T-SHIRT EXCHANGES, T-SHIRT CUT UP DAYS, AND T-SHIRTS

 We do lots of things to prepare for t-shirt exchanges in local parks. Tonya Paul, a photographer from the Mercury-Register, took this picture of some of us practicing making balloon creations.

We exchange Venture Club t-shirts for those which have alcohol or tobacco ads on them.

We exchange t-shirts at community celebrations.

We help out in other ways at the events too.  Here, Michael Whitely, a photographer from the Mercury-Register, took a picture of two members presenting local law enforcement officers and firefighters with Certificates of Appreciation.

We have been at teen fairs too.

Here are a couple of pictures David Nielsen, Chief Photographer from the Mercury-Register, took of us practicing face painting.

We help children with craft projects.

We hand out "tobacco free" pencils too. When we help children make masks, 

we make some samples.

 It is fun to help children in our community.

We line the exchanged t-shirts so they can be cut up in squares.

For years, we cut up the t-shirts we'd collected one day at school.

Each year, the cut up t-shirts would almost fill a basket.

Many members were interviewed by a local TV station to tell about the annual event.

Then, we hot glued the t-shirt pieces to chicken wire to make a pro-health message during the summer.

One member designed a tobacco free t-shirt which said, "I ride the rail and don't inhale." We had 100 screen printed and donated them to a local teen skate group.