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Getting Wasted vs Getting Hype!

The EPIC Assemblies team will lead this session and share their personal struggles and experiences with drinking and alcoholism.  They will dive deep into the reality of peer pressure, relationships and the effects of underage drinking.  This session will allow time for Q&A and will leave participants with real-life knowledge and the will power to stand up and speak out against underage drinking, as well as encourage their peers to do the same.

We ask that each participant only attend this session one time.

 

EPIC Assemblies

EPIC Assemblies is leading the industry as the premiere school assembly program in the United States. Our organization has been conducting school assemblies since 2002, and have tested and proven what works with students.  Over the past two years of touring nationwide, EPIC Assemblies has impacted over 65,000 students by partnering alongside superintendents, principals, teachers, counselors and community leaders and we are seeing thousands of lives changed around the country.

EPIC (Empowering Performances Impacting Communities) is a team of 11 young adults who use their talents, as well as their real-life stories, to address many of the things that teens struggle with each day.  Our intense and captivating production addresses bullying, alcohol and drug abuse, broken homes, mental health issues like depression and suicide and more. Our passion is to inspire students to talk about their struggles with trusted people instead of turning to destructive behavior and lifestyles.

EPIC Assemblies Keynote

EPIC Assemblies inspires students to TAKE OFF THE MASK and make positive life changes!  Using the arts in a creative and compelling production of the cast’s real life stories, the team “takes off their masks” as they address an array of topics, including substance abuse, bullying and suicide.

Did You Know?

  • Most Missouri kids DO NOT drink? In fact, 85.61% of you have not drank in the past 30 days!
  • 53.7% of you would definitely not drink alcohol if one of your best friends offered it.
  • 68.2% think it is wrong or very wrong to drink alcohol.
  • The average age that a person first tries alcohol in Missouri is 13.43 or 7th grade.
  • Of the youth that reported drinking in the past 30 days, 22.8% of them reported at least one episode of binge drinking.

Look at how much has changed since the first annual Speak Hard (2004) and now!

 20042016
Average age of first drink:12.1713.43
Had a drink in the past 30 days: 30%14.3%
Ridden in a car with someone who had been drinking: 23.414.4
Drove a car while drinking: 6%4.4%

Source: 2004 and 2016 Missouri Student Survey

Substance-Free Prom Season

Belton Cares’ After Prom Party is an event held the evening of prom from midnight to 4 -5 am at a local gathering spot, Aaron’s Family Fun Center. The goal of the After Prom Party is to offer an alternative place to go, so teens can gather and enjoy the evening while staying safe and sober. Juniors and seniors, along with their dates, are welcome to attend. The event provides plenty of entertainment with music and a dance area, snacks and soft drinks, goody bags, and lots of other fun activities such as sand volleyball and miniature golf!

Belton Cares has been providing this event for almost 15 years. Each year, approximately 200 juniors and seniors attend out of 995 students. The school provides support by promoting the event in the school announcements and through other high school media, as well as selling tickets in the cafeteria. The after-prom party has also gained community support. Community businesses, civic groups and parents donate prizes, cash and time. The event space costs $2,500 and event prizes are around $1,000. These costs are paid by donations and fundraisers.

Students also have a part to play in how their prom evening will turn out. SADD offers some great safety tips to help keep the night fun and healthy:

  • Know your agenda and provide the information to your parents.
  • Plan ahead what you will say or do if someone offers you alcohol or another illegal drug. Phrases such as “No, thanks,” “Are you kidding? I want to remember this night!” or “Actually, I’d rather have a soda. Do you have one?” often work, even if you think they won’t.
  • Know your date before you go. If your date is someone you do not know well, spend a little time together in advance. Take a walk at a park or go for an ice cream before the big night. You and your parents will feel better about your staying out late with someone you know.
  • Find out what your curfew is, and tell your date and/or your friends before prom night.
  • Discuss with your parents any after-curfew possibilities (the party at your friend’s house or early morning breakfast at your place).
  • Ask a trusted adult to be near a phone and available on prom night in case you need to call.
  • If you have cell phone, make sure it is fully charged, or carry a phone card or enough change to make several phone calls from a pay phone if necessary.

For more information from SADD about planning a safe prom, check out: http://www.sadd.org/promplan.htm

 

Caffeine and Alcohol: A Dangerous Combination

In the fight against underage drinking, adding caffeine to the mix only complicates the matter even further.

On February 20th Anita Jurkowski, PH.D., as a representative of MYAA and Compass Prevention, talked with 312 seventh grade students of Smith-Cotton Jr. High School in Sedalia about Alcohol and Other Drugs of Abuse. Over six class periods the dangers of underage drinking of alcohol, underage drinking of caffeinated alcohol, and underage vaping of alcohol were discussed.

Although few students were aware of vaping alcohol, they were well aware of caffeinated alcoholic drinks.  A high percentage of Sedalia students reported the habit of “slamming” caffeinated energy drinks, which currently are legal to underage consumers. In fact, caffeinated energy drinks and caffeinated alcoholic drinks are primarily marketed to teenagers and young adults, respectively1. The jump from caffeinated energy drinks to caffeinated alcoholic drinks is easy to follow, especially since the cans for both are extremely similar.

Research is demonstrating that drinking caffeine in high amounts quickly primes the brain toward future binge drinking of alcohol2.  Greater consumption of caffeinated energy drinks in teens and pre-teens is linked to earlier initiation of alcohol drinking, to greater amounts of alcohol drinking, and to a higher propensity toward sensation seeking, risky behavior, and future alcoholism3.

With the overconsumption of caffeinated energy drinks in teens and the aggressive targeted advertising toward the young of caffeinated energy and caffeinated alcoholic drinks, combined with the unawareness on the part of teens and parents alike to the association between caffeinated energy drink consumption and future alcohol, nicotine, and other substance dependence it is not a far stretch to predict an increase in underage drinking as a direct result of caffeinated energy drink use, abuse and addiction. It behooves teens, parents, and society to learn more about the dangerous combination of caffeine and alcohol.

 

Foot Notes

  1. Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-marketing-strategy-this-energy-drink-used-to-take-on-red-bull-and-become-a-billion-dollar-brand-2012-2
  2. GP, 11/19/2010: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.ccis.edu/chc/detail?sid=e56cb98e-9158-479e-88f9-d54ca5e1e11c%40sessionmgr111&vid=4&hid=109&bdata=JnNpdGU9Y2hjLWxpdmU%3d#db=cmh&AN=67291691
  3. Eur J Pediatr (2013) 172:1335–1340: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.ccis.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=7aab0d87-af91-4cd3-b6b1-37160d6642e5%40sessionmgr114&vid=11&hid=119
  4. Caffeinated Energy Drinks: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/canada/ban-energy-drink-sales-to-minors-say-health-officials-37573.html
  5. Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks: http://www.freemanrecoverycenter.com/caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/]]]

Contact Us

428 E. Capitol, 2nd Floor
Jefferson City, MO 65101
phone: 573-635-6669
toll-free: 877-669-2280
fax: 573-635-7257
email: info@actmissouri.org

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