January 2014 Update

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the holidays and your year has started out great!For those I haven't met yet, I am Natalie Cullen and I'm excited to be the new Grassroots Manager for Connecticut. I started working with the American Cancer Society a year and a half ago as a Community Executive, working with three college Relay For Life events and one community event. In my new role I will be working closely with our advocacy volunteers, ACS staff and elected officials on all state and federal ACS CAN public policy efforts.The short 2014 legislative session kicks off in Hartford on February 5 and will provide many opportunities to positively impact those touched by cancer. From Palliative Care to Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation, Affordable Care Act Implementation to protecting funding for vital cancer programs, there are no shortages of issues we will be working on. We hope you'll help us out in 2014!SAVE THE DATE!The 2014 ACS CAN Connecticut Lobby Day will be TUESDAY, APRIL 1 from 8:30-2pm in the Old Judiciary Room of the State Capitol. We will once again storm the statehouse, meeting with legislators to remind them to keep cancer a top priority. More information will follow in the days and weeks ahead and we hope to see you in Hartford on April 1!Tobacco UpdateLast Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General's report on smoking and health. That 1964 report forever changed Americans' understanding of the deadly consequences of smoking and was a historic turning point in the nation's fight against tobacco use. In the coming days, the Surgeon General will release a new, updated report on tobacco use and we are looking to work with volunteers on submitting letters to the editor of their local papers to celebrate this important milestone and encourage increased support of tobacco use prevention and cessation policies and programs. Please let me know if you are interested in having your voice heard on this critical issue.On January 24 the MATCH Coalition will be presenting an informational forum on tobacco prevention and control in 2014 at the Legislative Office Building. MATCH will be exploring new trends in the industry, new products, taxation issues, and the cost of tobacco use to the state. Additionally MATCH will be Honoring Senator Richard Blumenthal for his years of work on tobacco use cessation efforts in Connecticut and Washington. It will be held January 24, with a snow date of January 31, from 9:30am-11:30am at the Legislative of Building Room 1A. Please RSVP to me at [email protected], if you plan on attending. See invite for additional information.Monthly Advocacy MeetingPlease join us for our monthly advocacy meetings. Meetings are held the last Tuesday of the month at 6:00pm in our Rocky Hill office. Anyone that is unable to make the meeting can join us by phone. Please RSVP to me at [email protected] if you plan on attending. This month's meeting will be Monday, January 28 at 6:00pm. 2014 is going to be an exciting year! I look forward to working with you!-Natalie CullenConnecticut, Grassroots Manager