Quick look: Orange County schools marked the 40th anniversary of Red Ribbon Week with themed spirit days, campus activities and student-led prevention efforts promoting healthy, drug-free choices.
Schools and districts across Orange County marked the 40th anniversary of Red Ribbon Week with campus-wide celebrations promoting healthy, drug-free lifestyles.
Observed annually from Oct. 23-31, Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s largest drug prevention campaign, inspiring students and communities to make positive choices. This year’s theme — “Life is a Puzzle, Solve it Drug Free” — encouraged young people to think critically, build connections and stay committed to healthy living.
From themed dress-up days like “Team Up Against Drugs” or “Put Drugs to Sleep” to student-led assemblies and prevention campaigns, schools took initiative to engage youth in positive choices and peer support.
Orange County Youth Council highlights prevention projects
To highlight the collective efforts, the Orange County Youth Council, a subgroup of the Orange County Department of Education’s Friday Night Live Partnership, participated in the “Red Ribbon in Action: What Prevention Looks Like Today” event held Oct. 29 at the OCDE Conference Center.
During their presentation, the students discussed youth-driven approaches to substance use prevention, sharing examples of campus projects and countywide initiatives coordinated through OCDE.
Five student leaders — Kimberly Tran and Ivy Pham of Santiago and La Quinta high schools in the Garden Grove Unified School District, Parsmi Rajput of Cypress High School in the Anaheim Union High School District, and Carter Pilon and Dillon Patel of El Modena High in the Orange Unified School District — described how their Friday Night Live chapters lead awareness campaigns, media literacy trainings, student engagement events and mental health promotion activities designed to prevent substance use and strengthen peer connections.
They also highlighted larger efforts, including trainings on emerging issues like fentanyl and social media, contributions to the Health Care Agency’s “Life is Greater than Drugs” campaign, a family-focused cookbook for OCDE’s Father Fest, and the “Keep in Mind” student podcast series.
“The presentation provided an encouraging message that our students care about the well-being of their peers and want to make a difference,” said Elke Petras, OCDE’s Youth Development Programs coordinator. “While we’ve made progress in substance use prevention over the past 40 years, new trends continue to emerge. It will take a collective effort of health professionals, law enforcement, schools, community agencies, families and youth to make progress moving forward.”
Other resources
- National Red Ribbon Week Campaign website
- Here’s what parents need to know about fentanyl
- Life is Greater Than Drugs campaign by the Orange County Health Care Agency
- Orange County Health Care Agency’s Behavioral Health Services
- Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
OCDE has offered Friday Night Live programs since 1992, supporting public, private and charter schools countywide. For information about the program or how to start a club, contact Elke Petras, Youth Development Programs coordinator, at (714) 966-4458 or epetras@ocde.us.