Florida Foundation Gives Free Drug Information During Red Ribbon Week in America
This year marks the 25th Anniversary of Red Ribbon Week, with its theme being “I am Drug-Free.” In alignment with that message, on October 26 the Florida Chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World reached out to the citizens of Ocala with resources for drug-free living.
Red Ribbon Week is a national campaign initiated in 1985 after the murder of Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camerena. Its purpose is to present a unified and visible commitment to the creation of a drug-free America and features the wearing of red ribbons as symbols of intolerance to the use of drugs.
With the mission to empower youth and adults to “just say no,” the Foundation is an international organization providing the understanding of why people should say no to drugs. During the Red Ribbon event in Ocala, members of the Foundation manned the Drug-Free World booth, gave out free drug educational materials and answered questions to provide people with factual information about drugs, enabling them to make the right choices.
More than 200 children signed the pledge to live drug-free lives and to help others—whether adults or peers—to make that same commitment.
Hundreds of The Truth About Drugs booklets—a major component of the Foundation’s anti-drug campaign—were distributed during the event. These booklets furnish the hard facts on the destruction drugs wreak upon a person, mentally and physically.
While there is much more to be done, the director of the Foundation’s Florida Chapter, Julieta Santagostino is hopeful. “The drug problem in today’s society makes me want to do something about it,” she says. “By educating the community, especially the youth who are most at risk, I know we can do something to help rid the society of this problem.”
