Informed Families/The Florida Family Partnership Sponsoring Statewide 2008 Red Ribbon Campaign

Oct. 19, 2008 - PRLog -- MIAMI, Fla. – Informed Families, the Florida affiliate of the National Family Partnership (NFP), once again will be the Florida sponsor and coordinator of the National Red Ribbon Week Campaign.

Held nationally October 23-31 each year, the Red Ribbon Campaign presents a unified and visible commitment towards the creation of a drug-free America, with participants wearing or displaying symbolic red ribbons during the event as a call to action and to make a visible commitment against drugs.  

The Red Ribbon Campaign, now in its 24th year, is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation. The week-long commemoration was launched in response to the 1985 death of Kiki Camerona, a DEA agent abducted and murdered by drug traffickers in Mexico City.  

The theme for this year’s national campaign – voted on by all of the national affiliates of NFP – is “Ask Me, See Me, Be Me, I’m Drug Free.”  The winning campaign theme was submitted by Ponce de Leon Middle School sixth-grade student Leonardo Maya.  Maya’s school will receive $500 in 2008 Red Ribbon Campaign merchandise of recognition of the winning entry.

Informed Families is partnering with the City of Coral Gables for the Red Ribbon Campaign kick-off, to be held October 23 at 7:30 a.m. at the Coral Gables Youth Center located at 405 University Drive.  

“While we have a number and variety of year-round programs to keep children, families and communities safe, healthy and drug-free, the Red Ribbon Campaign certainly is one of the most visible efforts we conduct,” said Informed Families President and CEO Peggy Sapp, who also serves as Volunteer President of the National Family Partnership.  “We encourage children, parents, teachers and the entire community to come together and get involved in the event as a sign of empowerment and to educate themselves about ways to live a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.”

For more information on the Red Ribbon Campaign and Red Ribbon Week events in your area, visit www.informedfamilies.org or call 305-856-4886.

ABOUT INFORMED FAMILIES
Affiliated with the National Family Partnership, Informed Families is the State of Florida’s major universal provider of positive parenting skills, serving school age children and their families, while building parent networks throughout Florida. Informed Families believes that parents need skills and support during a child’s teenage years and that parents are the change agents who create healthy social norms in the communities. Informed Families also provides programs to children at higher than average risk for substance abuse, such as students with school performance or behavior problems, and programs to children already engaging in high-risk behavior, such as delinquency. For more information on Informed Families, please visit our website at www.informedfamilies.org, or call us at (305) 856-4886.

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