Community Corner
Newarker Among Winners of 'Drug Free' Poster Contest
Artwork to be displayed on NJ Transit buses.
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. recently congratulated the winners of the “What Keeps You Drug and Alcohol Free?” poster contest sponsored by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team (ADAPT), a state organization dedicated to preventing substance abuse among youth.
The goal of the contest was to raise awareness among middle school and high school students about underage drinking and drug abuse.
“Underage drinking and drug abuse are serious threats to the stability of our families and communities, and cannot be ignored. Organizations such as ADAPT combine the resources of the community and take a proactive approach to raise awareness among adolescents about the dangers of substance abuse, discouraging them to going down that path,” DiVincenzo said. “We congratulate the winners of the poster contest. Having young people share their artistic talents to spread a positive message about stay alcohol and drug free sends a strong message to their peers,” he added.
Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“This contest gave students an opportunity to send an inspiring message to residents throughout Essex County. Their artwork has the potential to change the life of a fellow community member by promoting ways to stay safe and healthy by being drug- and alcohol-free,” said ADAPT Coordinator Joel Torres. “The positive messages of these posters have the potential to counteract the slick advertisements and negative influences that glamourize drinking and doing drugs,” he added.
The goal of the poster contest is to promote drug and alcohol free lifestyles for adolescents. It was open to Essex County students in grades 6 to 12, and 59 student artists participated. The winners are:
Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Middle School
1st Place: Lorenzo Jiles, 8th Grade, from Liberty Middle School in West Orange
2nd Place: Supreme Cook, 6th Grade, from Lincoln Avenue School in Orange
3rd Place: Anusha Sivandra, 8th Grade, from Liberty Middle School in West Orange
High School
1st Place: Cecilia Chollette-Dickson, 9th Grade, from University High School in Newark
2nd Place: Mia Walton and Sarah Franzeth, 10th Grade, from Cedar Grove High School
3rd Place: Savannah Lopez and Melanie Calantropio, 12th Grade, from Cedar Grove High School
Artwork created by the winners will be transformed into posters that will be displayed on NJ Transit buses. Posters will also be available to local businesses that want to display them in their front windows or in their stores.Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
