History:
On Thursday, February 7, 1985, at 2:00 pm, Special Agent Enrique Camarena left the American Consulate in Guadalajara to meet his wife, Mika, for lunch. Known to his friends as "Kiki," Special Agent Camarena had been in Mexico for more than four years on the trail of Mexican marijuana and cocaine drug traffickers. Kiki was due to be reassigned in three weeks because he had come dangerously close to exposing the top leaders of a multi-billion drug pipeline. As Kiki walked to his truck, he was approached by five men who shoved him into a beige Volkswagen. One of the men threw a jacket over Kiki's head, and the driver sped away. Kiki never saw his wife or family again. He was found a month later, he had been tortured and brutally murdered by drug traffickers.
Kiki gave his life in the fight against drugs, and the public wanted to do something to remember the ultimate sacrifice that he paid. Red Ribbon Week started in 1985 in Kiki’s hometown of Calexico, California, and soon gained momentum across California and then the rest of the country. The first National Red Ribbon Week was created by the National Family Partnership in 1988, and NFP continues to coordinate the campaign for families, schools and communities across the nation each year. This is now the nation’s longest and largest drug prevention campaign.
20 Ways to Promote:
There are lots of ways to celebrate Red Ribbon Week and every part of your community can get involved. Here are some ideas:
Communities Can:
1. Contact your elected officials about issuing a proclamation declaring Red Ribbon Week in your community.
2. Invite elected and government officials to participate in Red Ribbon Week activities.
3. Display a basket of red ribbons in the reception area of your organization for visitors to take, along with copies of the Red Ribbon Week fact card.
4. Display red ribbons or put a red light on the interior and exterior surfaces of your organization’s building.
5. Sponsor a special drug abuse prevention seminar for the community. Invite a speaker who is an expert on drug prevention and invite the community to attend.
6. Submit a public service announcement about Red Ribbon Week activities to your local radio station.
7. Sponsor an in-service educational program for your employees and community leaders.
8. Organize a drug prevention awareness fair. Invite local nonprofit organizations to participate by staffing exhibit booths, disseminating educational materials, offering free health screenings, and much more.
9. Set up and staff an exhibit table at a local hospital, doctor’s office, community center, or shopping center to promote Red Ribbon Week and to distribute drug prevention information and materials.
10. Post fact sheets and Red Ribbon Week event notices and other materials on community webpages, and on bulletin boards in libraries, hospitals, local churches, synagogues, gymnasiums, grocery stores, parks and recreation departments, health clinics, universities, and other public places.
Schools Can:
1. Wear red ribbons and distribute them to your friends, family, volunteers, staff, and employees.
2. Sponsor a Red Ribbon Week activity (e.g., fun run; bike-a-thon; bookmark, poster, or essay contest; classroom door decorating contest).
3. Incorporate drug prevention facts and tips in your school-wide announcements and websites throughout Red Ribbon Week. Create a bulletin board display about Red Ribbon Week and post it in a high traffic area of your school.
4. Have a Red Ribbon Rally with performances by local talent or school groups.
5. Have a school assembly (everyone can wear red) and invite a law enforcement officer to speak about the dangers of drug abuse.
6. Do a drug prevention and refusal skills presentation for your classmates.
7. Promote Red Ribbon Week at your school's sporting events by handing out red ribbons, providing information about Red Ribbon Week, and having parents and students take a drug-free pledge.
8. Sponsor an in-service training on drug prevention education for school administrators, teachers, counselors, nurses, and other staff.
9. Start a Red Ribbon Week Club that meets regularly to promote drug prevention throughout the year.
10. Sponsor a health fair and invite health and safety workers from the community to provide educational materials to students and parents.
Prevention Coalition Activities:
The Prevention Coalition is sponsoring multiple activities throughout this special week. We have given the local schools all this information.
Spirit Week
• “Team up against drugs!”- Wear sports jerseys
• “Sock it to drugs!”- Wear crazy socks
• “Lei off drugs!”- Wear Hawaiian clothes
• “Don’t get mixed up in drugs!”- Wear mismatched clothes
• “I dream of a drug free world!”- Wear pajamas
• “Too bright for drugs”- Wear neon clothes
• “I mustache you not to do drugs”- Wear mustaches
• “Don’t get tied up in drugs”- Wear a tie
• “Put a cap on drugs!”- Wear a hat
Video Contest
Students created a 60 second or less video discussing Red Ribbon Week and why it is important to remain drug free. The videos were uploaded to YouTube.
Red Ribbon Week Live Binder
A Live Binder was created to help with all the information on Red Ribbon Week. Here is the link:
https://www.livebinders.com/b/2863529
The Access Code is: 419
Resources:
https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/special-agent-enrique-kiki-camarena
https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-09/20%20Ways%20to%20Promote%20Red%20Ribbon%20Week%20(2018))_508.pdf
