Travis takes part in Red Ribbon Week

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Amber Carter
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The Travis Air Force Base Unified School District, along with more than 80 million young people around the country, celebrated National Red Ribbon Week Oct 23 through today.

National Red Ribbon Week is a drug-prevention program in which children wear red ribbons as a pledge to stay away from drugs.

Parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing red ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction caused by drugs in America in response to the murder of Drug Enforcement Agency Agent Enrique (KiKi) Camarena in Mexico in 1985, according to redribbon.org. The first National Red Ribbon Celebration took place in 1988.

"Red Ribbon Week is important because it not only commemorates the sacrifice by Agent Kiki Camarena, but it also is a week everyone pledges to live a drug free style life," said Timothy Finney, Drug Demand Reduction program manager. "I hope everyone will be more aware of the dangers of drugs and drug abuse." 

In support of drug use prevention, students at Travis Elementary School are creatively bringing awareness to the drug-free campaign by dressing in a different theme each day. The Band of the Golden West will perform at multiple schools in the surrounding area and the Travis Youth Center held a door decoration contest and is scheduled to host discussions.

"For Red Ribbon Week, the Youth Center will be decorating our gates with red ribbons and holding a door decorating contest," said Marie Huff, Travis Youth Center child youth program assistant lead. "Our brain zone area is facilitating a Red Ribbon Week essay contest and we have connected with the Drug Demand Reduction Program at Travis to host a preteen discussion that deals with drugs and how they affect their bodies."

People support drug-free awareness programs for a variety of different reasons. Many people have been affected by the consequences of drug use.

"The event is important to me because I have seen and experienced firsthand how the use and abuse of drugs can destroy families, lives and careers," Finney said. "I believe a lot of these tragedies could be avoided, if people were aware of the hazards of drug abuse."

The 2014 Red Ribbon Week theme is "love yourself, be drug free," created by a seventh grader from New York who competed in the contest held last fall.

The winning slogan and design are used throughout the following year at thousands of schools and communities across America. Red Ribbon Week is in its 29th year as the nation's largest and oldest drug prevention campaign according to redribbon.org.

"This event is important to us because we are taking care of precious treasures,"
Huff said. "We want to start prevention early, we want to support our military families and schools and help make our youth aware of the dangers and how to take care of and protect each other and themselves. If we can give our youth the tools to make good choices when we are not around then we are fighting half the battle."