Members of the Madison County Youth in Action stand with Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Stotts and Madison County School’s Superintendent Elmer Thomas while preparing to record a radio public service announcement to discourage their peers from underage drinking.
Members of the Madison County Youth in Action stand with Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Stotts while recording a radio public service announcement.
Members of the Madison County Youth in Action stand with Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Stotts and Madison County School’s Superintendent Elmer Thomas while preparing to record a radio public service announcement to discourage their peers from underage drinking.
Members of the Madison County Youth in Action stand with Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Stotts while recording a radio public service announcement.
With more than 800 high schoolers from the Madison and Berea Independent School districts expected to walk across the graduation stage this month, numerous parties and celebrations are likely to follow.
In preparation for these festivities, Madison County Youth in Action (YIA) have been working for weeks on a media campaign they hope will remind graduates to celebrate their accomplishments responsibly.
The campaign designed by the group urges their peers to “Stay in the Game” and forego underage drinking and other risky behavior that could put their futures in jeopardy. According to a 2013 SAMHSA study, adults who had their first drink at age 14 or younger were more likely to be classified with alcohol dependence or abuse than were those who’d had their first drink at age 21.”
And the campaign could not have kicked off at a better time, as statistically one-third of all alcohol-related traffic fatalities involving teens each year occur during the months of April, May and June.
For the campaign, Madison County Youth in Action chose to feature student athletes from area schools who were identified as positive, drug-free role models by their peers, teachers and school administrators.
The group worked with sports photographers, Mark Mahan and Bob McKinley, as well as graphic artist, Abbie Darst, and received funding from a Y.E.S. (Youth Empowerment Systems) grant.
Posters of the student athletes were displayed in Madison County Schools, Berea Community School, law enforcement agencies and local businesses as well as being shared on social media
YIA also partnered with the Madison County Sheriffas Office and Madison County Schools Superintendent Elmer Thomas to record a series of underage drinking prevention public service announcements that were aired on the stations of Wallingford Broadcasting. Madison Countyas award-winning team was formed in 2006 and participates in a variety of project designed to raise public awareness about underage drinking.
Madison County Youth in Action was formed in 2006 and is comprised of students from Model, Madison County and Berea Community schools and EKU.
