Pre-Prom Red Carpet Reception 2018
Date: Thursday June 21
Time: 5:00pm-6:30pm
Location: Riverhead High School, 700 Harrison Ave., Riverhead, NY 11901
Riverhead Community Awareness Program, Inc. (CAP), in partnership with Riverhead High School and the Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation, is once again coordinating a Pre-Prom Red Carpet Reception on Thursday, June 21, 2018, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM prior to the Senior Prom. Held at Riverhead High School, the Class of 2018, their families and friends, and community members will enjoy a welcome party featuring red carpet photo opportunities, music by Beach 101.7, refreshments and so much more! This wonderful event brings our community together while conveying the message to our youth that important milestones and celebrations can be fun without the use of alcohol.
“Peconic Bay Medical Center is proud to partner with the Riverhead School District in the Pre-Prom Red Carpet Reception. We embrace the opportunity to provide the youth a chance to celebrate their graduation in a safe and fun environment. Together our community can teach our future leaders how to take responsibility of their health and wellness,” Samantha Vigliotta, Vice President of Foundation and External Affairs for Peconic Bay Medical Center, who is sponsoring the event.
Each year, 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die from alcohol-related causes and more than 190,000 people under 21 visit and emergency room for alcohol-related injuries. Alcohol is the drug most abused by teens and causes more deaths in young people under 21 than all illegal drugs combined. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among young people 15 to 24 years of age and alcohol is implicated in a majority of these deaths, which is why Memorial Day through Labor Day is often referred to as the Hundred Deadliest Days for teen drivers and passengers. In addition, first time drug and alcohol use peaks for teens in summer as they often have a great deal of unstructured and unsupervised free time.
“Although it’s best to begin talking about the risks of underage drinking and drug use at an early age, parents need to continue these conversations throughout the teen and college years,” said Felicia Scocozza, Executive Director of Riverhead CAP. “Many parents assume their children know how they feel about underage drinking and drug use because they’ve had ‘the talk,’ but teens that hear and see a consistent no-use message from their parents are less likely to use alcohol and drugs. On the other hand, parents who do not discourage underage drinking may be sending a message to their children that it’s not a risky choice or a big deal.”
Underage drinking and drug use are always unacceptable, unhealthy, and illegal. With prom, graduation and summer party season here, parents need to be aware of Suffolk County’s Social Host Law. The purpose of the law is to deter underage drinking at parties where adults are present and knowingly allow the consumption of alcohol by minors. Adults over the age of eighteen who provide alcohol to minors or allow underage drinking face misdemeanor charges and penalties of fines up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail.
Stay tuned to Beach 101.7 June 11th through June 22nd to hear the latest Riverhead Youth Coalition public service announcement reminding parents about the importance of keeping the lines of communication open with their kids, setting expectations and role modeling healthy behaviors.
Additional information and resources can be found on Riverhead CAP’s website under the Resources tab, and on CAP’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
