History of Red Ribbon Week
In 1985, DEA Agent Enrique Camarena was murdered. In response, angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction caused by drugs in America. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in prevention activities to keep our kids drug and substance-free.
Prevention over Pinterest
Prevention Science In many schools, PTA’s plan the Red Ribbon Week Activities. Many parents are not prevention professionals and turn to pinterest or google for ideas. This toolkit was designed by prevention specialists in collaboration with Utah PTA for EVERY school and EVERY child here in Utah. Good intentions are not good enough for selecting and implementing prevention strategies. Our children need more in today’s world. The hope is that every school/PTA will use the knowledge of what works so we can protect students from drug use and addiction and use our time wisely in implementing the most effective campaigns.
The new Red Ribbon Week Toolkit is below: