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While high school proms and graduations can be landmark moments in youth\u2019s lives, for some, they can also become prime opportunities for underage alcohol consumption. One community \u2013 Wood County Prevention Coalition<\/strong> (WCPC) \u2013 set out to ensure that these special events are safely celebrated, substance-free, through a multi-faceted media campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cLast summer, we received a grant from a local funding source \u2013 the Bowling Green Community Foundation \u2013 for our proposed idea of encouraging and creating \u2018Safe Celebrations,\u2019\u201d explained Tina Bradley<\/strong>, WCPC\u2019s Drug-Free Communities Grants Coordinator. \u201cBased on our logic model and speaking with our local police department, we knew that most youth consuming alcohol were doing so at home on the weekends with their parents\u2019 supervision and\/or permission. There\u2019s a misperception in the community that as long as it\u2019s happening at home, it\u2019s safe for youth to consume \u2013 but that\u2019s not the case, and it\u2019s also not legal. What we pitched as the subject of our campaign was to get the word out about social host laws, so that parents are aware of the legal ramifications of providing alcohol to youth and allowing parties with substances in their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe set out to share this message through television commercials, social media, and digital and print advertising, with separate versions of each that either targeted towards parents or youth. In messaging towards parents, we homed in on social host laws and followed up these messages by digitally distributing information cards on social host laws and including social host information in each packet for graduation that was sent out to parents and guardians. With the youth, we emphasized that 92% of their peers were substance-free, and that most were planning to enjoy their memorable events without substances.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, posters were hung up inside the school alongside banners that reinforced the idea of safely celebrating substance-free. To go even further, WCPC also partnered with their local law enforcement to step up patrols on both prom and graduation night. \u201cThe feedback we got back from them was really positive. In fact, there were no arrests made on either night.\u201d<\/p>\n Through this successful collaboration, WCPC and the law enforcement sector decided to expand the Safe Celebrations theme the following year to also include messaging and patrolling at Homecoming and high school football games.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything we achieved came from a group effort. A key piece was including the law enforcement and school sectors, as well as having a Prevention Education Specialist at the school involved. She was the one that rounded up student volunteers to place the posters and banners around the school. We also had a wonderful volunteer intern who created all of the ads and was critical to the campaign\u2019s success. My advice is to utilize the skills of your volunteers, because they are able to bring an expertise to the table that might not otherwise be available to you. Additionally, if you\u2019re looking to replicate this in your community, I recommend starting in a targeted area, learning from that experience and then replicating it in a larger outreach plan.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While high school proms and graduations can be landmark moments in youth\u2019s lives, for some, they can also become prime<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":16969,"template":"","resource_type":[281],"drug_specific_issues":[],"action_to_do":[282],"class_list":["post-16968","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-coalitions-online","action_to_do-increase-participation-and-membership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n