The Barrie Fiske Youth Leadership Fund supports our efforts to foster a new generation of young leaders and advocates to fight for change and end the tobacco epidemic.
Specifically the fund:
Recognizes and promotes exceptional youth leaders through the annual Barrie Fiske National Youth Advocate of the Year Award.
Invests in young people from backgrounds and communities that are most impacted to challenge the health inequities caused by tobacco.
Provides youth with advocacy and leadership skills, including through annual Symposium trainings that include advocacy, media and public speaking, meetings with elected officials and more.
Supports a comprehensive network that enables youth leaders to connect, share ideas and build their own lifelong advocacy support community.
Participates in national, state and local campaigns across the country to finish the job of creating a tobacco-free generation and counter the threat posed both by traditional tobacco products and new products like flavored e-cigarettes that are flooding the markets.
A Legacy of Impact
Barrie Fiske was a tireless tobacco control champion committed to using her strong voice to fight for change. Born with cystic fibrosis, Barrie faced a real threat to her health whenever exposed to secondhand smoke. Rejecting smoke-filled places that put her and everyone else at risk, Barrie spoke up and advocated for everyone’s right to breathe clean, smoke-free air, joining Tobacco-Free Kids as a New York State Advocate and a member of our Board of Directors.
Barrie’s passion, persistence, creativity and unapologetically hard-hitting style never failed to inspire. While cystic fibrosis ultimately took her life in June of 2019, we honor Barrie’s legacy by naming our highest youth award after her – the Barrie Fiske National Youth Advocate of the Year Award. We can think of no better way to honor Barrie and her deep commitment to our cause than to hold up her fierce example to the young advocates we recognize each year.
Thanks to a generous challenge gift of $250,000 during our 25th Anniversary celebration, the Barrie Fiske Youth Leadership Fund is providing the foundational funding to take our Youth Advocacy program to the next level.
The “Barrie Fund” will become a permanent part of what we do and who we are, and the youth leaders who receive the Barrie Fiske National Youth Advocate of the Year Award will create a legacy to Barrie and the values she exemplified.
Have you ever felt like you ever felt like you didn’t have what it takes to make a real difference? If you have, I understand completely. For the longest time, I felt too small to speak up. I didn’t think that anyone would take me seriously. But in 2018 at age 16, I spoke at the U.S. Surgeon General’s press conference addressing the youth e-cigarette epidemic. Not only was I able to meet a few of our country’s leaders, but I also had a national platform to share my perspective with the people who ultimately make the decisions that affect the health of my generation. I truly wouldn’t be the person I am today without the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. I tell other young people to use your voice because it will carry further than you can possibly imagine — even if it shakes.
– SARAH RYAN,
2019 BARRIE FISKE NATIONAL YOUTH ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR
When I went to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids symposium in 2019, I wasn’t feeling very sure of myself. After the first couple of meetings with Florida representatives I began getting discouraged because we weren’t making progress. But Congressman Darren Soto took the time to listen to me. I followed up by email and a couple of months later he agreed to cosponsor the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act, legislation that would prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, ban online sales of most tobacco products, extend tobacco product marketing restrictions to e-cigarettes and fund critical tobacco prevention and cessation initiatives. When I got his message, I started crying – all of my hard work wasn’t for nothing. I now have the letter framed in my room. My advocacy work is only just beginning.
– ALLYSSA WILLIAMS,
2020 BARRIE FISKE NATIONAL YOUTH ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR
