Community Feature

Raise Money and Run Drugs Out of Town

For most schools and parents the first word that comes to mind for drug abuse prevention is DARE. A few years ago this program was in 80% of school districts in America until research showed that its graduates were actually more likely to do drugs. The good news is that the gap that DARE left can be filled and can be done so affordably.

At Run Drugs Out of Town Run, Inc. our aim is to raise awareness of and money for drug abuse prevention. We have helped schools and organizations bring the ever important message about drug abuse prevention by staging our quarter mile run where everyone who crosses the finish line wins a medal that says, “I’m a winner, I don’t do drugs”. In the past six years we have awarded thousands of medals to kids as far away as Kenya. We have also provided, literally tons of literature, videos and CD’s at no extra cost.

Unfortunately, we have found that as much as schools like our programs they lack the funds to implement them. Even when we created a Red Ribbon Week program that included a pin for each runner, materials and literature at a cost of only $1/student we found that was beyond the budget for most schools. That sent us back to the drawing board and back to our stated purpose. In order for us to raise awareness of drug abuse prevention we needed a more effective way to help schools raise the money needed to make it happen.

To make that possible we now offer the Run Drugs Out of Town Run to elementary schools as a relay where each classroom runs as a team. Students are provided with a pledge sheet to ask relatives and neighbors to donate or pledge for each lap their team runs. For teens we offer the Relay4Us where they field teams from campus clubs and groups of friends.

Schools that have done Jump Rope 4 Your Heart with the American Heart Association have raised as much as $87,000. Those that have done the Relay for Life with the American Cancer Society typically raise $50,000 or more. Both are excellent learning experiences that actively involve kids and give them a sense of accomplishment. The problem is that when all is said and done the kids end up donating all the money they raise. Imagine what they could do with that amount of money on their own campuses.

The problem then goes back to having the money to get started. We can start any school off with everything needed to stage The Relay and we will include a pin at a cost of $1 for each runner. In even the poorest areas students will easily be able to raise $1 each to cover that cost and any other money they raise will be theirs to use at their school.

We believe that kids can always do better and we want to give them the incentive to do so. When your students start bringing in enough donations you can move up to medals and T-shirts. The cost is $10/runner and you can have the backs done in one color anyway you choose. It can be your mascot, logo or motto and/or logos of local businesses that have sponsored your event. It takes two weeks to print up the shirts and get them to you on time so as long as you can place the order two weeks before your event the kids can have T-shirts and medals.

Keeping kids drug free is a major concern for every parent and educator. With DARE we now know that talking about drugs is not the answer. If we were to talk about ice cream for just 5 minutes you would be hard pressed to get through the week without at least thinking about your favorite flavor. Imagine how challenging it would be for a 5th grader to not think about drugs after a DARE lesson.

As much as we all want to see kids who don’t do drugs what we really want is kids who know how to make better choices, set and achieve goals and be more responsible. These are the behaviors of kids who don’t do drugs. These are the kids who do better in school and these are the kids who succeed.

The programs that we have developed do just that. Our aim may be drug abuse prevention but our method is to give kids the tools to grow up to be better adults. Staging The Run is a great place to start. It teaches kids important lessons and shows them that they can succeed. It gets them into the community telling people that they want to do something about drug abuse and gets everyone else thinking about the issue too.

Unlike other programs that have kids selling magazines people don’t want or chocolate bars they don’t need, with The Relay kids will be marketing themselves. The money they raise can be used for things that work best for them.

To find out more go to: http://rundrugsoutoftownrun.org , info@rundrugsoutoftownrun.org or call 480-513-3909.

About:
Run Drugs Out of Town

We are your neighbors, the kids down the street, the business owner up the street. We are the doctors who take care of you, the parents who care for you. We are the people who are affected by drug abuse as well as those who abuse drugs. We are everyone in the world.

Our purpose is twofold; to raise awareness of and money for drug abuse prevention. Our focus is mainly on kids including teens. It is our aim to not merely present this to children but rather to actively involve them, making this their issue.

We will assist any local group, school, church, anyone who wants to make a difference in giving kids the tools they need to stay off drugs. We will help you stage asuccessful event and show you how to get local businesses and media involved to raise awareness and money for your prevention program.

Contact Info:

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