NATIONAL FAMILY PARTNERSHIP'S 27TH ANNUAL YOUTH DRUG PREVENTION CAMPAIGN: "THE BEST ME IS DRUG FREE™”
- Ten schools from across the U.S. will each win $1,000 grant for drug prevention -
- Ten families will each win an iPad for their home -
Watch this video for families to see how easy it is to enter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_8oR6zAGhHA
The National Family Partnership® (NFP) announced today that the national contest for its 27th annual Red Ribbon Week® has been extended one more week, due to Hurricane Sandy. This means parents and students nationwide have more time to enter the contest (the original entry deadline was November 2nd). The online voting period has also been extended by a week, and is now rescheduled for November 10th-24th.
Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. In 1985 after the murder of a DEA agent, parents, youth and teachers in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the destruction caused by drugs. This year, families can get involved by entering a contest to promote awareness in their neighborhoods and win a drug prevention grant for their schools. The odds of winning are good because families can generate their own online votes from friends, colleagues, schoolmates and family members (and the entries with the most votes win).
To participate in the contest families and students will decorate the front of their homes with this year's message: "The Best Me Is Drug FreeTM." Here’s how students and their families can enter to win $1,000 for their local K-12 school and a new iPad for their home:
Students bring the Red Ribbon Week® message home by working alongside parents to decorate their front door, mailbox, fence, etc. with this year’s theme “The Best Me Is Drug Free™.”
Take a photo with the family and their Red Ribbon Week® decoration, then upload by Nov. 9th to www.redribbon.org/contest or www.facebook.com/RedRibbonWeek (must be parents or 18+ to upload photos).
The voting begins! Ask family and friends to vote for your entry at www.redribbon.org/vote Nov. 10th-24th. Ten lucky winners from regions across the U.S. will win. Winners will be announced at events at their winning schools in December.
“The National Family Partnership has extended the entry deadline for our national prevention awareness contest due to Hurricane Sandy, so that students will have more time to take Red Ribbon Week’s® message home to their neighborhoods with this national contest,” said the NFP’s Volunteer President Peggy Sapp. “By decorating their homes together with this year’s Red Ribbon theme, families carry the message to their communities. By extending the online voting period too, families will be able to discuss these important issues at home during Thanksgiving.”
The nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention campaign reaches more than 80 million people nationwide.
The DEA is co-sponsoring this year’s national contest. "DEA is excited to partner with the National Family Partnership® on this contest that empowers communities to come together to talk about the drug problem,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “Red Ribbon Week® is also when we honor DEA Special Agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena, who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our communities safe.”
Adds the NFP’s Peggy Sapp: “Take the Red Ribbon Week® pledge across America to help children grow up safe, healthy and drug free.” Visit www.redribbon.org/contest for contest information.
About the NFP and Red Ribbon Week®
The NFP 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, reaching 80 million people. NFP created the campaign in response to the 1985 abduction and murder of DEA agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena.