Red Ribbon Week to start Monday
By Donnie A. Lucas
The 2020 Red Ribbon Campaign to educate students and the general public about drug and alcohol abuse is set for next week, Oct. 26-30, with events at both local school campuses.
This is the 32nd year that Albany ISD and the Albany Task Force on Drug and Alcohol Abuse has sponsored the week-long campaign that is held in conjunction with the national effort.
The theme for 2020 is “Be Happy, Be Brave, Be Drug Free.”
The five-day observance includes dress-up theme days at both campuses, along with a poster contest at the elementary school and door decorations at the secondary campus.
Secondary counselor Jenny Scott announced that the door decoration contest is being revived again this year, with competition between classrooms for a top prize of a pizza party.
“We tried something different last year but decided to bring back the door contest this year,” she said.
At the elementary campus, students will be able to compete in a poster contest, with all entries due Friday, Oct. 30. The competition will be divided into four groups, with prizes being awarded to winners in each division.
Students in Pre-Kindergarten, Early Childhood and Kindergarten will compete in the first group, followed by a pairing of first and second grades, third and fourth, and fifth and sixth for the other three divisions.
The first place winner in each group will be awarded a prize of $25, followed by second place with $15 and third place with $10.
Dress-up Days
Students at both campuses will follow the same dress-up themes for each day of the week starting Monday with the wearing of a crazy or favorite hat for “Put a Cap on Drugs.”
Tuesday will be twin day for “Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Drugs,” while Wednesday will be nerd day for “We Are Too Smart For Drugs.”
Thursday’s theme will be all black Halloween attire for “Drugs Are Scary! Black Out Drugs.”
The theme for Friday is “Team Up Against Drugs,” with students asked to wear a favorite team jersey or red for the Albany Lions.
Students on both campuses will also receive daily tokens such as stickers, actual red ribbons, pencils, and other items designed to encourage abstinence from drug and alcohol use.
Background Info
The first Red Ribbon campaign was organized in 1986 by a grass roots organization of parents dedicated to protecting communities from the destruction caused by alcohol and drug abuse.
The red ribbon was adopted as a symbol of the movement in honor of Enrique Camarena, an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration kidnapped and killed while investigating drug traffickers.
According to redribbon.org, children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those who don’t, yet only a quarter of teens report having these conversations.
The Red Ribbon organization recommends that parents talk with their children about drug abuse prevention, take a pledge to avoid drug abuse, and lock up any prescription drugs.
