“Red Ribbon Week,” National Drug Prevention Campaign, Kicks Off Tuesday

“Red Ribbon Week,” a national drug prevention campaign, begins Tuesday with a national contest for families to promote awareness in their neighborhoods, and win a drug prevention grant for their children’s school. The campaign runs through October 31.

The week was created after parents, students and teachers began wearing red ribbons in commemoration of the 1985 murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Kiki Camarena.

The National Family Partnership announced a Red Ribbon Week contest that families can enter to win a $1,000 grant for their school, and a new iPad for their home. The DEA is co-sponsoring the contest. To participate, families and students are invited to decorate the outside of their homes with the message, “The Best Me is Drug Free.” They can take a photo with the family and their Red Ribbon Week decoration, and upload it to www.redribbon.org/contest or www.facebook.com/RedRibbonWeek by November 2nd. To upload the photos, you must be at least 18 years old. A video for parents and students explains how to participate in the contest.

Voting for entries will take place November 2-16 at www.redribbon.org/vote. There will be 10 winners from across the United States, who will be announced at events at their schools in December.