Red Ribbon Week Activities for Educators

Here are some ideas to make this year's Red Ribbon Week celebration the best yet!

• Use Red Ribbon Week as an opportunity to continue talking to your students about the dangers of drugs.
• Work with the PTSA To Plan a School-Wide Red Ribbon Rally.
• Tell your students to enter the Red Ribbon Photo Contest for a chance to win an iPad for the student and his/her family - and $1,000 for your school.
• Use our social media tips to post Red Ribbon Week messages on your Facebook , Twitter and Instagram accounts.
• Encourage your students to take a stab at creating the 2024 National Red Ribbon Theme. Gain national recognition and $500 of Red Ribbon theme merchandise for your school. This year’s theme is “Life Is A Movie, Film Drug Free.™” submitted by Cheryl Holsapfel, Digital Art Teacher, and Devansh Aggarwal from Solon Middle School.
• Access Natural High’s free celebrity drug prevention program, share celebrity videos in your classroom and use their free Common Core Standards-based curriculum to inspire a conversation with your students.
• Talk to parents and students about securing and taking inventory of their home medicine cabinets to prevent prescription drug abuse.
• Write an article about the importance of Red Ribbon Week in your school's Parent Newsletter.
• Contact a local governmental official about declaring October 23rd-31st Red Ribbon Week in your community.
• Plan fun celebration days during Red Ribbon Week, such as Wear Red Day, Put A Cap On Drugs (Hat Day), Put A Sock On Drugs Day, Be On A Drug Free Team Day (Wear Your Favorite Team Gear), Shade Out Drugs Day (Wear Sunglasses), etc.
• Organize essay contests incorporating this year's theme: 
• Sign the Red Ribbon Pledge.
• Decorate the interior and exterior of your school.
• Organize a Miles of Quarters Campaign to support prevention.
• Organize Door Decorating Contests.
• Invite parents and families to a special health fair or education program.
• Plan a Walk Out On Drugs Walk-a-thon.
• Create a banner and ask all students, faculty and parents to sign it, pledging to be drug free.
• Have high school sign red construction paper strips to encourage middle school youth to be drug free. Make the strips into a chain and hang it up in the middle school lobby for the youth to see with a sign stating that the high school students encourage them to not use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. (Contributed by Susan Foster - add your best activity below to be added to our list!)
• Encourage your food services department to serve meals made of healthy, red-colored food. (Contributed by the Milton Community Youth Coalition in Vermont)
• Check out what other prevention organizations are offering to make your Red Ribbon Week the most impactful yet at www.redribbon.org/resources
• Send Us Your Best Idea. We'll filter out the best and add them to this list!

WANT MORE? DOWNLOAD THE 2024 RED RIBBON PLANNING GUIDE