Until recently the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina and the surrounding community felt removed from “big city” issues like air pollution. Thanks to the hard work of the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO), citizens are learning about the ground-level ozone problem that exists in their community and ways to eliminate it.

FAMPO began educating community members about the dangers of ground-level ozone and the responsible choices they could make to reduce air pollution in early 2003 after they entered into an Early Action Compact with U.S. EPA. It was also at that time that they became a Community Partner in the It All Adds Up initiative. They used some of the materials to launch their program, and have continued to use them as they sustain it.

A large part of FAMPO’s education campaign involves getting out into the community and speaking with people face-to-face, making the message personal. Throughout the year, it sends representatives to area events like health fairs and county fairs to spread the word about air quality. At all the events they attend, they pass out the It All Adds Up 10 Simple Steps flyers to remind people that even the smallest actions can make a difference. In the last year, they have distributed over 500 flyers.

Because they realize that the more personal their messages are the more likely people will pay attention to them, FAMPO has translated some of their materials—including the 10 Simple Steps brochure—into Spanish. The Fayetteville Area has a Spanish-speaking population of approximately 21,000.

While FAMPO’s education efforts take place year-round, they place particular emphasis on ozone season. In May 2004, they held a poster and essay contest at area elementary schools. Over 700 students entered submissions around the theme of "Planning Today for Clean Air Tomorrow". As the season drew to a close in September, FAMPO organized "Be Aware of Our Air Week." They challenged local citizens to complete specific tasks that contribute to cleaner air and assigned points to each task. Some of the 10 Simple Steps were translated into challenges. The people with the most points were awarded prizes—the grand prize being a new bike and helmet donated by a local bike store. They held a press conference and invited community leaders and local press to kick off the week and worked with area employers, including Fort Bragg, City of Fayetteville, and Cumberland County, to encourage employees to participate. Over 500 residents took part in the challenge.

"I think people here are starting to realize that air quality is not just a big city problem. We have a lot of people doing a lot of little things [to improve air quality]," said Joel Strickland, FAMPO transportation planning assistant.

FAMPO is refurbishing its Web site so it can take full advantage of online communication opportunities. It has posted various It All Adds Up resources, including the seasonal flash animations and a link to the It All Adds Up Web site. It plans to include additional resources and tools. For more information, visit www.fampo.org.

FAMPO is one of nearly 90 It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Community Partners nationwide who are using the initiative’s messages and materials. For more information on the other It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Community Partners, click here.

To view some of their success stories, click here

To become an It All Adds Up Community Partner, visit the How to Join section of the Web site.