Bruce Franklin/Press-herald
Webster Parish Students will be sporting red ribbons to promote safe and drug free schools during Red Ribbon Week, which runs through the week. The district held a kickoff party Thursday.
Webster Parish Students will be sporting red ribbons to promote safe and drug free schools during Red Ribbon Week, which runs through the week.
Red Ribbon Week is a parish-wide activity in which students take a stand against drugs and learn ways to say “no” to drugs.
Ursula Hullaby, Webster Parish Coordinator of Safe and Drug Free Schools, said the parish sponsors the ribbons for the students to wear.
This year’s theme is “Your Future is Key so Stay Drug Free.”
“We are trying to make sure our students are equipped with what they need to know in relation to making poor decisions related to drinking and drugs,” Hullaby said. “Every school will get red ribbons and the kids really get excited about it.”
Schools will have special days throughout the week to bring awareness to living a drug free life.
The district held a kick-off party for Red Ribbon Week Thursday at the Minden High School track.
“Red Ribbon Week is one of the truly outstanding initiatives we have in the parish,” Superintendent Johnny Rowland Jr. said. “It all comes together with the help of the support of the community, which we are very thankful for.”
The red ribbon custom began more than 30 years ago when drug traffickers in Mexico killed narcotics agent, Enrique Camarena. The red ribbons are a symbol of the commitment to provide substance abuse help for youth across the country.