Alcohol Abuse Prvention Programs

By fully understanding the devastation that alcohol abuse among teenagers causes we can help them avoid this problem and avoid unsafe behaviors. Bears Against Drugs is an alcoholic prevention program that is sponsored by churches and non-profit organizations. It is a program that is offered for students between kindergarten and twelve grade. The B.A.D. program stresses ideas of self-respect, respecting others, and making good choices. It is important to educate the youth about the tragedies that alcohol abuse causes in order to stray them away from a live down that road. Organizations like Bears Against Drugs help parents locate a substance abuse problem at a very early stage, which is helpful because it is easier to stop the earlier the stage that you are at. All in all, it is crucial for society to have programs like Bears Against Drugs in hopes to lead the fight against alcohol and substance abuse.

Millions Against Monsanto

The Organic Consumers Association's Millions Against Monsanto campaign is aiming to get one million people to publicly stand against genetically modified foods on World Food Day, which is on October 16, 2011. The main rally will be held in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., but other events will be happening in many other cities as well. While their main goal is to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the message that genetically modified foods need to be labeled, they also demand that factory farm animals and genetically modified animal products be labeled as well. They want independent, transparent, long-term studies done on the safety of genetically modified foods for animals, plants, and humans. And finally, they want the organic industry protected from cross-contamination and lawsuits to organic farmers. In order to accomplish these goals, the campaign will not only rally outside of the White House, but they will also be signing petitions and participating in a boycott against genetically modified products.

After reading about this campaign and what it is doing, it seems like a very effective way to motivate people to do something about this growing problem. Not only does it tell people that the FDA should label these products, they explain why we should be aware and the risks these foods have. While the main rally will not take place until October, they work to make people aware of this issue all year round. I'm very interested to see how this rally turns out in October. I think it will be very successful.

Teen Success

The United States knows that teen pregnancy is a problem that needs adequate attention. Teen motherhood is something that goes along with this, but needs more attention because more than one person is at risk, including mother and child. More people are stepping up to help these young women and their futures. Through The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the program Teen Success has been putting teenage mothers on the road of success for some time now. It was started in 1990 with the help of former California state senator and philanthropist Becky Morgan. This program works hard everyday to help young mothers work with being a mother and an adolescent. Upon completion of this program, the chances of getting a high school degree doubles. Around 90 percent of Teen Success graduates earn a diploma, compared to the national percentage of 41. In addition, 67 percent of graduate through this program go on to post-high school education. The action is enrolling troubled young mothers in an educational program, and entitling them to greater educational opportunities. The effectiveness is in the statistics, and this program has no doubt made a positive impact on these young women's lives. This is such an important issue, and it is crucial to have programs like this to prevent more teen pregnancies and helping teen mothers that are struggling with their futures.

Worldwide Day of Play

Technology is everywhere we turn and there is no way to avoid it. This causes many health problems especially in children who still have developing minds. Television is a major problem since many people go home after school and work and put the TV on to relax and catch up on their favorite shows or the news. There is no doubt that television plays a major role in the issue of obesity with Americans. While doing research I found that Nickelodeon has a day of get up and play. They turn their network TV channels and Internet off air for three hours all around the world. By doing this they hope that it will encourage people to go outside and get exercise. In 2009, the when people turned to the channel it displayed this message, "Today is Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day of Play! Turn off your TV, shut down your computer, put down that cell phone – yes, YOU! and go ALL OUT! We'll see you back here at 3! " I would modify this by having all channels except for news channels to go off air during this time. I feel like this would be more effective. If only one channel goes off air, it is easy to just have the mindset of watching another until Nickelodeon turns back on. This would be one step towards escaping from addiction to technology that is in each and everyone one of us.

action to reduce teen pregnancy

This video above tries to make a serious issue, like teen pregnancy and other transmitted diseases, humorous. The overall message is that abstinence is the best answer, put on some pants.Teen Pregnancy, however, really is a major problem that is on the rise yet again. More and more teenage girls are getting knocked up and destroying their futures. With numbers rising, more people are being aware of this controversy and are taking action to stop it.

One organization that dedicates itself into helping this cause is Advocates for Youth. This group was founded in 1980 and has been a respected figure in the scene of adolescent reproductive and sexual health. For decades this group has worked endlessly in promoting effective programs and policies in the United States and other polices to help this cause. One program the organization came up with was "Life Planning Education", which put sexuality into a life-skills/youth development context. There are three core values to follow; rights, respect, and responsibility. They incorporate these ethics into their practices and plan on making an impact on teenagers around the world.

Other action that is being taken is from this private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization called The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Their mission is to improve the lives and future prospects of children and families to stop teen pregnancy or ensure that children who are born have stable lives. There are many reasons why this group does what it does, some being to reduce burdens placed on others and reduce child poverty. This organization raises awareness by working with opinion leaders, the press, the media, and other groups. They conduct research, provide information, and engage parents and teens in discussions. This group is going strong and is only helping the cause more and more.

These organizations, along with many others, are well on their way to preventing teen pregnancy. They have some numerous accomplishments for their work, which only encourages more people to join the cause. The message they send draw in the public's attention and help them realize that it is time this issue was addressed.

Degrassi Knows Best

My issue of cyberstalking isn't a top priority right now for most people due to all of the other issues but it is still definitely being addressed through PSA's, television shows, and youtube videos. I decided to look through youtube to see if there were any videos related to the topic. Most of the ones I found were poor quality and made by students, one video actually being made by Penn State students back in 2008. They were meant to inform and show how cyberstalking is an issue that everyone, especially students, should be aware of. None of them really had a call to action so there was no motivation in it, just information. Degrassi also had an episode discussing meeting people online and how people aren't who they say they are. One of the characters Emma meets someone that claims to be 16 but is instead an adult male. It puts her in a terrible situation and definitely shows that the internet can be dangerous but it still has no call to action. If I was to make a video I would emphasize the fact that we need to do something about this. It needs to be able to motivate people to be more careful when using the internet. It needs to be bigger and more widespread instead of just youtube videos created by students as a project.

Ugandan Women of Courage

Acid Survivors Foundation Uganda (ASFU) began with the intention to the women of acid attacks with medical attention, psychological assessments, and financial support. Prudence, the woman in the video, and the other women of Uganda established this organization to reach out to other females nationwide, who have been affected by this form of violence. This message is effective because it shows that there is something being down concerning the issue of acid attacks on women.

Acid attacks are occurring all over the world and unifying survivors. I believe this organization should further its efforts by implementing an online support group for women, who have gone through physical mutilation by corrosive acid. This blog will further unify these females more than just because of their sympathy.