During 2001 and 2002, Morse Enterprises, a communications and information brokerage company, Silver Spring, Md., worked to pursue a national strategy for tobacco control in minority communities.

In the 1990s, the minority-owned Morse Enterprises, through its National Tobacco Independence Campaign, hosted seven tobacco-control conferences by, for and about minorities, particularly African Americans. As part of its campaign, Morse Enterprises also developed a systemic tobacco-control initiative called the ideaFACTORY.

Key Results

Project staff accomplished the following:

• Established a collaborative agreement between the campaign and other national African-American tobacco-control organizations as well as solid working relationships with the Vietnamese American Mutual Association of Maryland; the Asian American Health Association and Anti-Tobacco Foundation; and the World Chinese League and the Latino Health Initiative.
• Refined and published a booklet describing its tobacco-control strategy, the ideaFactory. The booklet includes material on disseminating science-based information, outreach efforts and online training opportunities.
• Presented an anti-tobacco presentation called "Why Steppers Don't Smoke" at a youth stepping workshop in Washington in October 2001, attended by approximately 125 youth ages 9 to 17 from the District of Columbia's inner-city and surrounding suburbs.

Among other activities accomplished, the project:

• Helped Morse to communicate and consult with tobacco-control stakeholders about ways to re-direct programs, avoid duplication and systemically achieve tobacco-control measures in minority communities.
• Identified barriers and solutions to cooperative work with African-American, Vietnamese, Chinese and Hispanic groups.

Funding

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported Morse Enterprises' work with a contract for $90,164 between October 2001 and November 2002.