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Increase The Effectiveness Of Red Ribbon Week |
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My sons have participated in an annual anti-drug program called “Red Ribbon Week” for 10 years now. As a result of our ministry, I was once asked to do an “all-school assembly” during Red Ribbon Week. The punch line of the crazy skit we did for the children was that “Doing drugs is like eating from a dooky diaper”. (You had to see the skit: It was hilarious!) This year my wife is the parent volunteer heading up the festivities of the week for the school. Needless to say, I believe in being proactive with children in order to maximize our effectiveness in reaching children...whatever the message is. Then it dawned on me that I honestly didn’t know the origin of the program. Let me share the story that my research uncovered:
Enrique "Kiki" Camarena grew up with hopes and dreams of making a difference. He worked his way through college, served in the Marines and became a police officer. When he decided to join the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, he reportedly told his mother, “I'm only one person, but I want to make a difference."
The DEA sent him to work undercover in Mexico investigating a major drug cartel believed to include officers in the Mexican army, police and government. On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found in a shallow grave. He had been tortured to death.
In honor of his memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Various coalitions also adopted the symbol of Camarena's memory, the red ribbon. The National Family Partnership organized the first Nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign in 1988. Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children.
Now you and I have both been educated as to the origin of Red Ribbon Week. My personal research didn’t give any numbers as to whether the program has been effective or not. I did however find some interesting statistics regarding Drugs and our nation’s Schools. Most of these statistics come from the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education and some is the opinion of my 14 year old “Mr. High School Freshman”.
According to www.nces.ed.gov in 2003, 29 percent of all students in grades 9-12 reported that someone had offered, sold, or given them an illegal drug on school property in the 12 months before the survey. The percentage of such students increased from 24 percent in 1993 to 32 percent in 1995. In each survey year since 1995, between 29 and 32 percent of students reported drugs were offered, sold, or given to them on school property.
Males were more likely than females to report that drugs were offered, sold, or given to them on school property in each survey year. For example, in 2003, 32 percent of males reported the availability of drugs, while 25 percent of females did so. If you’re like me, you wonder “are males more likely to report this because they are more involved, or because girls don’t admit to it”?
I asked my son what he thought of this statistic (based on his school in Tulsa). His response was, “Girls don’t do anything”. Not deep……..but direct. I then asked Brayden (other son) what percentage of his school he would estimate was involved in illegal drug use. He replied that he wouldn’t be surprised if 40% of the school was getting “stoned” on a regular basis. This is an Intermediate High School with a population of over 2200 students in 9th and 10th grade!
I attempted to find statistics that would show us the effectiveness of programs like Red Ribbon Week and other anti-drug programs. Unable to find statistical figures, I did find that according to the department of education, we spent 62 billion dollars of the total 132 billion federal monies spent on these programs. Large amounts of money also came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ($26.0 billion), the U.S. Department of Agriculture ($13.1 billion), the U.S. Department of Labor ($5.6 billion), the U.S. Department of Defense ($5.6 billion), and the U.S. Department of Energy ($4.1 billion) to encourage children to stay off drugs. I have to believe that somewhere there is proof of the effectiveness of these programs, or we wouldn’t keep spending so much on them.
I run a ministry that assists parents and students who wish to sponsor Bible clubs in America’s public schools. The only numbers I can give you on their effectiveness are the opinions of my son Brayden and his neighborhood buddies. They tell me that of the kids they know who were involved in Kids for Christ from 3rd to 8th grade only 2-10 are now involved in drugs (out of 80-100 who were in the clubs since third grade). If the opinion of these boys is even close to accurate, imagine the potential effect of a strong Bible Club in every elementary and junior high school in America could have on the drug abuse statistics in our schools. Please understand, I’m not saying that these numbers are any more than the opinion of my son and his buddies - but what if they were accurate! Further, imagine how much less our government would have to spend on drug prevention programs. These Bible Clubs cost the schools nothing!
Keep in mind that many of the children in these clubs are also in church one to two times a week. Many of them come from homes where the family is dedicated to following Christ. Others would never darken a church door if not for coming to Kids for Christ before or after school (with parental permission I might add) Not only are these kids hearing the gospel, but the character programs the schools are teaching are being reinforced with Biblical character and morals. When a child in Junior High and High School is faced with a decision regarding drugs or alcohol they are more likely to respond to the voice of the conscience. Again this is greatly my opinion, but I truly believe it.
So this week as your children and grandchildren are taking part in Red Ribbon Week pray about becoming a part of a movement that would increase the effectiveness of the week’s festivities and honor Kiki Camarena’s memory. If God so leads you, visit our website and call or send us and email to find out how you can get involved. (www.kfcusa.org ) Please, help us make a difference!
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