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Health & Fitness

Celebrate Red Ribbon Week

By Carolina Sosa

“A Healthy Me is Drug Free.” That’s this year’s official Red Ribbon Week national theme and one that certainly speaks to us at the Unified Prevention Coalition (UPC) Youth Council, a diverse group of leaders from different Fairfax County high schools who strive to make prevention healthy and fun! 

Red Ribbon Week, if you don’t know, is a nationally recognized week that takes place every Oct. 23-31 and is celebrated in many of our schools as a way to raise awareness about the dangers of drugs and alcohol use among youth. Our Youth Council supports Red Ribbon Week by reaching out to send positive drug-free messages to our younger peers in middle school.

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This past spring, Youth Council members helped plan and implement a prevention conference focusing on healthy alternatives to stress and alcohol use. This conference was targeted to middle school students and their parents. We made it fun and interactive, and the students were deeply engaged. Although the conference was a huge success, Fairfax County has around 28,000 middle school students and one conference was not enough for us. We had to do more.  

We asked ourselves “If we were able to make a difference for 200 middle school students in just one day, how many students could we help in one special Red Ribbon Week?”

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Last year, Youth Council members celebrated the week by distributing to each FCPS middle school banners UPC had purchased with the 2012 theme: “The Best Me is Drug Free.” This year, we decided to take a more personal approach and create our own prevention material.

We designed creative and humorous posters using animal themes with phrases such as “Pugs Not Drugs”  and “Reach High Above the Influence” to aid students in their decision to be drug free. The posters were printed this summer. At our most recent Youth Council meeting, we distributed packets containing these posters and other prevention information to our members who then hand-delivered them to their local middle schools to be used to promote Red Ribbon Week.

Many FCPS elementary and middle schools use Red Ribbon Week to kick off their annual drug awareness programs. Our high school Youth Council members remember how in middle school students are vulnerable when it comes to peer pressure and risk taking. During these transitions years, it is vital for them to understand the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. 

Even though there are many resources out there for students, they aren’t always effective. We didn’t want to hear long lectures of what not to do. We didn’t want to read detailed and confusing pamphlets. Because it is so easy to get bored and distracted, the Youth Council chose to go visual, witty, and use short messages.

Although we have only recently started, our council has already made an impact. From raising awareness, earning grants, talking to legislators and most recently connecting with youth, we are consistently improving our communities. Youth Council members not only value leadership and service, but also strive to be good role models. Each of us wants to leave our communities better than how we found it, and for that reason, we believe that it our duty to set a precedent.

Even though Youth Council membership is only open to high school students, we invite middle school students to attend our meetings and get a better feel for what we do. In addition, the Youth Council wants to be an active resource to youth and support their prevention efforts. You can reach us through Samara Kimmelman, our UPC Youth Council Coordinator, at skimmelman@upcfairfax.org.

You also can see our posters or download them for your school or organization by going to the UPC website.  Remember: Prevention can be fun, and it leads to great things…youth who are healthy and drug-free!

Carolina Sosa is a Westfield High School student and is vice president of the Youth Council of the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County.

The Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County is a nonprofit organization with more than 50 community partners working together to keep youth and young adults safe and drug-free. Visit www.unifiedpreventioncoalition.org and www.facebook.com/unifiedpreventioncoalition. Follow the group on Twitter at www.twitter.com/keepyouthsafe.

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