To the Editor:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our community partners in sharing the 2015 theme for Red Ribbon Week which is "Respect Yourself Be Drug Free."

Red Ribbon Week is a national drug prevention campaign that began back in 1988 as a result of the death of a DEA agent. Today the Red Ribbons displayed during the last week of October serve as a catalyst to engage and mobilize youth and their communities to participate in drug prevention activities.

We asked the schools in Souhegan Valley to partner with us and promote Red Ribbon Week in their schools – they did! All of the middle and high schools took this opportunity to provide specific activities for their students (our children) to engage in and the messaging the students came up with far exceeded our expectations.

Milford High Students once again took the civic route and received permission from the Milford selectmen to decorate the Milford Oval with red ribbons and fliers. Window on West Street students wore ribbons while serving the community and planted tulip bulbs outside the restaurant.

Amherst Middle School had numerous doors decorated by students, many of which had very specific facts relative to substance use and were quite creative in their messaging.

Milford Middle School students created posters to be displayed in their cafeteria and many staff members wore red ribbons; they also made rings of pledges.

Hollis Brookline Middle School students created a wall of pledges and SRO Bergeron provided a presentation relative to substance use issues to the students.

Hollis Brookline High School students created a pledge bulletin board and also held an "awareness walk" with their students.

There were many other activities promoting prevention of alcohol and other drug use that were conducted in the schools as well.

We would also like to recognize those business/community organizations that participated and/or promoted the "Respect Yourself Be Drug Free" message during Red Ribbon Week. Those include the Milford selectmen, Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley, Hampshire Hills Sports & Fitness Club, and many business members along Route 101A.

The culminating event was the Prayer Vigil held on November 1st on the Milford Oval. It was incredibly inspiring to have the faith community involved in this effort and the people that came out to participate. This was a great collaborative effort and we were thrilled with the results.

Community Action for Safe Teens (CAST) greatly appreciates the efforts of all those involved. Please visit our Facebook page to see pictures of the activities and signs that were posted around town. It was very encouraging to see the messages around town and the connections that were made between the schools and community with this positive messaging. Thank you and we are looking forward to next year’s campaign!

If you would like to learn more about how you can help prevent youth alcohol and other drug use please join us at a coalition meeting, visit our website at www.castnh.org or contact us at cast@svbgc.org. CAST, a committee of the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley, meets on the second Wednesday of each month. The mission of CAST is to prevent substance use and promote healthy choices among youth in Souhegan Valley.

Monica Gallant
Coordinator
Community Action for Safe Teens