Next Coaltion Meeting Thursday, January 12th, 9:00 – 11:00 am
The celebration breakfast will also include a visit from the Coalition's evaluator
to discuss strategies for addressing marijuana and prescription drugs misuse by youth.
We need your input…please join us!
Coalition meetings are open to all, so please feel free to extend an invitation to your friends and/or colleagues. We want to hear what you have to say too! For more information or to RSVP please contact Stephanie Cook at stephanielead@aol.com
Think Inside the Box
Speak UP! created the following ad for publication in local newpapers (including the Chicago Tribune) and as hand outs. Help us get the word out about these collection boxes around town.
Speak UP in the News
Here are some recent Speak Up articles from our local press:
Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch
"Race to Nowhere" Movie Provides Opportunity for Community Engagement
Youth Survey Results Show Focus Shift to Middle School Parents
Speak Up Coalition Initiatives Reach Out to Parents, Kids
Pioneer Press Lake Forest
Speak Up! plans slew of initiatives
Life of an Athlete: Performance – The Key to Your Success
For Student Athletes, Parents, and Coaches - Grades 7-12
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
7 – 8:30pm
John Underwood, NCAA All American, Olympic coach, and sports physiologist will outline what it takes for athletes to perform at their best. He will reference attitude, nutrition, sleep, effects of alcohol, drugs, caffeine, and more. Underwood challenges and inspires teens to make healthy, responsible choices and take a leadership role in encouraging their teammates to do the same. Parents and coaches will gain a clear understanding of how best to support our teens.
View a clip from his inspiring talk:
John Underwood, NCAA All American
International Distance Runner
Learn more at AmericanAthleticInstitute.org.
LFHS Raymond Moore Auditorium
Free: No registration necessary
Sponsored by The Grandy Fund, Speak Up! Prevention Coalition, & Lake Forest High School Athletics, and LFHS Booster Club.
SpeakUP Awarded Federal Grant
The SpeakUp! Prevention Coalition of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Knollwood has been awarded a federal Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grant by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
The coalition will receive $125,000 during fiscal year 2010 and is eligible to receive up to $625,000 over a five year period. The funding is contingent upon the coalition matching the award each year with an equivalent value of financial and in-kind donations, which may include volunteer hours and donated or discounted professional services and materials. Read more »
An Opportunity for You to Speak Up!
LEAD and the Speak Up Prevention Coalition are pleased with the recognition our community received for our efforts to reduce underage drinking as featured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on April 16, 2010.
Coincidentally, Gazebo News also featured a story that same day about an unfortunate incident involving underage drinking over spring break.
Together, we are making great progress across Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Knollwood in bringing the issue of underage drinking to the forefront, and we hope we can count on you to continue to help us achieve our goal of significantly reducing underage drinking in our community. We encourage you to read both these stories and use them as:
- an opportunity to have an age appropriate conversation with your children about responsible decision making and peer pressure, and
- to reaffirm with your friends and neighbors that you will support each other in working to keep our youth alcohol free and in looking out for each other's children and homes.
Community Leaders Hear from Speak Up!
Over 50 community leaders, including city and county officials, police chiefs, and school and business leaders, gathered on February 10th to hear Speak Up's update on local underage drinking and drug use statistics and strategies. Participants at each table then shared their thoughts and presented their recommendations to the larger group. See the presentation PDF
Video: Leadership Luncheon: Presentation
Video: Leadership Luncheon: Discussion
"Social Hosting" Ordinance Approved
Lake Forest has become the latest Lake County community to
expand and strengthen rules to deter people who allow children to drink
or do drugs at parties other gatherings. Adopted by the Lake Forest
City Council on February 16, 2010, the ordinance will be in effect
after publication in pamphlet form in the manner provided by law. The
new “social host ordinance” is designed to hold any person, not just
parents, accountable for events at which kids are drinking or using
drugs.
Our Stories Wins Aurora Award! CONGRATS to Bitter Jester Creative of Highland Park, IL!
The Aurora Awards are an independent film and
video competition for commercials, cable programming, documentaries,
industrial, instructional, and corporate videos. Productions are judged
on Technical Execution, Message Effectiveness, and Creativity. A gold
award is recognition of superiority in the film and video production
field
. "Our Stories" won a 2008 Gold
Aurora Award in the documentary category.
Want more information about underage drinking? Need help getting the conversation going? You can order the original version, specific to the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff community, or a new version that is generic, applicable to any community. Order the 15 minute DVD and parent handbook by clicking on this link! Note: call the LEAD office at 847-295-9075 for more than 2 copies or for use at schools.
Cast and crew of Our Stories
From left to right: Daniel Kullman, Hunter Ousterhout, Linda Hegg, Jenny Edgington, Doug Petit, Aaron White, and Nicolas DeGrazia. Not pictured: Taylor Goddu, Liz Smith, John Baruffi, Curt Theo.Want to Know More About the Effects of Alcohol on the Teen Brain?
Don't miss this
12 page newspaper insert on underage drinking and the effects on the developing brain that
appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Pioneer Press,
and News Sun, and Reflejos in April. Created as a
joint venture with the members of the Lake County Underage Drinking
Task Force, this educational piece for parents was developed in advance
of prom/graduation and the summer season of teen parties. Extra copies
are available at LEAD, 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest 60045, or at
the Lake County Health Department, 3010 Grand Avenue, Waukegan, IL
60085. Want a copy mailed to you? Email us at lead9075@aol.com and include your
contact information. Here is an overview:
Think underage drinking doesn’t affect a teen’s brain? Think again.
IT’S A FACT. New research shows alcohol affects a teenager’s developing brain differently than an adult’s. Memory, learning and impulse control can be impaired seriously. The risk of addiction goes up dramatically. talk to your kids about the dangers of alcohol and set clear about no alcohol use. Visit www.drugfree.org/parent for more information and the proven skills to prevent underage drinking.
Read the entire piece to get the complete story!
Also available in Spanish.
Brought to you by the Lake County Underage Drinking Task Force. Special thanks to IDOT, the SpeakUp Prevention Coalition, and the Lake County Health Department, the Deseret News, plus member coalitions and other generous supporters. To find a coalition near you, please consult our Task Forces and Coalitions page.
Parents of Lake Forest High School Juniors and Seniors Hear From SpeakUp!
SpeakUp! sent a cover note and the newspaper insert to all parents of LFHS juniors and seniors on May 9. Prom, graduation, and summer celebrations are upon us. While many teens make positive choices, alcohol use and binge drinking often are viewed as a rite of passage at these events. Teens can feel pressured to participate, and parents can feel pressured to host parties with alcohol for their teens. Read SpeakUp's message to parents, frequently asked legal Q&A's, and facts on teen drinking, attitudes, and access to alcohol. Share this material your friends and family. Additional copies are available at LEAD's office.
Lowering the Legal Drinking Age: An Analysis of the Pros and Cons
Since the mid 1930’s, the legal drinking age in the United States has
been set at 21. But during the Vietnam War, in consideration of
young people in military service, 29 states lowered the legal drinking
age. As a result, there was no uniform drinking age, with some states
choosing 18, 19, or 20, and some states also putting restrictions on
types of beverages that could be purchased such as beer and wine, or
limited the right to on-premise sales only, etc.
As a result of these changes, there was a marked increase in car
fatalities where young people and drinking was involved. This patchwork
of laws also led to problems at state borders, creating significant
risk for teens that would drive to an adjacent state to obtain or
consume alcohol. For instance, Wisconsin allowed liquor sales to
18 year olds, and Illinois did not, and it is not uncommon to hear
local adults tell stories, some tragic, read more »
College Presidents Talk About Lowering the Drinking Age
The Amethyst Initiative
Former Middlebury College president James McCardell is on a
mission—to convince others that the solution to dangerous college
drinking is lowering the drinking age. After founding Choosing
Responsibility, a non-profit organization dedicated to researching the
issue, he initiated the Amethyst Initiative and asked college
presidents around the country to join him.
read more »
Speak Up's View on Lowering the Drinking Age
Read the Coalition's position paper to get both sides of the argument!