Adrian College SAAC Receives Underage Drinking Prevention Grant posted 9/3/10
Student organization uses funds to bring speaker on campus

ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) in collaboration with the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, has been awarded an Underage Drinking Prevention grant by Prevention Network. They received $1400 for the implementation of the Life of an Athlete training at Adrian College.

SAAC is s a committee made up of student-athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience and is among hundreds of community groups in Michigan working in various ways to prevent substance abuse in their communities.

Underage Drinking Prevention is a grant provided for projects which address underage drinking and the specific issues in a given community related to this problem.

“Programs and projects such as this, organized by members of the community, help underage people make the important decision not to use alcohol,” said Ken Dail, coordinator for the Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking (MCRUD), and executive coordinator of Prevention Network. “These groups send out a clear message to the young people in their communities that it is not acceptable to use alcohol if you are under 21. These programs often point out that kids who don’t use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs are normal, happy, and healthy without them.”

The Life of an Athlete training featuring Jack Underwood from the American Athletic Institute will take place on the Adrian College campus Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010. A morning session for all Adrian College coaches is planned as well as an evening session for all Adrian College student athletes.

MCRUD is a statewide coalition coordinated by Prevention Network. Underage Drinking Prevention grants support projects focused on prevention of underage alcohol use.

Prevention Network supports community involvement in prevention with a number of resources- an information newsletter, technical assistance, networking and referral, regional trainings and workshops, and mini-grant programs.

Prevention Network is administered by Prevention Michigan, Inc., with funding provided through the Michigan Department of Community Health/Bureau of Substance Abuse and Addiction Services with additional funding from Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.

For more information about this project, please contact Ms. Elisa Joris, SAAC advisor and head volleyball coach at Adrian College, at 517-264-3842.