Red Ribbon Week is during October 23 to the 31. This is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention campaign spreads awareness to parents and youth in communities across the country.
The first National Red Ribbon Celebration was organized and sponsored by the National Family Partnership in 1988. Since then, the campaign has reached millions of lives. Communities across the country wear red ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America. The Red Ribbon campaign serves to educate youth and encourage millions of people to participate in drug-free celebrations.
Each year, the campaign is integrated through a theme that helps broadcast one message. The message encourages and generates a tipping point to change behavior.
This year’s National Red Ribbon theme is “Respect Yourself. Be Drug Free.” The theme was chosen through a contest advertised all over the United States. The winner of the 2015 National Red Ribbon Theme Contest was Kristofer Calhoun, a middle school student from Ohio.
“Respecting yourself means looking at yourself every day and treating yourself like you would treat someone you loved most in the world,” said Calhoun. “If you do drugs, you really don’t have self-confidence and you don’t respect yourself.”
Red Ribbon Week is the ultimate way for people and communities to come together and take a visible stand against drugs. The Red Ribbon is a symbol of a personal commitment to a drug-free lifestyle. Take the pledge and be part of the creation of a drug free America.
To learn more about the Red Ribbon campaign and sign the Red Ribbon Pledge, visit http://redribbon.org/pledge/.