Starting Monday, schools all over the country will take part in a host of activities promoting drug and alcohol-free lifestyles.
With every step they take, students at John Muir Elementary School are taking a visible stand against substance abuse.
John Muir Elementary Principal Juan Garcia said, "We have all of our classes participating from the 6th grade all the way down to kinder so it's sending a message to the community that we are committed to saying no to drugs and living a healthy lifestyle."
It's all part of Red Ribbon Week, a nationwide anti-drug campaign that runs during the week of October 23rd. But these kids are getting an early start, by taking part in a community walk around campus, and demonstrating their pledge to stay away from drugs.
Jezreal Hall said, "It's pretty neat we actually made a poster and shirts telling people we'll be drug free because it's really important to go to college."
The campaign started back in 1985 when drug traffickers in Mexico murdered a DEA agent. Now, it's an annual tradition in schools throughout the United States, and it's marked by the display of a red ribbon, a symbol of intolerance towards the use of drugs.
"The students are excited to promoting their pledge and promoting a healthy lifestyle and that's what we want," Juan Garcia said. "We want to teach our students from the beginning, from an early age that yes, we can say no to drugs and yes to a healthy lifestyle."
National Family Partnership is the sponsor of the national Red Ribbon Week celebration. The organization was formed to help people come together to keep children, families, and communities safe, healthy and drug-free through parent training. It claims parents who talk to their teens are 42 percent less likely to use drugs, than those that don't. And the message at this Fresno Unified elementary school appears to be reaching kids at an even younger age.
