Allen East High School Wins National Red Ribbon Photo Contest

Bluffton, OH (Dec. 2, 2016) – ’Tis the season for giving. Allen East High School is the proud winner of the much-anticipated 2016 National Red Ribbon Photo Contest. Students, faculty and staff were fearlessly led by teacher and SADD advisor, Kelly Prichard in decorating the campus with this year’s theme, “YOLO. Be Drug Free™”. This was done in addition to the school’s traditional Red Ribbon Week ® (Oct. 23-31) celebrations to promote their commitment to living a healthy and drug-free lifestyle.

The contest takes place each year as a part of National Red Ribbon Week – the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention campaign, sponsored by the National Family Partnership (NFP). Kelly Prichard will receive an iPad from NFP and the school will receive a $1,000 prize from contest co-sponsors, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), to be used toward drug prevention.

“We displayed our poster in front of the football field so when people came to see the games, they would see the poster too,” said SADD Advisor Kelly Prichard. “Drugs have a lasting impact in all stages of life. Kids nowadays are too busy and not equipped to deal with stress, so they turn to drugs to relieve pressure and escape from negative things. It’s important to teach skills to avoid them and to be aware of the dangers.”

Red Ribbon Week began in 1985 after the abduction and murder of DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. The first ever National Red Ribbon Week was organized by the National Family Partnership in 1988. NFP continues to sponsor the campaign for families, schools and communities across the nation each year. Since its inception, the campaign has touched millions of lives to promote and celebrate drug free living.

“An estimated 80 million people celebrate Red Ribbon Week each year,” says NFP President Peggy Sapp. “We designed the contest to involve families, schools, and communities in delivering the drug prevention message to children while promoting a healthy and drug-free lifestyle. We are so impressed by the winners and their wonderful stories about spreading the Red Ribbon message in their homes, schools and communities.”

Close to 100,000 votes were cast in support of the more than 400 contest entries. Money earned for winning the contest will go to drug education and prevention programs.

“Congratulations to all of the Red Ribbon Photo Contest participants,” said Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. “This is a great way to spread the prevention message and educate students and families about drug abuse.”

See all 2016 winning photos at www.redribbon.org/contest/winners.

Teacher at Allen East High, Scott Rose expressed the benefits of Red Ribbon Week. “The contest provides an avenue for conversation to become positive and it helped because students were not afraid to voice their opinions about bad decision making. Red Ribbon Week makes it cool to do the right thing.”

To learn more about Red Ribbon Week and the contest, visit www.RedRibbon.org.

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THE NATIONAL FAMILY PARTNERSHIP (NFP) 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. Learn more about the National Family Partnership at www.nfp.org.