Pubdate: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 Source: Merritt Herald (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 Merritt Herald Contact: http://www.merrittherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1446 Author: S. Paul Varga Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) DARE TO BE EMPOWERED Merritt's DARE coordinator knows how to let a sticker do the talking. The sticker, with a colour photograph of the RCMP's Volkswagen Beetle Community Policing car, reads: "Just say No to drugs." It's what the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program is partly about. It doesn't just teach youth how to say no. The program actually gives children a well-rounded education on how to be empowered, how not to be pushed around; skills which will serve them well in a variety of settings. Feedback for the program has been great, says Peppler, who set up a booth at the Overwaitea grocery store last week. "Everyone's come by and read the literature and chatted about the program," says Peppler. On Thursday, Peppler had a bit of help manning the booth from southeast district DARE coordinator Const. Bob Collins. They were helping promote the Overwaitea points fundraiser, where the store would match every point donated and pay it out in cash to the DARE program. "Every dollar raised here stays here," says Peppler. "Money raised in Merritt goes to fund the Merritt DARE program." While he didn't know the tally at the time, he said they need 58 workbooks to provide the one-hour-per-week program to Central elementary school Grade 6 students this fall over the course of 17 weeks. "It costs about $10 to $15 per student to deliver the program, including books, prizes, t-shirts, and certificates." Peppler was trained to be able to deliver the DARE program by Cpl. Sean Neary, who recently transferred out of Merritt. "The program has had really good reception here in Merritt," says Peppler. "Parents get involved in the program through the PAC, helping with the graduation ceremony or with donating money." Parent involvement in the program is really important, as it helps reinforce the lessons learned. Additionally, it's important for the parents to be part of many of the students' first significant contact with a police officer. In Merritt, the Sunrise Rotary Club is a major supporter of the DARE program. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D