Schools preparing for Red Ribbon Week

GRANTS, N.M. – With Red Ribbon Week coming up, lasting October 23 through October 31, Grants Cibola County Schools are beginning to prepare small events and assemblies to encourage students to live a drug-free life and be all that they can be. This year’s national Red Ribbon Week theme is “Drug Free Looks Like Me,” according to https://www.redribbon.org.

Mount Taylor Elementary School is heading into Red Ribbon Week on a positive note after community members refurbished the red ribbon painting that exists of the grounds of the school. City of Grants Councilor Erik Garcia noticed the painting was looking a little dull and faded, so he got permission from the school’s officials to revamp the project. Garcia teamed up with his son, Maverik Garcia, cousin, Nazario Sandoval, and some of his business crew. Sandoval is also an artist who currently lives in Al buquerque but is originally from San Mateo.

“I have recently reconnected with my cousin Erik… We have been coming up with ideas [of] how to bring back arts and culture to the town with a little color one project at a time. Being from San Mateo, it brings me great joy to give back to the community that raised me. No better way than to work with the Red Ribbon Campaign to support the youth, the future of our community. We have so much more in store to develop these projects. It is an exciting time in Grants as the tide of change is coming,” said Sandoval about his role with the art project.

After the new painting was finished, Garcia said he just hopes that every time a student at Mount Taylor Elementary walks across the vibrant red ribbon, that they will be inspired to live drug-free and dream big.

“I know the kids have had a such bad year,” expressed Garcia. “I see it in my kids — less motivated, a little anger, confusion on the world — that I was hoping as they walk over this bright new red ribbon, it would put a smile on their face before walking in… That project is priceless if it changes the thinking of our youth to know the difference and choose a path that says no to drugs.”

The FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) students at Grants High School also have big plans for promoting the messages and meaning of Red Ribbon Week. According to students on the GHS FCCLA executive council, their plans include to set up booths providing information on drug-use, have an assembly where speakers will come and share their stories and the meaning of Red Ribbon Week, and they also plan to have organizations such as Cibola General Hospital, Grants Police Department, Grants Fire and Rescue, and inhouse student organizations such as Envolvement and PADD (Peers Against Destructive Decision) get involved.

The students said they hope to not only encourage GHS students to live drugfree but also to provide students and family members currently struggling with drug-use information about ways to get help. “It’s all about not only awareness but knowing that you have a community behind you to support you and help you out,” said student Elena Perez.

When asked about the importance of the meaning behind Red Ribbon Week, another student, Jorge Mendez, added, “It’s really important for us, especially for the younger kids, because more and more younger kids these days are the ones selling the drugs, doing the drugs, and it’s really starting to get to that younger age. It’s not only teens, not only middle schoolers, but younger and younger kids are becoming more aware of, ‘Okay we can do this or we can do this,’ and it’s just really becoming a problem that we just want to stop, to help our youth in the future.”

The FCCLA students are hoping to put together similar events in the future, working alongside other GHS organizations such as Envolvement and PADD, to help students stay away from things that will harm them or hold them back, help them make good decisions, and live the best lives they can.