Healthy Community Initiative

HCI Network Impact Coordinators Ashley Gardner and Emily Culver and the RAVE student leadership team joined other passionate youth advocates from across the Twin Cities at the RAVE Youth Summit in Minneapolis last week — coming together to support Reduction and Awareness of Vaping and E-Cigarette use.

Gardner said the youth members left the summit feeling energized for the 2025-26 school year.

“The summit was a great opportunity for some of last year’s youth to connect with some of next year’s youth. They shared laughs and ideas,” she said.

The student leadership team is made up of middle and high school students from Faribault and Northfield. They identified three highlights of their work in the 2024-2025 school year: the Rice County flavor and menthol ban; successful use of quit kits; and a focus on environmental impact and educational advocacy.

For 2025-26, Gardner said the youth team is interested in expanding its social media presence and potentially working with social media influencers to empower young people to make healthy choices.

RAVE believes it is best practice to amplify the voices of young people, facilitate and create space for authentic youth leadership, center an identity-forward and whole-person approach in prevention and intervention efforts, and find the root of the problem for why young people choose to vape instead of punishing students for engaging in the activity. RAVE sees vaping as a coping mechanism for a bigger problem, not the problem itself.

Learn more about the RAVE efforts we’re making in Rice County or click here for vaping awareness and quitting resources for teens and adults.