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TOP TEN RED RIBBON WEBSITES

Editor's Note: In order to offer you as many resources as possible, The Guidance Channel does not list the sites highlighted in our feature article or interview in our Top Ten Websites - it goes without saying that we feel they belong here! Please be sure to check out those columns for additional websites offering exceptional resources.

The Anti-Drug

TheAntiDrug.com was created by the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign to equip parents and other adult caregivers with the tools they need to raise drug-free kids. Working with the nation's leading experts in the fields of parenting and substance abuse prevention, TheAntiDrug.com serves as a drug prevention information center, and a supportive community for parents and teachers to interact and learn from each other.

The site provides parents with helpful articles and advice from experts in the fields of parenting and substance abuse prevention; science-based drug prevention information, news and studies; support from other parents striving to keep their children drug-free; and perspectives of teens themselves. Teachers will find a drug education resource that was developed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy and a collection of experienced educators. Assorted classroom activities and reference tools can be used with students aged 11-14. More importantly, this guide gives teachers insight into the thoughts and concerns of their students on the subject of drug use. Red Ribbon coordinators may find the classroom activities useful when planning their events.

Best Practices: Norms for Behavior and Rule Setting in School

In this website, "best practices" are those strategies and programs which are deemed research-based by scientists and researchers at the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), the national Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), National Center for the Advancement of Prevention (NCAP), National Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and/or the national Department of Education (DOE). These are strategies and programs which have been shown through substantial research and evaluation to be effective at preventing and/or delaying substance abuse

Of great use to those coordinating Red Ribbon Week efforts, this page identifies the event as an effective prevention strategy. SECAPT illustrates how Red Ribbon Week serves as an opportunity to set norms for behavior and rule setting, which is considered to be a best practice. As many prevention specialists are now required to prove the effectiveness of their programming, this can serve as evidence that Red Ribbon Week does work.

DEA Demand Reduction Program

This site explains how the DEA is using prevention as a weapon in the war on drugs. Visitors will learn about the philosophy behind demand reduction and why this strategy is so important. As this is a report on the activities of the DEA, several prevention initiatives are described, including Red Ribbon Week. Other important demand reduction strategies reviewed include providing support to energize the parents' movement, reaching school-aged children with appropriate and specific drug education programs and materials, as well as establishing an aggressive program of public awareness education for opinion and community leaders. Interestingly, each one of these strategies can be implemented through the Red Ribbon Week event. This report would be useful to schools, parents and community groups, as they try to gain a better understanding on why drug demand reduction is important and how Red Ribbon Week can incorporate multiple strategies for prevention.

IPRC Infosite

The Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University is a clearinghouse for prevention technical assistance and information about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The primary target audience is the community of prevention professionals and volunteers, and government officials who are providing or monitoring delivery of ATOD prevention programs. The center is not established to provide direct prevention services to the general public, but to provide technical assistance and support to those who do. Their primary mission is to support those programs through the provision of information, materials, consultation, and a wide range of high-level technical assistance.

This site is extremely comprehensive. Visitors will be able to find a significant number of articles on prevention focusing on topics such as prevention theory, planning and evaluation. Another section covers specific drugs, as well as drug issues including information on special populations, drug testing, and strategies for reducing the drug problem. There is also a portion of the site that presents statistics on prevalence of use, demographics, consequences of use, program planning and more. All those involved in prevention will find useful and applicable information on this site.

National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information

The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) is the information service of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. NCADI is the world's largest resource for current information and materials concerning substance abuse

This comprehensive site offers facts on alcohol and drugs, news, research, funding information, forums, and a conference calendar. The links section offers an especially helpful page listing websites for prevention program planners. A unique feature to the site is a section focusing on culture and prevention. Here you can access publications, resources and referrals designed for various ethnicities, age groups, faith communities and genders. One particularly useful segment, the For Kids Only section, is specifically designed for younger children. Children will find answers to questions relating to alcohol and drug abuse, as well as advice on how to say no and how to help those who have a substance abuse problem. This section is a great resource for teachers to use in the classroom as an activity during Red Ribbon Week.

National Family Partnership

This organization is largely responsible for making Red Ribbon Week a national event. When the young people of Kiki Camarena's hometown in Calexico, California began wearing Red Ribbons in honor of this fallen hero, the National Family Partnership and its affiliated organizations aligned to nationally promote the red ribbon as the symbol for drug, alcohol and tobacco prevention across America. Now, every year, more than 80 million young people and adults show their commitment to a healthy, drug-free life by wearing or displaying the red ribbon. Since 1988, The National Family Partnership has provided national leadership for this exciting event.

The NFP website serves as a wonderful resource for Red Ribbon coordinators. Here you will find a schedule for the week that suggests various activities for each day of the event. Red Ribbon lesson plans offer ideas for teachers on extending the celebration throughout the entire school year. Quiz sheets for kids test children's knowledge on alcohol, marijuana and inhalants. A parent kit offers practical strategies for helping their children stay away from drugs. Also included is a link to a prevention calendar that lists substance abuse events across the country.

Office of National Drug Control Policy

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a component of the Executive Office of the President, was established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. The principal purpose of ONDCP is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives for the nation's drug control program.

Of particular interest to those planning for Red Ribbon Week is the prevention and education section of this website. Here you will find information on the best practices for prevention. In addition, the site offers the latest information on prevention programs, research, evaluations, and resources. The Play Clean section of this site focuses on preventing the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports, while also encouraging youth participation in sports as a tool to prevent drug use. The School Zone is specifically designed for young people and offers links that provide factual information about health and safety issues. The site also guides you to the Drug-Free Communities Support Program that provides funding for various prevention efforts around the country.

Red Ribbon Coalition

The Red Ribbon Coalition website is an educational/training site hosted by Irvine Community Drug Prevention, a nonprofit agency in the City of Irvine, California. The site features a unique online Red Ribbon Training Workshop for parent, student and teacher prevention coordinators responsible for school-based prevention awareness campaigns including the Red Ribbon Celebration. Their registration process enables them to conduct a needs assessment for your school or organization. Through evaluating your use of primary prevention strategies, the Red Ribbon Coalition can help your organization develop a more meaningful prevention awareness campaign.

Red Ribbon Planning Guide

This site, developed by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, offers a substantial amount of worthwhile information for those planning Red Ribbon Week celebrations. Visitors to the site will find activities for schools and communities, as well as classroom lesson plans. In order to engage the entire local community, the site also offers tips for news coverage. There are sample press releases and newspaper ads, along with advice on writing public service announcements. In addition, the guide offers a helpful page that tells the story behind the symbol of the red ribbon and explains how the event began.

Red Ribbon Resources

Red Ribbon Resources, a Guidance Channel company, is an official sponsor of the Red Ribbons To Washington Campaign. Through this campaign, participating schools and communities can learn about the evolution of the Red Ribbon Week Movement, while making a united stand against drugs. In order to engage the entire community, participants are asked to sign drug-free pledges that will be collected at the end of this year's Red Ribbon Week (October 23rd-31st) and delivered to Capitol Hill during the Community Anti-Drug Coalition Conference in December.

Participants in the 2001 Red Ribbons to Washington Campaign will be entered into a drawing for a free trip to Washington, D.C. during the 2002 Red Ribbon Week. The Bureau For At-Risk Youth and Red Ribbon Resources will sponsor two students and one advisor from the winning school or community organization to a free trip to the nation's capitol to present their school's signed ribbons. There will also be awards of free drug prevention materials given to the schools and communities who return the most signed ribbons.

A memorial to acknowledge the sacrifice of Kiki Camarena, the murdered DEA Agent whose death inspired the original Red Ribbon movement in Calexico, California, will be held in Washington, D.C. during this year's Red Ribbon Week. The Bureau For At-Risk Youth will be sending the Camarena family, students from Calexico, and other representatives from that community to Washington, D.C. to present their signed "I Pledge To Be Drug-Free" ribbons during this tribute to Kiki.

The Red Ribbon Resources website offers information on this campaign, as well as tips for your Red Ribbon Week celebration, a clip from Michael Pritchard's Red Ribbon Week video and a catalog of over 250 low-cost giveaways to promote a safe and drug-free school and community. Teachers, administrators and all other prevention specialists will find ideas and inspiration for their Red Ribbon Week campaigns on this site that is specifically dedicated to the nation's premier prevention event.