SOL Project Wins $100,000 National NIH Award for Reducing Menthol Tobacco Use
by Kimberly Bankston-Lee, Executive Director @ The SOL Project
SACRAMENTO, CA — Saving Our Legacy (also called the SOL Project) has won a major national award! The group is one of only 12 organizations in the country to receive $100,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Quit & Thrive Challenge. The award honors the group’s hard work to lower menthol tobacco use and make health fairer for everyone in the Sacramento Valley.
The national contest recognized community programs that help people stop smoking menthol cigarettes. This is especially important in African American communities, which tobacco companies have targeted with heavy advertising for decades. The SOL Project won because of its years of work educating neighbors, leading youth groups, and helping pass laws that ban flavored tobacco and menthol sales in Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Stockton, and Sacramento County.
The SOL Project worked closely with researchers at UC Davis to study local data. They found that flavored tobacco use in the City of Sacramento dropped by nearly 50% after the cities banned those products. The project also showed how flavored tobacco hooks young people and leads to a lifetime of smoking.
Since 2007, the SOL Project has teamed up with churches, youth leaders, and health groups to teach the public about the dangers of menthol. They also worked with major groups like the Greater Sacramento Smoke & Tobacco-Free Coalition, the Tobacco Cessation Policy Research Center (TCPRC) at UC Davis, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Cancer Society and the NAACP to push for healthier communities.
Through neighborhood events, media campaigns, and town halls, the SOL Project got the word out. Programs like “No More Menthol” and booths at local Juneteenth celebrations encouraged residents to speak up against tobacco ads in their neighborhoods.
“This award shows the power of regular people coming together to make their communities healthier,” said Kimberly Bankston-Lee, Executive Director of the SOL Project. “We are proud to stand with our partners, youth leaders, and neighbors who helped pass these laws. We also want to thank UC Davis researchers for helping us apply for this prize.”
The NIH award spotlights the vital work SOL Project is doing to protect future generations from smoking and secondhand smoke. Looking ahead, SOL Project will keep fighting for new health laws and community education. Their ultimate goal is to phase out commercial tobacco sales completely and create healthier, smoke-free communities across the region.
