahead in the new year!

For a limited time we are offering Texas Campaign sticker magic for anyone who makes a donation before the end of the year.

Thank you for your support and for repping the Texas Campaign!