Serving the community with drug education

Foundation for a Drug-Free World set up a booth at the local Health and Wellness expo at Grant High School in Sacramento. The event, the 7th Annual Wellness Expo, held in honor of Martin Luther King Day, was organized by the local city councilman. It featured health screenings, adult educational and financial literacy resources, community programs, youth services and activities for children, along with singing, dancing and a fashion show. Local community leaders spoke about the importance of the day and the value of volunteering in the community.

Observed each year on the third Monday in January as “a day on, not a day off,” MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.

This year’s expo theme, “Mind, Body, Soul, and Community,” served as a perfect backdrop to celebrate the holiday and showcase services and organizations that lead community efforts for a healthy lifestyle.

Volunteers from the local Foundation for a Drug-Free World chapter handed out hundreds of drug education booklets called The Truth About Drugs and led dozens of youth and adults to pledge to lead drug-free lives and to help others do so too. In addition, the Foundation offered a comprehensive curriculum to educators for their own drug prevention efforts.

“Drugs can impair the mind and create damaging side effects to the body when abused, and to be of sound mind and body, it is best to understand what drugs are doing to the body,” said local Foundation Director Nathan Johnson. “That is why we are here, to educate youth and adults on the effects of drugs so they can make healthy choices.” He thanked the city councilman for organizing this event and the Church of Scientology Sacramento for making drug education materials available free of charge as a public service.

For more information or to order drug education materials, visit the Foundation for a Drug-Free World website at www.drugfreeworld.org.