We Are Here to Help with the Flurry of Back-to-School!

August 15, 2023 – Miami, FL – Back to School, those words create a flurry of emotion in each of us. What are the first words that pop into your mind? What are the first words that pop into your child’s mind? Now is a good time to get in touch with these emotions and talk about them with your child(ren). Keep in mind that these emotions will differ from child to child. We invite you to create a word list for emotions and feelings about going back-to-school. Excited, happy, scared, disappointed, rushed, hurried, overwhelmed, sad, busy, eager (add more or your own). Take this list and ask yourself to describe your feelings about the back-to-school season. Take this same exercise and repeat it with your child(ren). There are no right or wrong answers, this exercise is meant to recognize you and your child’s feelings to stimulate an open conversation!

The National Family Partnership is a parent’s cheerleader, let us know how we can help you.

Happy School Year 2023-2024! May it be your best year yet.

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About the National Family Partnership

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.

What does Red Ribbon mean to you?

Our 2022 Red Ribbon Photo Contest Winners told us their story on their motivation to participate in the 2022 Red Ribbon Photo Contest, co-sponsored by our long standing partner, The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). They were able to tell us how they got their community and kids involved in a fun and safe way to educate and bring awareness about drug prevention. Thank you to Miami Community Newspapers and Alex who edited and produced this heartwarming video about creating hope for future generations through the eye of a camera and photo.

Music: Start by Roa https://soundcloud.com/roa_music1031
Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/3JtVasq Music promoted by Audio Library • Start - Roa (No C..)

RESCHEDULED- The Drug Enforcement Administration will hold its annual National Red Ribbon Rally virtually this year. Our virtual rally will premiere on https://www.dea.gov on October 20, 2022, at 12:00pm PST and be available to share throughout the month of October.

This year’s Red Ribbon Rally features voices from our community and special guests who represent diverse experiences and perspectives on drug prevention and Red Ribbon activism, including youth performances that celebrate living drug-free. The DEA will recognize the 2021 Red Ribbon Photo Contest Winners co-sponsored by National Family Partnership. In addition, we will recognize the elementary, middle, and high school winners of the DEA Red Ribbon Visual Arts Contest, and announce the community groups selected to receive DEA’s 2022 Community Drug Prevention Award.

During Red Ribbon Week, young people in communities and schools across the nation pledge to live drug-free by wearing red ribbons and participating in anti-drug events. Red Ribbon Week is also a time to pay tribute to DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, whose tragic murder led to the creation of the Red Ribbon Campaign. He is the man and hero behind the Red Ribbon Campaign. Today, millions of Americans all over the United States continue to wear red ribbons to symbolize their support for a united, drug-free nation.

Tickets are not required. No need to RSVP.
Spread the word. Everyone is invited.
Click the link below to download the invitation:
https://admin.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/2022-Red-Ribbon-Rally-Invite-2.pdf
Any questions regarding the virtual rally please email: community.outreach@usdoj.gov.

For more information and resources for Red Ribbon Week please visit: https://www.dea.gov/redribbon

Learn how to make a winning video during SAMHSA and DEA Twitter chat

As part of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Red Ribbon Week campaign, DEA and SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention are co-sponsoring the annual Campus Video PSA Contest! The contest is designed to support colleges and universities in promoting the importance of preventing alcohol and drug misuse among college students.

Interested in competing? Join SAMHSA, the DEA’s Campus Drug Prevention initiative, and the larger prevention community for a Twitter chat on Wednesday, September 21, at 2 p.m. ET. During the chat, SAMHSA will share video creation tools, resources, and inspiration to help you create the very best 30- to 60-second video PSA showcasing your campus’s commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle!

This year DEA announced that they will be awarding prizes to first, second, and third place-winning entries to support campus prevention efforts.

• First place will receive $5,000 and a trip for two to NASPA’s Strategies Conference (January 18-21, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri).
• Second place will receive $3,000.
• Third place will receive $1,000.

Follow #AskDEACampus, @SAMHSAgov, and @DEAHQ on Twitter to participate in the conversation. You can learn more about the PSA contest by visiting www.campusdrugprevention.gov/psacontest.

Did you know? Red Ribbon Week was created to honor DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena after he was murdered by drug traffickers in 1985. The week has now become an annual event highlighting the importance of preventing drug misuse in our nation’s schools and communities. Each year from October 23–31, organizations across the U.S. show their commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle by wearing or displaying the Red Ribbon.

Red Ribbon Week is just around the corner, October 23^rd-31^st!

NFP is dedicated to supporting your efforts to bring visibility to our Drug Free Message through the Red Ribbon Campaign. Lots of companies sell RED RIBBON WEEK products but how many of those companies give back to the Red Ribbon Campaign and to all our communities? Only ONE NIMCO, Inc.

Through NFP’s annual Red Ribbon Theme Contest held every fall with winners announced at CADCA, we are linking with thousands of schools and children allowing them and you to tell us the RR Theme. Through NFP’s DEA Photo Contest we give away $25,000 to schools across America. It’s not about the ribbon it is about the meaning of the ribbon, we ask you to help network and spread the word in your school, home, business, military base, faith-based fellowship, club, etc. We’re only as strong as our weakest link. "Celebrate Life. Live Drug Free.™" says it all. Join us.

NIMCO, Inc. a registered authorized vendor through GSA for all government agencies and granted programs.

Click the link to view NIMCO, Inc online 2022 Red Ribbon Catalog

If you are interested in actively making a difference to keep America healthy and drug-free. Contact Elizabeth Golshteyn at egolshteyn@informedfamilies.org to become an Affiliate with National Family Partnership. By becoming an Affiliate and paying an annual membership fee, you get a 10% NIMCO discount (one-use per customer) to use the 2022 Red Ribbon Theme products to support drug-free prevention.

Thank you for all your help and support over these 40 years. I am truly grateful.

National Family Partnership recently held a survey in which recipients were asked how we could better serve their families.  How would you like to hear from us? Did you prefer tips, a newsletter or messaging? These were just some of the questions we asked. We are here to support and effectively serve our communities and we need YOUR HELP to make our community better and safer!

Those who participated were also placed in a random drawing for a $50 Gift Card to Publix Super Market. Our lucky winner that was randomly chosen was Rosalie Roybal of Lynwood Unified School District in Lynwood, California. Congratulations to Rosalie!

You’ve cleaned out the medicine cabinet and talked with your teen about avoiding alcohol and drugs, but despite your best efforts, your kid takes something they shouldn’t have. What now?  Fortunately, there’s an easy answer. The same poison control center that helped with your toddler can also help with your tween or teen. 

In 2020, about 14% of calls to poison control centers were about youth aged 6-19. In older teens, many calls are about intentional misuse, and even self-harm. Get fast, confidential help  for any potential poisoning by calling 1-800-222-1222. The doctors, nurses and pharmacists at your poison center will calmly walk you through what to do to protect your child from serious, or even fatal, poisoning. To find your local poison center, visit AAPCC.org, or call 1-800-222-1222 any time, 24/7.

Congratulations to both Abbigail Waters (left) and Joel Mesa (right), this year’s Enrique Camarena Red Ribbon Award recipients. This annual award recognizes and honors those who make significant contributions to the field of drug prevention.

Abbigail Waters is the youngest member of the Young Marines Alumni Association. Young Marines and volunteers make a commitment to make a difference personally as well as within their communities. Abbigail committed to Young Marines as a youth member in 2014. For 7 years, she not only learned the importance of teamwork, leadership, discipline, and the importance of living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle personally, but she also set the example for others to emulate. During her time in the program, Abbigail has completed over 200 hours of Drug Demand Reduction. Many of those hours were committed to making a difference in her community by spreading awareness during Red Ribbon Week, working with the Preventing Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y) Program of the University of Colorado Hospital and Colorado State Patrol, leading presentations within her community, and creating new prevention projects. Beyond her prevention work, Abbigail Waters has committed nearly 1,500 community service hours to many other veteran’s service projects, Toys for Tots, Wreaths Across America, and color guards. This does not include the countless hours that she has spent developing her peers and later mentoring our youth as an alumnus.

Joel Mesa was a Youth Crime Watch Administrator/School Coordinator of Citizens’ Crime Watch of Miami-Dade County. He is certified as a Florida Crime Prevention Practitioner by the Office of the Attorney General. Joel administers the youth crime watch program of Citizens’ Crime Watch of Miami-Dade County. He has conducted over 2,000 youth crime prevention presentations on numerous safety topics to over 200,000 students during the last 23 years. He has trained principals, teachers, counselors, students, security monitors, and school resource officers on implementing youth crime watch programs in Miami-Dade County schools.

As a reminder, Red Ribbon themes are owned by The National Family Partnership and are protected under US copyright and trademark law. While we encourage teachers, educators and community partners to share the theme, we’d like to remind you that sharing and reprinting the theme logo should be for informational and educational purposes only and not used for profit. Theme materials cannot be altered, distributed or sold without our permission. If you are interested in producing Red Ribbon merchandise, please contact the National Family Partnership at info@nfp.org for information.

“I’d like to recognize Geniel Moon, a teacher at Murrieta Valley High School in Murrieta, California. Geniel has given selfishly over the past year during this pandemic. She has delivered over 500 items to various students in our school community. These items included T-shirts and  special treat bags to celebrate kids’ accomplishments. Not only did she continue to let her students know she cared, she also continued to do things for rest of the staff, including giving welcome back gifts and lunches. Geniel never stopped fighting for our students to have some normalcy. We are lucky to have a teacher such as Geniel Moon who truly cares about our school culture and our staff. “

~Cindy Muzic