NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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The Collingwood and The Blue Mountains Ontario Provincial Police received financial sponsorship for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Keepin' it REAL Program (D.A.R.E.). Several members of the Collingwood Optimist Club attended the Collingwood OPP Detachment to present a cheque in the amount of $4,000.
The Collingwood Optimist Club has been supporting the program since 1998 which is delivered to Grade 6 students in elementary schools within the Towns of Collingwood and Thornbury. The 2017-2018 school year has seen almost 300 students participating in the program.
The program helps youth make safe and responsible choices. They use skills that will assist them in making responsible decisions and resisting behaviours that would be harmful to their health, such as using drugs. They are introduced to the D.A.R.E. Decision Making Model that assists them in problem solving and helps them to make wise decisions for their future.
At the end of the program students complete and present an essay about their own experience in D.A.R.E. and how they plan to use what they have learned to help them make safe and responsible choices.
The D.A.R.E. Program is a community partnership program between the Police, Schools, Parents and community sponsors. The OPP would like to thank the Collingwood Optimist Club for being the longest standing sponsor for the program and their continued commitment to youth in our community!
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