Current Equity Grant Recipients

Tobacco Prevention Grant (November 2025 -  June 2026)

The Frederick County Health Department awarded grants to organizations to provide tobacco and vaping education programs to the communities they already serve in Frederick County. Funded programs will focus on tobacco and vaping prevention activities, such as educating youth in the community about the dangers of tobacco use, vaping, and electronic smoking devices (ESDs).

2025 Tobacco Youth Prevention Equity Grants Recipients

Below is a list of the grant recipients and a brief description of their projects in their own words.

Grant Recipients:

  1. Asian American Center of Frederick: Asian American Center of Frederick (AACF) will incorporate Youth Tobacco Use Prevention into Existing Outreach that AACF conducts which includes approximately 200 recurring outreach activities annually, including health fairs, school-based events, cultural celebrations, and family workshops. Tobacco and vaping prevention messaging, printed materials, and brief educational engagements will be integrated into these events to reach youth and parents where they already are. AACF will also educate at least 30 certified Community Health Workers (CHW) on youth tobacco use risks and evidence-based prevention strategies. CHWs will use these tools in their daily client interactions, reinforcing prevention messages across multiple neighborhoods, schools, and cultural communities. Last, AACF will deliver specialized, age-appropriate education sessions for youth ages 13–21 at partner organizations.  
  2. Centro Hispano de Frederick: Centro Hispano's project provides coordinated, bilingual (English and Spanish), and developmentally appropriate vaping and tobacco-use prevention for youth across school, family, and community settings. Centro Hispano will deliver a structured health lesson to 6th graders at two middle schools, focusing on the risks of vaping, targeted marketing tactics, and refusal skills, while trained staff use the Botvin LST curriculum to strengthen students’ confidence and decision-making. Prevention messages will be reinforced through bilingual parent mini -sessions embedded in the Éxito after-school program, early-engagement supports for families of Butterfly Ridge and Waverley Elementary students, and short, repeatable modules in the Éxito Spring Break Program addressing media influence, coping strategies, belonging, and peer pressure. Additional reach will come from bilingual digital prevention videos, including youth-led PSAs. All content aligns with Frederick County Health Department and FCPS standards, ensuring consistent, culturally relevant prevention across school, home, and community environments. 
  3. YMCA of Frederick: The YMCA will deliver its YTUP anti-tobacco initiatives through coordinated efforts across Teen Programming, Youth Sports, and YAAC programs to expand awareness and equitable access for Frederick County youth. Workshops at multiple YMCA locations will connect the risks of tobacco and vaping to youths’ interests in sports and arts, while youth-led education sessions and digital campaigns on platforms like Instagram and TikTok will empower teens to share peer-informed prevention messages. Building on volunteer efforts from Teen Summer Serve, the YMCA will continue engaging youth in tobacco-awareness activities and integrate YTUP programming into major events such as Healthy Kids Day and Fall Fest. By offering programs across several sites and throughout the year, the YMCA aims to maximize reach and ensure broad, equitable access to tobacco prevention resources.