OUR
JOURNEY

      Started in June 2023 by Modesto High School junior Sabrina Toor, Creation4Cessation began in Modesto, California. Upon noticing significant vaping usage at her high school and seeing the impact of smoking in her community, Sabrina wanted to start a local smoking cessation initiative focused on high school aged youth. After being inspired by a story from a family friend about how a creative poster prevented her teenage daughter from smoking, who was otherwise involved in other self-destructive habits, she decided that art would be the means of promoting the message. Ultimately, if one person was profoundly impacted by art in this way, why couldn’t others?  

      The goal of Creation4Cessation is to promote smoking cessation through art among middle and high school students. Creation4Cessation focuses on spreading the importance of smoking cessation through “artivism.” Artivism is the blend of art and activism, using creative expression to challenge social issues and inspire change.

      With the support of Mayor of Modesto Sue Zwahlen, the Stanislaus County Office of Education, the Boys and Girls Club, we have been able to expand our influence throughout Stanislaus County, California.  

      Since our founding,  we have held an art exhibition, where students across the county submitted pieces relating to smoking cessation; participated in city wide-events to establish our presence in the community; participated in the District 13 Congressional Art Exhibition, in which one of our pieces won third place;  and participated in the PHAST (Protecting Health and Slamming Tobacco) Healthy Living Workshop. We are planning several more events in the near future.​