Approximately 74,000 American lives were lost in 2017 to drug overdose – more deaths than from gun violence or vehicle crashes. In an effort to prevent drug use while educating youth, the National Family Partnership (NFP), invites families and schools across America to participate in its 8th Annual National Red Ribbon Week Photo Contest featuring this year’s Red Ribbon theme, “Life Is Your Journey. Travel Drug Free®”. The contest, which is co-sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will be held in conjunction with the 33rd Annual National Red Ribbon Week (October 23-31, 2018). Photo contest entries are accepted until November 1. This year, $20,000 will be awarded to schools in five regions across the country and 20 individual/family winners will receive an iPad.
“Red Ribbon Week and the Red Ribbon Photo Contest are about creating environmental change,” said NFP President Peggy Sapp. “With the current opioid epidemic, it is absolutely necessary to take steps to educate children and families about the prevention of addiction – while promoting safe, healthy and drug free environments for children. The Red Ribbon Photo Contest encourages adults to talk to the children in their lives about making healthy choices. It’s experiential learning and it’s fun.”
“I have a family member who experienced drug addiction and I’ve seen firsthand how it affected his life,” said Christina Esteve, a 2017 winner and mom from Glen Rock, NJ. “This is such a great program because it brings the whole community together for a common good. This contest allowed us to start an important dialogue about how important it is to stay drug free.”
To enter, families must decorate the front of their homes (front door, mailbox or fence) and schools must decorate their campuses with a double-looped red ribbon and the words of this year’s theme: Life Is Your Journey. Travel Drug Free and then snap a photo of their decoration.
Photo entries must be uploaded to RedRibbon.org/contest by November 1 (9:00pm ET). You must be 18 years or older to upload the photo and can do so from any desktop or mobile device. 10 winners (one in each region in both the home and school category) with the most votes will win an iPad for themselves and $1,000 for a K-12 school. 10 additional winners (5 in both home and school categories) will receive judges awards (an ipad for themselves and $1,000 for a K-12 school) for creativity, best use of the theme, most neighborhood/community involvement and more. Watch the explainer video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IujPC8Pjx38&feature=youtu.be
Need inspiration? Watch the reaction of one of the previous young Red Ribbon winners for inspiration and see testimonials from last year’s winners!
THE NATIONAL FAMILY PARTNERSHIP was established in 1980 and is a national leader in drug prevention, education and advocacy. Its mission is to lead our nation’s families and communities in nurturing the full potential of healthy, drug-free youth. Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s largest and oldest drug prevention campaign. NFP created the campaign in response to the 1985 abduction and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In addition to the Red Ribbon Campaign®, NFP sponsors the Lock Your Meds® Campaign to prevent prescription drug abuse. Learn more about Red Ribbon Week at www.redribbon.org and NFP at www.nfp.org.
SOURCE National Family Partnership
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