Abia Judd Elementary School celebrated Red Ribbon Week with the help of the Prescott community, including the Abia Judd PTA, Abia Judd parents, teachers, MATForce and the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office.

Principal Larry Peterson said, "Red Ribbon Week is a great way to remind students about making good choices for themselves, which includes living drug-free. I want to thank our Abia Judd PTA, parents, teachers, MATForce and the Sheriff's Office for helping bring this important message to our students."

Each day of Abia Judd's Red Ribbon Week students participated in an anti-drug activity. Bookmarks, stickers, ribbons and pencils with the message "Yes, I can live drug-free" were donated by MATForce through the Northstar Youth Partnership. Each student tied a red ribbon on the school fence pledging to live a drug-free life. Each day of the week students received a drug-free message from Principal Peterson and their teacher. Yavapai County Sheriff's Office "Deputy Do-Right" was the highlight of an all school assembly with the theme "You Win or Lose by the Way You Choose."

Katy Kimball, Abia Judd PTA President, said, "As part of making good and healthy choices we also incorporated a walk to school day. We were so impressed by the involvement of parents in supporting this message. We had over one hundred participants!"

As part of Red Ribbon Week, Abia Judd and MATForce invited all parents to become a MVP. MVP, which stands for MATForce Valuable Parent, is a way that parents can stay alert to drug trends in youth through a brief monthly email received from matforce.org.

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Photo Caption: Abia Judd Elementary School students tied red ribbons to their school fence as part of their pledge to live drug-free during the school's Red Ribbon Week activities.

Jeanne Wellins
Public Relations and Project Coordinator
928- 713-7500

MATForce
www.matforce.org
Yavapai County Substance Abuse Coalition