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Community Activists Honored at HRiA's Annual Meeting
Melanie McFadyen leads a chant during a rally as part of the 2010 Kick Butts Day activities in Boston.
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January 26, 2011
Health Resources in Action recognized two leaders at its annual meeting for their commitment to improving community health. Melanie McFadyen, a high school senior from Stoughton, and Meena Carr, a community activist in Roslindale, were given HRiA's 2011 Community Champion Award for their anti-tobacco work.
When Melanie McFadyen first became involved with The 84--a statewide youth tobacco prevention movement managed by HRiA and funded by the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program--she was seen as a committed, if shy young woman. That impression changed forever last spring during the planning for Kick Butts Day, a major anti-tobacco event in Boston, when McFadyen approached HRiA's Brittany Chen with an idea.
"She told me that instead of writing a speech, she had written a rap," Chen, a project manager who works on The 84, recalls. McFadyen went on to perform the rap in front of more than 150 people on the Boston Common as she led the group to the Statehouse to rally for strong tobacco control policies.
McFadyen's passion stems from the loss of her grandfather, who died as a result of cigarette smoking, and the belief that no family should lose a member to tobacco use. She helped establish an 84 Chapter at Stoughton High School and is also the president of its Students Against Drunk Diving (SADD) chapter.
Meena Carr found motivation in her grandson. A longtime resident of the Washington Beech housing development in Roslindale, Carr noticed that his asthma was exacerbated when he came to visit, the result of secondhand smoke in her building.
In 2009, Carr lead the HRiA-funded Washington Beech Resident Task Force, conducting extensive outreach, surveys, and education around the issue of secondhand smoke. The task force won the overwhelming support of residents to make the development smoke-free.
Washington Beech went smoke-free in 2010, the first development in the Boston Housing Authority's (BHA) to ban smoking. The policy will be expanded to all BHA properties starting in 2012, testament to Carr's work.
"Through their efforts to bring about meaningful change, both of this year’s community champions have made significant contributions to improving the health of their communities," said Ray Considine, president of HRiA.
When Melanie McFadyen first became involved with The 84--a statewide youth tobacco prevention movement managed by HRiA and funded by the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program--she was seen as a committed, if shy young woman. That impression changed forever last spring during the planning for Kick Butts Day, a major anti-tobacco event in Boston, when McFadyen approached HRiA's Brittany Chen with an idea.
"She told me that instead of writing a speech, she had written a rap," Chen, a project manager who works on The 84, recalls. McFadyen went on to perform the rap in front of more than 150 people on the Boston Common as she led the group to the Statehouse to rally for strong tobacco control policies.
McFadyen's passion stems from the loss of her grandfather, who died as a result of cigarette smoking, and the belief that no family should lose a member to tobacco use. She helped establish an 84 Chapter at Stoughton High School and is also the president of its Students Against Drunk Diving (SADD) chapter.
Meena Carr found motivation in her grandson. A longtime resident of the Washington Beech housing development in Roslindale, Carr noticed that his asthma was exacerbated when he came to visit, the result of secondhand smoke in her building.
In 2009, Carr lead the HRiA-funded Washington Beech Resident Task Force, conducting extensive outreach, surveys, and education around the issue of secondhand smoke. The task force won the overwhelming support of residents to make the development smoke-free.
Washington Beech went smoke-free in 2010, the first development in the Boston Housing Authority's (BHA) to ban smoking. The policy will be expanded to all BHA properties starting in 2012, testament to Carr's work.
"Through their efforts to bring about meaningful change, both of this year’s community champions have made significant contributions to improving the health of their communities," said Ray Considine, president of HRiA.
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