TEEN VOLUNTEER HAS THE COURAGE TO TACKLE TOBACCO ABUSE

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Nysa Banerjee. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Nysa Banerjee loves to breathe the fresh air.

The 17-year-old high school student didn’t get that opportunity every time she walked into the school bathroom, however. A hotspot for tobacco and vaping, the school bathrooms became a place Nysa would avoid walking into because of the clouds of smoke. When she saw a flyer for CourAGE, a youth-led coalition focused on substance abuse prevention in Contra Costa County, she thought maybe it would help make a difference in her school.

Fast forward a few years, and the impact of Nysa’s volunteer work with CourAGE is immeasurable. A tireless advocate for tobacco use prevention, Nysa works tirelessly to educate other young people about the dangers of substance use. That means creating lively media campaigns like “Under (Peer) Pressure” and “Let’s Tackle Tobacco and Vanquish Vaping!” Students submitted videos, campaigns and artwork featuring refusal strategies, providing creative ways to stay healthy. Nysa has also taken her experience to the city level, working to advocate for a tobacco retail license ordinance at city councils in Brentwood and Hercules. The Brentwood effort was so successful that a law was passed banning tobacco retail stores from operating within 500 feet of youth-oriented establishments, therefore helping to prevent them from selling to underage people.

One of Nysa’s favorite events is speaking at the annual Teens Tackle Tobacco Conference, where the organization hosts an interactive workshop for middle and high school students from a variety of Bay Area counties about tobacco and other substance-related issues. Nysa provides advice and help to the kids and trains them to go back to their own schools and educate their own friends about tobacco use prevention. Wherever she goes, she gives her time to spread the message about the dangers of tobacco and other dangerous substances. Through her volunteer work, Nysa has blossomed into a leader in her community, and she’s teaching the next generation how to do the same thing.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

In middle school, my school had a really big issue with tobacco and vaping. It was a huge issue with the bathrooms. I would avoid going into the bathrooms because of how bad it was. Then freshman year, I saw a flyer about the CourAGE Youth Coalition, and they mentioned something about the bathrooms that resonated with me. I was like, okay, let me see if this helps make an impact at my school. So I researched it a bit. CourAGE is a group that talks about tobacco, alcohol, prescription meds and marijuana. I decided that volunteering with it could make a difference, so I joined.

What inspires you to volunteer?

I think it’s the idea that it actually makes an impact, and that I know that I’m making my community better. It’s different when there’s an actual problem that you know you can solve. I think it’s important when there’s an issue that’s apparent in your community, and that’s what it was for me: there’s a problem that I could help solve in my high school career before I leave for college.

Tell us about your volunteer role with the CourAGE Youth Coalition.

I’m participating in different events and creating presentations to give to freshmen, middle schoolers and other high schoolers, educating them about the dangers of tobacco and other substances. I also help run events such as county-wide media contests that promote tobacco prevention. I also speak in front of city councils. We choose one mission we want to do. Recently, it was getting a tobacco retail license. I went to Brentwood and Hercules, and talked in front of the city council, asking them to do that. It worked for Brentwood. I believe that a law was passed banning tobacco retail stores within 500 feet of youth-oriented establishments, directly preventing them from selling to underage people.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

I want to continue with this tobacco retail license mission, and hope that everywhere, every city can have the idea that people should not be selling to underage students. I also want to continue presenting at the Teens Tackle Tobacco Conference every year because it reaches so many people, so many students in middle and high school, and gives them refusal strategies and educates them on how dangerous it is. These people go back to their own schools to help make this difference.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

When I hear about results, or I think it’s super cool when kids feel super passionate about what they’re doing. For example, when we have a media contest, I get to review the submissions. It makes me so happy to see young people, even just like 13 to 14-year-olds, already so educated about the issue and already passionate about making a change in their community. When I see them knowledgeable about all this information, I feel really proud, and I feel like the younger generation is starting to realize the negative effects.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

I learned that change doesn’t come fast. It’s actually pretty slow, but it’s important to stick with it because in the long term, it will make a difference. You have to remember the general mission. I’m aiming for all bathrooms that are filled with smoke and people vaping will eventually be reclaimed. It’s okay if that’s a slow process, as long as it’s one bathroom at a time.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

The key is to start small. If you want to start volunteering, start thinking about what you want to volunteer for. What are you passionate about? Volunteer work never has to be a huge thing. It never has to be immediately moving mountains. You can just start by starting small. Maybe join a club or see who needs help with anything. The smallest impact still matters. Starting is just the hard part. If you’re passionate about it and you start doing it often, it just goes from there.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

I want people to learn that a small goal can take you far. It’s important to have goals for what you can do for your community. I think I want people to know that any change or service creates a real impact, and any community service is something that should be really valued.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Nysa?Find local volunteer opportunities.