McDonald Family Wins the National 2016 Red Ribbon Photo Contest

Midlothian, TX (Dec. 2, 2016) – ‘Tis the season for giving! Jackie McDonald of Midlothian, Texas has won the National Red Ribbon Photo Contest. The contest takes place as a part of National Red Ribbon Week ® – the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention campaign, sponsored by the National Family Partnership (NFP). During the month of October, Jackie McDonald worked with her family to decorate her front door with this year’s theme, “YOLO. Be Drug Free™.” All this was done to promote her commitment to living a healthy and drug-free lifestyle. McDonald earned $1,000 for her school, Mountain Peak Elementary, and an iPad for her family.

“The contest created an opportunity to have a discussion with our kids,” said mother Jackie McDonald. “This topic is sort of taboo and we usually shield our children from things like this, but with this project, we were able to talk about it with them. It is not easy to explain the difference between medicine and drugs. I'm a cancer survivor so it helped us explain to our daughters what drugs make us healthy vs. drugs that don't make us healthy.”

Red Ribbon Week began in 1985 after the abduction and murder of DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. The first ever National Red Ribbon Week was organized by the National Family Partnership in 1988. NFP continues to sponsor the campaign for families, schools and communities across the nation each year. Since its inception, the campaign has touched millions of lives to promote and celebrate drug free living.

“An estimated 80 million people celebrate Red Ribbon Week each year,” says NFP President Peggy Sapp. “We designed the contest to involve families, schools, and communities in delivering the drug prevention message to children while promoting a healthy and drug-free lifestyle. We are so impressed by the winners and their wonderful stories about spreading the Red Ribbon message in their homes, schools and communities.”

Nationally, the contest named 20 winners – ten home entries and ten school entries in various regions throughout the nation. The money earned for winning the contest will go to support the school’s drug education and prevention programs, thanks to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the contest’s co-sponsors. Close to 100,000 votes were cast in support of the more than 400 contest entries.

“Congratulations to all of the Red Ribbon Photo Contest participants,” said Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. “This is a great way to spread the prevention message and educate students and families about drug abuse.”
See all 2016 winning photos at www.redribbon.org/contest/winners.

“Our organization has been conducting Red Ribbon Week activities for years,” said program coordinator of the Reach Council Tom Kowatch. “We are very excited and blessed that the McDonald family showed support for her community and Red Ribbon Week. The contest encouraged students to learn more about the purpose of Red Ribbon Week and how substances both legal and illegal can have harmful effects.”

To learn more about Red Ribbon Week and the contest, visit www.RedRibbon.org.

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THE NATIONAL FAMILY PARTNERSHIP (NFP) was established in 1980 and is a national leader in drug prevention, education and advocacy. Its mission is to lead our nation’s families and communities in nurturing the full potential of healthy, drug-free youth. Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s largest and oldest drug prevention campaign. NFP created the campaign in response to the 1985 abduction and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. Learn more about the National Family Partnership at www.nfp.org.