The City of Waynesboro Office on Youth was one of 11 Virginia organizations that received funding yesterday from the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) through its inaugural Education & Prevention Grant Program. Virginia ABC hosted a reception at the agency’s regional office in Staunton to distribute checks of up to $8,000 to representatives from the organizations in support of their education and prevention projects.
The City of Waynesboro Office on Youth was awarded $6,350 for its “Youth Preventing Youth From Substance Abuse” campaign. Funding will be used to facilitate the creation of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) clubs in community high schools and to develop community-wide alcohol awareness events. As one of SADD’s tasks, club members will conduct Project Sticker Shock campaigns where youth volunteers place red, stop-sign-shaped stickers on cartons of beer and wine in area grocery stores reminding customers that it’s illegal to purchase alcohol for youth under the age of 21.
In the grant application, City of Waynesboro Grants Manager Joy Stultz wrote, “Underage drinking has been a historical problem in the city of Staunton, city of Waynesboro and Augusta County area. Alcohol is by far the drug of choice in our community.”
Virginia ABC received 28 applications for its Education & Prevention Grant Program, and the grant review committee chose 10 other recipients including:
Futuro Latino at James Madison University (Harrisonburg) | $8,000 |
HEY! Coalition/Piedmont Community Services (Martinsville) | $8,000 |
Longwood University ATOD Team (Farmville) | $8,000 |
Middlesex County Public Schools (Saluda) | $7,975 |
Planning District One Behavioral Health Services (Norton) | $7,897 |
Prevention Council of Roanoke County (Roanoke) | $3,350 |
Shenandoah University (Winchester) | $7,660 |
SAFE - Substance Abuse Free Environment Inc. (Chesterfield) | $7,960 |
Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department (Richmond) | $8,000 |
Warren County Community Health Coalition (Front Royal) | $8,000 |
In total, Virginia ABC is supplying $81,192 in grants.
“This is the first year ABC offered the Education & Prevention Grant Program, and we were impressed with the number of high-quality proposals we received,” said Virginia ABC Chairman Jeff Painter. “These programs are innovative, have a long-lasting impact on the community, reach large numbers of citizens and encourage partnerships between organizations.”
The grant cycle runs through June 2015 and each organization has until then to implement its proposed program.
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The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is a major source of revenue for the commonwealth, contributing more than $1.8 billion to the general fund in the last five years. The agency currently operates 350 state stores. Its Bureau of Law Enforcement oversees more than 16,000 ABC licensed establishments while the Hearings and Appeals Division considers more than 700 cases each year. The agency also provides alcohol education and prevention programs for people of all ages. Now celebrating its 80th anniversary, ABC remains committed to progress and innovation in carrying out its control, service and revenue mission.
Virginia ABC Awards Grant to Waynesboro Office on Youth to Support Alcohol Education and Prevention Initiatives