YES! Wraps Up Fall YES! Launch Trainings

On Tuesday, we at YES! wrapped up the last of our in-school, YES! Launch trainings, finishing with our newest YES! LEADS group from Afton High School.  YES! staff visited each of our 16 YES! LEADS groups to engage the YES! LEADers in several hours of training.

The YES! Launch training program teaches YES! LEADers how to be role models for younger students through different team activities and educational sessions.  This year's activities included a bunch of all new activities including the Tubular Transfer, Cup Stackers, Paper Tower and Strongest Structure activities.  These activities focused on developing communication, problem solving and critical thinking skills by working in small groups.

New YES! LEADers also had a special session where they learned about how to prepare for their presentations at the elementary schools later this year.

These trained YES! LEADers will use their leadership skills to develop resistance skills in elementary school children through interactive activities and age appropriate entertainment.  By being drug and alcohol free role models, they'll pass these positive messages along to younger students.

For more pictures of these YES! LEADers participating in these fun activities, visit our Gallery at www.YesSafeChoices.org, or check out our photo album on Facebook by clicking here.

YES! Launch Trainings Kick Off in Four Schools

Following the incredibly successful YES! Ignites in October and a slight weather delay, YES! LEADers have begun an additional day of training at each of their individual schools.

Called "YES! Launch" this training is designed to be a more personal training that takes place at each school where YES! LEADers break into small groups and do a variety of fun team building, communication and problem solving activities.  The purpose of these activities is to ultimately get the students to be familiar with one another, in addition to boosting their interpersonal relationships before they start working on their presentations later in the year.

New YES! LEADers for the 2012-2013 school year get an extra session during YES! Launch that focuses on presentations.  Since all new YES! LEADers have no experience with presenting on YES! LEADS, they'll attend a 45 minute session that walks them through preparing for a presentation from Start to Finish so that they'll be comfortable and confident when they get up in front of the elementary students in their districts.

So far this year, four YES! LEADS groups have taken part in YES! Launch.  The YES! LEADers from Tioga Central High School, Vestal High School, Chenango Valley High School and R.T. Stank Middle School have seen the new activities for this year, with Windsor High School, Norwich High School, Susquehanna Valley High School and Windsor Middle School finishing out the month of November.

The YES! Launch trainings are a lot of fun and provide YES! LEADers with a perfect opportunity to grow as a group.

To check out pictures from each group's YES! Launch trainings, be sure to check out each groups' photos in our Gallery or visit our Facebook page.

Celebrating Red Ribbon Week at YES! LEADS Schools

Each year during the last week of October, schools and organizations around the country join in the Red Ribbon Week campaign, the nation's largest drug prevention effort.  This year, Red Ribbon Week was celebrated from October 23rd-31st featuring the theme "The Best ME Is Drug Free!".

Red Ribbon Week offers the opportunity for schools and communities to take a stand together against drug use and show their commitment to drug prevention efforts.

At YES! Safe Choices for Kids, we kicked off our annual Red Ribbon Week Poster Contest for YES! LEADS elementary schools across Broome, Tioga and Chenango counties, looking for artwork featuring this year's Red Ribbon Week theme as well a few themes we came up with on our own.  We've already received some artwork, and look forward to seeing what other classes have come up with.

Other schools celebrated Red Ribbon Week in their own way.  Vestal High School launched a district-wide Red Ribbon Week celebration, giving red ribbons out to every student to show their dedication.

R.T. Stank Middle School held a week long campaign featuring various fun themed days, culminating in red shirt day and a Fun Night on Friday.

Seton Catholic High Schoolers visited middle school classrooms to talk with students about drug prevention efforts.

Bainbridge-Guilford High School YES! LEADers visited classrooms to help students with their poster for the Red Ribbon Week Poster Contest.

Red Ribbon Week continues to be successful in our YES! LEADS schools, as well as across the community and the country. 

For more information on Red Ribbon Week, visit www.imdrugfree.com.

The Return of YES! Ignites Is A Huge Success!

After a three year hiatus, YES! Safe Choices for Kids brought back their YES! Ignites training on October 23rd.

Almost 500 students from Broome, Tioga and Chenango counties showed up for a day of fun, leadership training and life skills development in a day long training at the Binghamton Riverwalk.

This year's keynote speaker, Mike Hall from Charleston, North Carolina, spoke with the YES! LEADers in attendance about the importance of living the life that was given to them and not merely admiring other people's lives.

Throughout the day, students attended various workshops including local drug trends, activities that teach, bullying, stress and conflict and a social media awareness seminar offered by different local organizations including Lourdes Hospital, the Broome County Sheriff's Department and OLWEUS.  These workshops were designed to give YES! LEADers the skills they need to both enforce their safe decision making and help them with their presentations.

It was a very fun day for everyone in attendance, and YES! was happy to bring it back again.

YES! has been even happier to allow Mike Hall to stay through the week and present to schools throughout the three counties, bringing his message to over 2000 other students.

To check out pictures from the return of YES! Ignites, visit our Facebook page, or click here.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month

The End of Bullying Begins with Me: that’s the message during PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Month in October. 

Started in 2006 as a week-long event, the Pacer Organization has turned the month of October into National Bullying Prevention Month, in the hopes of preventing bullying in school districts and communities.

As part of Bullying Prevention Month, the organization STOMP Out Bullying created Blue Shirt Day.  On the first Monday of October, students and staff internationally are encouraged to wear blue shirts to create a sea of blue of across the world.  This sea will demonstrate that there are people who stand against bullying.

Now in it's fourth year, Blue Shirt Day is practiced in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Israel, Germany, Portugal and Korea and took place on Monday, October 1st this year.  We encouraged our YES! LEADers to show their stand against bullying by wearing blue shirts yesterday and hope that the message was heard across the world that people are willing to stand against bullying.

For more information on Bullying Prevention Month, including resources, handouts and details on getting more involved, visit The PACER Organizations website at http://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm.

Libous, Lourdes, YES! Celebrate Local LEADers

Senator Tom Libous, Lourdes President/CEO David Patak and YES! Safe Choices for Kids were joined by local parents, teachers and school administrators to honor more than 540 Broome, Tioga and Chenango YES! LEADers at the YES! LEADers Change Lives Recognition Reception.

YES! LEADers are middle and high school students who, after a day of hands-on training, present to local elementary school students about the dangers of substance abuse, the importance of self-esteem and its role in making healthy choices as they grow up.


“Our YES! LEADers serve our community every day by volunteering countless hoursfor their peers and for younger students,” said Senator Libous. “Their dedication to a drug-free lifestyle serves as an inspiration to the lives they’ve touched.”


Senator Libous and David Patak also announced the winners of the Jill Kavanagh Memorial YES! LEADS Scholarships. Ryan Porter, a Bainbridge-Guilford High School senior, received a $1,500 scholarship. Brittni Green, a Susquehanna Valley High School senior, received a $750 scholarship. Eric Zwierlein, a Tioga Central High School senior, received a $250 scholarship. These three students were chosen based upon their contributions to their school’s YES! LEADS program and commitment to a substance-free lifestyle.


Jill Kavanagh, the former Director of the Broome Drug Awareness Center, co-founded the original YESCAP program with Senator Libous in 1989 and sadly passed away shortly after her retirement in 2005.


“Ryan, Brittni and Eric have dedicated their time, effort and energy to helping our younger students understand you don’t need to drink, do drugs or bully in order to fit in and have fun,” said David Patak.


YES! Safe Choices for Kids, a partnership between Senator Libous and Lourdes Hospital, is now in its 23rd year. Since 1989, more than 8,500 YES! LEADers have helped teach more than 100,000 elementary school students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. This year’s LEADers, representing 14 school districts, presented to over 6,000 elementary school students.


To check out pictures from this year's YES! LEADers Change Lives Reception, visit the photo gallery at  www.YesSafeChoices.org.

Alcohol Awareness Month

The month of April is National Alcohol Awareness Month, and our YES! LEADers are helping lead the charge!

Founded in 1987 by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), Alcohol Awareness Month was started to raise the awareness that alcohol abuse has lasting consequences for both families and communities. It's goal is to educate on the dangers of alcohol dependence while also eliminating social stigmas that people may think of when considering seeking help for addiction.

According to NCADD, this year's theme for Alcohol Awareness Month is "Healthy Choices, Healthy Communities: Prevent Underage Drinking", and our YES! LEADers are going to help spread that message in their districts. One example is our Seton Catholic LEADers, who read off facts about alcoholism and dependence during their middle school's daily announcements. Norwich High School's YES! LEADS group recently had Grim Reaper Day, where the fatality of alcohol is illustrated as students are picked out throughout the day to "die", painting their faces white and no longer speaking to anyone.

Alcohol Awareness Month is a great opportunity to educate our youth about the real dangers of alcohol dependence and teach them that it's not all fun and games, and there are real consequences to addiction.

For more information on the NCADD and Alcohol Awareness Month, visit http://www.ncadd.org/.

Full Steam Ahead!

As January and February have come and gone, everything has begun to really pick up in March. Our YES! LEADS groups have begun scheduling presentations, in addition to kicking it up with different Community Outreach Projects.

Last week, our groups from Susquehanna Valley High School, Tioga Central High School and Jennie F. Snapp Middle School presented to their respective elementary schools, talking to young students about addiction and drugs and alcohol.

In the next two weeks, our YES! LEADS groups from Vestal High School, Jennie F. Snapp Middle School, Union-Endicott High School and Seton Catholic Central High School will continue their presentations at other elementary and middle schools within their district.

Community Outreach Projects have also come back. On Friday, Chenango Valley High School's YES! LEADers hosted their first movie night, featuring newly-released "The Muppets". The same day, Norwich High School featured their annual "Grim Reaper Day" where students are slowly "killed off" throughout the day to show the realities of alcohol related death. Bainbridge-Guilford High School hosted a movie night two weeks ago with the movie "Puss In Boots" to an audience of over 200. R.T. Stank Middle School YES! LEADers teamed up with other students from their school for a Binghamton University Bus Trip, learning more about the school and the opportunities that college can open up to them in the future.

Seton Catholic is currently in the process of planning a movie night for April, and we'll keep our web calendar up-to-date with all upcoming events. So be sure to visit http://www.yessafechoices.org/ regularly to see pictures from our groups' presentations and Community Outreach Projects.

Four Weeks Out From Our First Talent Show!

An exciting new event is being hosted by YES! Safe Choices for Kids this year...

On April 1, 2012, YES! will host it's first ever YES! LEADers Got Talent Show at the Goodwill Theatre Firehouse Stage in Johnson City!

Each YES! LEADS group has been tasked with selecting an act that they will perform in front of other performers, in addition to any YES! LEADers who wants to turn out to support members of their own group. As long as the act is appropriate, YES! LEADers can perform anything entertaining, whether it's singing a song, playing an instrument, or even performing stand-up for up to three minutes. The options are endless!

The top three chosen acts on April 1st will then perform at this year's YES! LEADers Change Lives Recognition Reception in May, when Reception attendees will vote by phone on which act has come in first place for the top prize of $250.00 to the Oakdale Mall!

The afternoon is only open to YES! LEADers, and door prizes, food and drinks are going to be provided.

YES! LEADers who'd like to RSVP for this exciting new event can do so by clicking here!

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

The month of February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The month is a national effort to raise awareness about the dangers of teenagers and young adults in abusive relationships.

The primary tool to awareness is education, and countless organizations including youth groups, student governments, and even Congress, who began dedicating the month of February to violence awareness in 2010, promote all kinds of activities during the month to bring this issue to the forefront and teach healthy dating habits.

The long term effects of teen violence and bullying are impossible to ignore and affect far more than the just victims. Their families, friends and communities can all be negatively impacted as well. So join with the many student groups and national organizations that have decided take a stand against dating violence.

For more information on Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, visit http://www.teendvmonth.org/.

New York State Takes a Strong Stand Against Bullying

On September 13, 2010, New York State Governor Paterson signed The Dignity Act, a bill designed to provide students with an environment that was safe from discrimination, harassment and bullying. This bill was created in the hope that all students could ride to and attend school or school functions free from any negative harassment.

One of the main focuses of the Act is on in-school education, and requires schools to provide increased education on civility, tolerance and respect for others regardless of differences in race, religion, ability or sexual orientation. School districts will also be required to include more direct language relating to The Dignity Act in their Code of Conduct.

It's hoped that by increasing education and tolerance, bullying can be minimized, and students will be able to feel comfortable and confident when they attend school. While the law doesn't take effect until July 1, 2012, many districts have already begun to implement some of the requirements into their curricula.

For more information of The Dignity Act, visit their Department of Education page.

You can also stay regularly updated on The Dignity For All Students Act by liking their Facebook page.

Eating Good Foods and Being Active for Healthy Weight Week

The main goal of YES! Safe Choices for Kids is preventing bullying and alcohol and drug abuse as well as teaching resistance skills and the importance of being a good role model. By teaching kids the importance of steering clear of alcohol and drugs, we're raising healthier future generations and communities.


But another great way that kids can stay healthy is by eating healthy!


January 15th-21st marks National Healthy Weight Week in the United States. The week focuses on the need for an active lifestyle and eating healthy in order to improve long term physical and mental health.


So take some time this week to talk to your kids about the importance of eating well, being active, and feeling great about themselves for making healthy choices.


For more information on National Healthy Weight Week, visit www.healthyweight.net/hww.

New Year, New Things in Store

With the holidays over, our YES! LEADS groups are back in full storm.

In the beginning of December, Tioga Central held their first round of presentations, spending a week visiting different middle school classes. Maine-Endwell's YES! LEADers visited both of their elementary schools just before the Christmas break.

Next week, Susquehanna Valley's YES! LEADS group will begin their 5th grade presentations, starting with their first of four visits covering alcohol, tobacco, peer pressure, and finally, bullying.

With a new year comes lot of new, exciting plans. Be sure to check YesSafeChoices.org frequently to stay up-to-date on videos, pictures and more from presentations and other events.