Mini-Grant Funds Anti-Smoking Skits

Oni Adams looked out at the group of preschoolers at the South Oxnard Child Development Center and asked them what they had learned from the short program they had just seen.

“No smoking!” called a small voice.

Adams handed the child a sticker and suddenly children were yelling “No smoking!” and little hands were reaching for more stickers.

Adams’ theatrical group Deep Image recently received a $3,500 mini-grant to put on the anti-smoking programs. The group’s goal is to use skits to educate schoolchildren about the dangers of cigarette smoking, especially within the African American community. Deep Image has been staging performances on black history for some time. Adams said that she and her partner, a local artist, decided to take on the anti-tobacco issue because they felt that African Americans were not represented in the fight.

The group, which has trained about 12 high school students as performers, began working on the anti-smoking project in July, and presented their first skits in September.

Adams said the grant money, administered by the Tri-Counties African American Chamber of Commerce, will be used to reimburse her performers for some of their expenses and to buy additional costumes.

“My big concern was now we can give back something to the kids,” Adams said about the grant, which was funded by the California Department of Health Services through the African American Tobacco Education Network.