Red Ribbon Week honors agent's fight against illegal drugs Junior Students Against Substance Abuse (SASA) club at DDMS joins nationwide drug and violence prevention campaign

MILFORD — Substance abuse can change who you are and who you become in the future. That's why the Junior Students Against Substance Abuse (SASA) club at Dingman-Delaware Middle School joined Red Ribbon Week, the nationwide alcohol, tobacco, and other drug and violence prevention campaign observed annually in October.
Mrs. Bruno, Miss Davanzo and, Miss Loria, the advisors of the club at DDMS, joined with club members to discuss why participating in this initiative is important. Members said they wanted to educate students and their peers.
When the eighth-graders heard the story of guest speaker Tony Hoffman, they wanted to bring more information to their peers. By creating a spirit week during Red Ribbon, they hope it will really get the students more involved while having some fun.
How did Red Ribbon Week start?The Red Ribbon week campaign was founded 30 years ago by the National Family Partnership, a national leader in drug prevention education and advocacy. Its mission is to support the nation’s families and communities in nurturing the full potential of healthy, drug-free youth.
The National Family Partnership organized the first Nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign. Since its beginning in 1985, it has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. The murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique Camarena in 1985 angered parents and youth across the country, who began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America.
When Camarena decided to join the DEA, his mother tried to talk him out of it.
"I'm only one person, but I want to make a difference," he told her.
On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him into a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found. He had been tortured to death.
To honor Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents, sick of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, began forming coalitions. Some of these new coalitions took Camarena as their model and embraced his belief that one person can make a difference.