Pubdate: Mon, 25 Mar 2002
Source: Rocky Mount Telegram, The (NC)
Copyright: 2002 Cox Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1751
Author: Spaine Stephens, Rocky Mount Telegram
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education)

GIRLS PLEDGE TO REMAIN DRUG-FREE

Approximately 30 girls at Baskerville Elementary became members Friday of a 
statewide initiative to keep young women drug-free.

Rich Boswell, director of Partnership for a Drug-Free North Carolina, led 
the students in a pledge promising they would abstain from drug, alcohol 
and tobacco use.

"This is the time when young ladies form opinions of themselves," Boswell 
said. "What I hope is that the message I take to different schools makes 
people think three, four or five times when they have to make these decisions."

The students joining the Girl Power! initiative recited a pledge and 
received T-shirts in the assembly, watched by fellow students.

"It's a little bit hard to go back on a promise when everybody knows about 
it," Boswell said as the girls lined up in front of their classmates.

The girls pledged to remain drug-free, but they also committed to taking 
care of their minds and bodies, excelling at home and at school and 
remaining confident in their abilities.

Boswell said the Girl Power! initiative became statewide in North Carolina 
in 1997 and is the only statewide program in the national initiative.

He said schools, churches and other community-based organizations express 
interest in offering the program to young girls to get them started on a 
path to personal growth.

"Any time we have the opportunity to let the girls know the leadership 
supports them, we take it," Boswell said.

He said the girls recognized at Baskerville Friday will be honored 
nationally on the organization's Web site, which will feature information 
on the individual members of Girl Power! and detail their awards ceremony.

Boswell told the other Baskerville students at the assembly that even 
though the presentation was honoring the achievements of the Girl Power! 
members, each child in the room had the ability to make a similar pledge.

"It's a message we all need to carry with us," said Baskerville school 
counselor Mary Hinton, who brought the program to the school through 
networking. "The program has benefits to all children in the long-run."

Boswell said he travels across the state to educate students on prevention 
and to create ideas for gender-specific prevention programming.

Baskerville principal Victor Ward said Friday's presentation hopefully 
spurred interest in the other students to want to take a personal pledge of 
their own.

"Another reason I like the program is that it's designed to emphasize 
education skills including academic, arts and sports," Ward said.

He said the program would hopefully return to Baskerville and gather more 
student members of Girl Power, and to expand to include a program for male 
students.

"We want a Boy Power!," Ward said.

"It's coming," Boswell said.
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MAP posted-by: Jackl