Community Walk kicks off Red Ribbon Week to celebrate living drug free
Posted: October 24, 2023
Hundreds of families participated in the school division's 2023 National Red Ribbon Community Walk Oct. 21 at Monitor-Merrimac Overlook Park and Peterson Yacht Basin.
Attendees participated in a one-mile walk and celebrated with music, activities and a food truck as they took a stand against drugs and pledged to be a drug free community. The first 100 to arrive received a free meal and the Crimson Thunder Drumline from Katherine G. Johnson Elementary School performed as the division kicked off Red Ribbon Week Oct. 23-31.
Numerous community leaders, organizations and schools were represented including An Achievable Dream Academy, Discovery STEM Academy, Marshall Early Learning Center and Newsome Park Elementary School.
This year's Red Ribbon Week theme is "Be Kind to Your Mind. Live Drug Free."Â It serves as a reminder that everyday Americans across the country can make daily contributions to their communities by being the best they can be by living a life that is drug free, according to NNPS event organizers.
They extended a special thank you to community partners Woman's Club of Newport News, Fatherhood FIRE, Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board, Universal Mental Health Services, Peninsula Family Skating Center and What'Z N-YO Omelette food truck.
Red Ribbon Week is designated as a time for people and communities to take a visible stand against drugs, to show a personal commitment to a drug-free lifestyle, to express gratitude for all the lives that remain drug free, to pledge to live a safe and drug-free life, to remember those we have lost in the fight against drugs and to show support by wearing the symbol of the red ribbon.