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JVS implements drug-free club program

BLOOMINGDALE — Students attending the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School have been given the opportunity to join the Drug Free Clubs of America program as a means to motivating a healthy living lifestyle. And school officials are looking to the community to help support that endeavor.

Principal Andy Long explained the initiative not only helps students to make positive choices, but benefits them in the long run through a variety of ways.

“Drug Free Clubs of America is about students making positive and healthy choices,” Long stated. “It empowers students to make a healthy lifestyle choice. This will be a student organization and they will receive an ID. There will be an in-house incentive and reward system, plus, we’re looking for support from the community. We will be looking for opportunities for incentives because we believe rewarding positive behaviors will motivate students to commit to a drug-free lifestyle.”

Officials explained the club was started by firefighters in 2005. Their action was in response to the number of tragedies they had witnessed stemming from drug use in their communities.

Overdoses and violence played a major role in starting the nationwide club. Today, the organization boasts an estimated 6,000 teen members in more than 50 chapters across Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. Clubs can be found in schools and universities. The initiative’s mission is to protect the nation’s youth from the horrors of drug abuse by using highly-effective tactics to foster bright futures.

The club’s vision states: “A promising generation of healthy, safe teens who are confident that they can depend on the DFCA’s strategies to defend and encourage their drug-free lives.” Its core values include integrity, innovation, optimism, fellowship and resilience. Officials will be seeking collaborations with businesses and other groups for incentives, such as discounts and other rewards for students who hold a club membership card.

“We’ll reach out to businesses to see if they will offer incentives and we’ll ask for support for those students,” Long said. “There will be incentives here at the school that can range from a pizza party to preferential parking spots in the student parking lot. We’re trying to encourage students to maintain a healthy lifestyle and build a stronger, healthier community.”

As part of the commitment, students must undergo a drug test twice a year with their parents’ consent. Long said memberships are strictly volunteer.

“A lot of career-tech schools are members of the Drug Free Clubs of America,” he added. “Students who present their ID to an employer may jump up on the job hiring list.”

Juniors will begin signups at the beginning of the year, Long said, noting the initiative will go into effect during the next school year.

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