Drug-Free Youth Clubs
One of the most popular elements of the Foundation's drug prevention program
are the drug-free clubs for younger students. These are known by various names
around the world, such as the Drug-Free Marshals, Drug-Free Ambassadors or Drug-Free Kids.
The original club was the Drug-Free Marshals, taking its name from the U.S.
marshals popularized in novels and movies about the American West. These men
went from town to town and spread civilization into lawless areas and were respected
as a force for good. The Drug-Free Marshals were founded in April 1993, when 200
young people ages 6 to 13 were sworn in as Drug-Free Marshals (using the
children's pledge) by actor John Travolta and the director of the Los
Angeles Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Drug Demand Reduction Program.
Today, these clubs can be found all over the world. Whatever their name, their message is simple: Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life. They organize activities that
get young people active in promoting drug-free living by creating drug-free zones
at their schools or in the community, while having fun at the same time. Each club
seeks to have as many people as possible take the Drug-Free Pledge — and so create
widespread agreement in the neighborhood that drugs are bad and that living drug
free is the way to go.
More than 3 million have signed the pledge; young and old, people from all walks
of life.
These clubs are simple organizations. Each has a coordinator who is either an older
teen or a young adult, and plenty of volunteers. The coordinator plans projects for the
clubs to do (such as those covered on this website) and gets these done by the youth
under supervision, holding regular meetings to keep everyone briefed and organized.
If your club becomes too large to run easily, select some of the brighter students and
put them in charge of five or six youths, to supervise them through specific activities.
Ensure these clubs are stocked up with all needed materials and promotion
(including the drug prevention booklets to educate people about drugs). And think up
new activities of your own to expand the program and its impact, so its message goes
out everywhere.
