Photo by Mickey Krakowski ©1997

By making one local phone call, you'll plant the seed with a likely sponsor for bringing Patrick Reynolds to speak to youth at local schools or colleges. Below are suggestions for who to call, and what to say. It's easy! You might wish to print this page out, and keep it handy -- or just make a call now! Thanks for making a difference in your community.

Choose one of the sponsors below, and place a call to them.

1. Perhaps the best funding source for both Patrick Reynolds' youth talk and his university program is hospitals. Call one and ask for the Community Relations Director. The Marketing Director is also a good bet. These executives often sponsor Mr. Reynolds' talks, as a bridge-builder to their local community. Usually they will invite local press and benefit from the goodwill generated. Some have chosen to turn Mr. Reynolds' appearance into an event, by busing in 2,000 or 3,000 students from other local schools to hear him speak. Others have toured him for several days, through schools in several counties.
   
   
2. A second funding possibility is your local tobaccofree coalition. The American Cancer Society branch in your city can give you their phone number. Local anti-smoking coalitions are frequent organizers and contributors to Mr. Reynolds' talks.
   
   
3. County health departments in States that have set aside tobacco education funding will often sponsor the full cost of his talk at middle and high schools. To see whether your State has some funding, click here and then click on the map of the US. If your State comes up in red, green, or orange, there may be funding available.
   
   Call your county public health department, and ask for the tobacco prevention coordinator. Talking points are below. See our more detailed cosponsor ideas for additional information, but, depending on the availability of funds, your local county health department could be the best call to make for his youth talk.
   
   
4. Colleges Call a local college, and ask for the Student Activities Director. They often have funds available for guest lecturers, or can at least provide an auditorium. Also talk to the student lecture chairperson, who makes the final decision about booking guest speakers. Click here for info on the college talk.

Photo by Mickey Krakowski This well known tobacco prevention speaker has delivered his powerful motivational talk to thousands of children and teens. These are the critical years: after age 19, almost no one takes up the smoking habit. Additional sponsor ideas

Talking points Let your enthusiasm show — it's catching! Say you have an excellent speaker you'd like to bring in to the community to speak in middle and high schools. Tell them it's Patrick Reynolds, the grandson of tobacco company founder R.J. Reynolds, who turned his back on the family tobacco business after losing his father to smoking. Mention that his talk receives very positive local media coverage. This will build community goodwill, and bring the message to the wider community. Give them our phone number, 800-541-7741, and the web page, www.tobaccofree.org/infopack. Suggest they may wish to print out the information there. Cost For two middle or high school assemblies, the fee is $3,000, plus travel expenses from Los Angeles. Additional talks are $1500 each. For a college / community lecture, the cost is $3950 for one 90 minute program, about half of which is Q&A. These rates are for schools or non-profits only. Pending availability, Mr. Reynolds can go on tour for several days. Click here for additional cost details. If time permits, read them a quote from our page, What past clients say. Ask if they would like for you to send them an email about your idea. If so, get their email and send them this link, or just leave it on their answering machine: www.tobaccofree.org/infopack. Also, leave our phone number, (800) 541-7741. If you need a cover letter to email, copy the top of our www.tobaccofree.org/infopack9.html page; it has a good cover letter to paste into your email. Add a note at the top, asking them to circulate your email.

Thank you! We acknowledge your caring, and are grateful for your phone call. By educating our youth early about smoking, we can make a real difference in their lives. We're all fighting on the same team, for the same goal. Mr. Reynolds' closing promise and vision in all his talks is that we will have a smokefree society in the 21st century. Thank you for helping to make that dream come true.