The more time that people, especially children, spend in front of TVs and computers the less active and unhealthier they become. It’s a simple but challenging fact, one that The Rapides Foundation is committed to changing, one week at a time.

Through grants funded by the Foundation, Central Louisiana organizations, communities and schools are stepping away from screens for one week and sponsoring healthy activities for adults and children.

A high school program that prepares students for careers in the forest products industry began its fourth year with welcome orientations on Wednesday, Aug. 25. Due to the large number of students enrolled in the program this year, there were two orientation sessions: one at 9:30 a.m. for Allen Parish schools and one at 11 a.m. for Grant, Rapides and Vernon parish schools. Both events were at the RoyOMartin corporate offices in Alexandria.

For most people, watching TV, sending e-mails from cell phones, browsing the Internet and playing video games during the day are routine. But these habits are also unhealthy because time spent in front of a screen is a leading cause of obesity in adults and children.

Through grants funded by The Rapides Foundation, Central Louisiana organizations, communities and schools are stepping away from screens for one week and sponsoring healthy activities for adults and children.

A woman with smoking-related lung disease fears for her life. A young boy longs for the company of his grandpa. A man who lost most of his jaw to throat cancer knows he has to live this way for the rest of his life.

These are just a few of the people to be featured in The Rapides Foundation’s “Faces of Tobacco,” a new campaign that highlights real people who have been affected by tobacco use. The campaign, which runs from February through November, is designed to demonstrate the far-reaching effects of tobacco use.