A new nonprofit organization called SafeLaunch is working to keep local youth drug- and alcohol-free by having teens create a media campaign for their peers this summer.
The ongoing Media 500 contest will pay seventh- through 12th-graders $500 for the best three-minute video or song and $250 for the best 40-second public service announcement or 10-second audio jingle. Janet Rowse, co-founder of SafeLaunch, says that by having teenagers design the campaign it will be more relevant and meaningful.
“The goal is to talk to kids and say, ‘Look, there is a time to drink and party, but it’s later,” Rowse said.
SafeLaunch’s Launch Crew, an advisory group of seven students from local public and private schools, will direct which future contests and programs are offered. Students in grades seven through 12 are invited to join the group.
Jesus Terrazas, a sophomore at Santa Barbara High School, heard about SafeLaunch from the Dons Net Café and is now a member of its advisory group. Staying substance-free is important to make clear decisions about what is right and wrong, he said.
“I think teens listen to other teens because they can connect with them, unlike adults,” Terrazas said.
Winning some money by submitting a rap song for the contest might get the attention of someone who is already using drugs or alcohol, he said.
Melissa Wilkins, a program coordinator with the Santa Barbara Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse, works with local teens to put on Friday night events that encourage a substance-free lifestyle.
She says that at this point in their development, youth are more likely to listen to their peers than adults.
Although Wilkins hasn’t worked on the Media 500 campaign, she sees a dual benefit for this kind of programming. First, it provides skills for youth who haven’t had leadership roles in academics or programming. It is also provides alternatives to those who are at-risk for experimenting with substances after school.
“Sometimes it takes being in the majority with people who have decided to be drug- and alcohol-free,” Wilkins said.
Wilkins regularly provides teens with facts on substance use that they utilize in presentations to their peers. This judgment-free information coming from other young people is the most effective message to teenagers, she said.
Rowse, the wife of Santa Barbara City Councilman Randy Rowse, said she has seen many parents awakened to the issue of drug prevention by their own children’s activism.
Prevention became an important issue for Rowse over the last 16 years as a parent involved in local schools. She and her co-founders, Ron Cuff and Mari Mender, met representatives of the FreeStyle Foundation, which funds and promotes substance free-living programs, during Santa Barbara City Council hearings on medical marijuana dispensaries.
SafeLaunch was founded as an initiative of the Rancho Cucamonga-based foundation last September. All donation made to SafeLaunch are reported to the Internal Revenue Service by FreeStyle, Rowse said.
If this summer’s contest is successful, Rowse plans to hold another one this winter.
All entries for the Media 500 contest must be submitted by Aug. 15.
» Click here for more information on SafeLaunch, or email info@safelaunch.org.
» Click here to make an online donation to support the Media 500 campaign.
» Join SafeLaunch on Facebook. Follow SafeLaunch on Twitter: @SafeLaunchSB.
— Noozhawk intern Daniel Langhorne can be reached at dlanghorne@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.