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Local Teen CHARGE program holds writing competition, promotes drug-free living

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“The Best Me Is Drug Free” writing contest is open to all West Michigan 7th-12th grade students (Courtesy, pxhere.com)

By Deborah Reed

WKTV Managing Editor

deborah@wktv.org

Submissions for the writing contest will be accepted until Oct. 23 (Courtesy: pxhere.com)

“The Best Me Is Drug Free” is the theme for the student-led Teen CHARGE program’s writing contest currently underway – and that is still accepting submissions.

Wedgwood Christian Services’ Teen CHARGE program is celebrating Red Ribbon Week (RRW) with a writing contest that focuses on drug abuse awareness and living drug-free lives.

All 7th-12th grade West Michigan students are invited to submit an original written work to the contest. Submissions can be in the form of a poem, story, song, rap, essay or personal narrative that relates to the theme “The Best Me Is Drug Free.”

Submissions can be emailed to teencharge@wedgwood.org, and will be accepted until Oct. 23. Winners will win gift cards and will have the chance to have their piece published on the Teen CHARGE website if they so choose.

“Every year we try to do things to recognize Red Ribbon Week,” said Gina Boscarino, Wedgwood Christian Services Group Specialist. “I wanted to do something they would be excited about, and I have a lot of students who enjoy writing, specifically creative writing.”

Raising awareness, making a difference

Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention awareness program (Courtesy: h9images, Freepik.com)

RRW is an annual, nationwide drug abuse awareness campaign that takes place during the last week of October. The campaign began after the death of Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was brutally murdered in 1985 by a Mexican drug cartel.

Camarena was known to say, “I’m only one person but I want to make a difference.”

The RRW celebration was created in 1988 by the National Family Partnership (NFP) to honor and acknowledge Camarena’s sacrifice by recognizing the harmful effects of drugs on our communities and making commitments to live a drug-free lifestyle.

Authentic and true

Boscarino says many of the written RRW submissions received to date have been “very powerful.”

Many students pledge to live drug-free lives during Red Ribbon Week (Courtesy: storyset, Freepik.com)

“Some of them are talking about why they are not going to do [drugs], or why they don’t feel the need to do drugs or alcohol,” said Boscarino. “And the other half is looking at it from the other perspective, showing the dangers of it [and] how a person loses themselves once they become addicted to something.”

“We are looking for [pieces] that are authentic and true,” Boscarino explained, adding that students do not have to have a personal experience with drugs in order to create a powerful and authentic written work.

Though this is the first year having a writing contest for RRW, Boscarino says they will definitely be doing it again.

“I think one of the great things about writing is that it is a confidence builder for a lot of people,” said Boscarino.

Blog submissions always welcome

Teen CHARGE promotes creativity and accepts blog submissions regularly (Courtesy: pxhere.com)

In fact, students interested in writing are encouraged to submit to the Teen CHARGE blog at any time.

“If kids are interested in writing, we are always taking submissions for the blog even if they’re not a specific Teen CHARGE brand representative,” said Boscarino. “We just really want to promote creativity and making healthy decisions.”

To find out more about Wedgwood Christian Services, visit wedgwood.org. To learn more about Teen CHARGE, visit teencharge.org.