Community Corner
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Council Gives Grants to Albany Schools
Here's the skinny on some recent grants awarded to Albany middle and high schools.
[Editor's Note: Peggy McQuaid is a member of the Albany Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Council. Learn more below about how to participate.]
The Albany Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Council is pleased to announce the selection of our 2010 grant winners.
Albany Middle School received $1,000 for the Safe School Ambassadors Program. This student-centered model engages the leaders of the school's diverse groups, and equips young people with powerful, nonviolent communication and intervention skills.
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Students can use these new abilities with friends and classmates when they see harassment, exclusion, bullying and other forms of mistreatment.
This program is at the heart of building positive social norms at the middle school. It has shown dramatic impact on bullying, disciplinary incidents, and drug and alcohol use.
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The Safe School Ambassadors Program includes: a two-day student and adult training to form a team of Ambassadors at the school site, including training, program guides, web tools and resources.
Also included is one-on-one coaching to support program development, implementation, and sustainability. Training will include up to 40 AMS students and 12 adults.
A special second grant of $250 was awarded to the Albany High School Parent Teacher Student Association to hire a guest speaker to educate parents on the issues of teenager risk-taking involving drugs and alcohol. The talk will include a discussion of prevention and treatment in the presentation.
The Albany Prevention Council, established in 1987, is proactive in city-wide efforts to keep our schools and community safe and healthy. The mission of the council is to increase community awareness of alcohol and other drug abuse problems, provide community education on such issues, and encourage appropriate choices for adults and young people regarding the use of alcohol and other drugs.
For more information about the grant program or to make a donation, please e-mail Peggy McQuaid, Albany Prevention Council financial officer.
This all volunteer organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. If you would like to contribute to this program all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law, Tax ID# 94-3143983.
