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Enrollment opens Sept. 1 for Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority’s new, online version of the Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project.
Traditionally, the program has begun with a week-long conference at Longwood University in Farmville, but YADAPP has been recrafted this year in light of concerns about the COVID-19 virus. For the first time since the program began in 1984, participants and sponsors will explore ways to address substance use in their high schools and communities using online tools and guidance from their peers.
The year-long program is a peer leadership opportunity, open to all high schools and community organizations in Virginia to help foster healthy communities and the prevention of substance misuse. Participants are invited to select a team of four student leaders with one adult sponsor to take part in online training in prevention best practices to develop a strategic prevention plan addressing youth substance use.
Student training topics include leadership, alcohol and other drug trends, networking and advocacy, fundraising, project planning and virtual prevention strategies. Adult sponsors also take part in the training, learning about mentoring and youth engagement, recruitment and retention and prevention strategies.
The teams' strategic plans to address alcohol or other drug use among their peers will be submitted to YADAPP’s youth staff comprised of students who have taken part in previous YADAPP programs. All plans will be considered to receive a $250 grant which will serve as seed money to fund their Strategies to Act Now Plan.
Virginia ABC staff provides support throughout the 2020-2021 academic year as YADAPP teams implement plans in their respective communities.
YADAPP registration is open Sept. 1-25 and costs $50. Teams will complete online training modules and develop their plans Oct. 1-15; announcements about grant recipients will be made by early November. For details, visit yadapp.com.
