Informed Families newly-designated 2019 Red Ribbon Certified Schools include: Brownsville, Citrus Grove and Homestead Middle Schools in Miami-Dade County, FL; West Orange and Cypress Creek High Schools in Orange County, FL; and North Atlanta High School in Fulton County, GA.

The Red Ribbon Certified Schools in both Miami-Dade and Orange Counties received special recognition during the October School Board meetings in their respective counties.

On October 7th, Informed Families' President & CEO Peggy Sapp had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. to attend the DEA’s Red Ribbon Rally. The rally served to drive messaging around Red Ribbon Week, our nation-wide campaign dedicated to encouraging Americans to live healthy and drug-free.

The event recognized the accomplishments of several young people who have excelled in calling attention to the benefits of a drug-free lifestyle through their artwork. The DEA’s Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon was in attendance, as was the First Lady who delivered remarks about the dangers of vaping and the need to eliminate drug use among our youth.  

Congratulations to the winners of the Family Day Photo Contest: Heidi Hernandez from Naples, FL; Timmy Kutz from Naples, FL; and Tatiana Vuono from Miami, FL. The winners, who were randomly selected, each win a $100 gift card generously donated by Publix.

Freedom Middle School in Orlando, FL won the grand prize for schools by having the most entries in the State of Florida. They will receive a $250 Publix gift card.

Celebrating Red Ribbon Week   

I’m excited to head to the DEA's headquarters for this year's National Red Ribbon Rally. I invite everyone to watch the live webcast of this kickoff event at www.dea.gov on Oct. 7^th at 11 a.m.

During Red Ribbon Week (Oct 23 – 31), youth in schools and communities across the nation pledge to live drug-free by wearing red ribbons and participating in anti-drug events.

This year’s Red Ribbon theme “Send A Message. Stay Drug Free™” really resonates with today’s youth. With the rise of smart phones and social media, sending messages has become a favorite past time for many.  But what kinds of messages are we sending? Are they empowering? Do they encourage those around us?  This year’s Red Ribbon theme certainly fits the bill.  It is a call to action to speak out in support of healthy choices. The theme is also a reminder that by staying drug free, you are sending a message to yourself and others about how much you value yourself, your overall health, your community and your future.

Help us amplify this message. Enter the National Red Ribbon Photo Contest. Encourage others to take the Red Ribbon pledge. Spread the Red Ribbon message on social media by using the hashtags #SendAMessageStayDrugFree, #RedRibbonWeek2019 and #RedRibbonWeek.

We can all play a role in encouraging youth to remain safe, healthy and drug-free.

Peggy 

Win an iPad & $1,000 For Your School

Informed Families Ambassadors at schools across the state encourage parents and families to eat dinner together on Family Day and up to four times a week.  Many of the schools in our network have also started Family Day traditions of their own.

In Orange County, Apopka Memorial Middle School celebrates Family Day with a Spaghetti Dinner served by their Informed Families Youth Ambassadors.  Citrus Grove Middle School in Miami-Dade hosts a Spaghetti Dinner that all parents are invited to as well. They encourage parents to sign the Informed Families Family Day pledge at the event.

Informed Families welcomed more than 300 Youth Ambassadors to the fold this fall.

Until recently, most parents were not as concerned about their teenager vaping as they would be if their child experimented with other drugs.

We loved seeing so many of your beautiful #FLFamilyDay dinner photos on social media last year. So we’ve decided to hold another Family Day photo contest.

Take a photo of your family eating dinner together and then post it on the Informed Families’ Facebook page, send it to us in a Facebook message, or post it on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #FLFamilyDay. It’s that simple.

Three winners will be randomly selected to receive a $100 Publix Gift Card. The Florida school with the most entries will receive a $250 Publix Gift Card. The contest ends September 30^th.

We can’t wait to see the family dinner photos you share this year! Take a look at some of our favorites from last year.

An Easy Way to Improve Parent-Child Communication  

Do you want to stop school violence and a host of other dangerous behaviors? Eat dinner with your children.

Did you know if you eat dinner together as a family four times a week that your kids are 50% less likely to use drugs and engage in other risky behaviors?

Many people think they don’t have time to eat dinner with their children – well just imagine how much time you will spend sorting out your child’s problem behaviors?  And guess what, some behaviors become chronic and don’t get sorted out so you will be living with them for a life time.

Eating dinner together provides an opportunity for family members to come together, strengthen ties and build better relationships.  Communicating early and often makes it much easier to tackle conversations around tough topics, like substance use, when the time comes. If your kids aren’t used to talking to you about their day when they are 8 or 10 years old, it's much harder to start at age 12-14.

Our Family Day campaign promotes frequent family dinners as a way to prevent risky behavior in kids. On September 23rd, join millions of families across the U.S. to Stand Up for Sitting down to dinner. Enjoy a meal together with your family and talk to each other, electronics-free.

Peggy