PDFNJ Release Study Results at State House Press

4/29/2008

March 5, 2008

New Jersey Student's Drug-Prevention
Artwork on Display in Statehouse

(Trenton) – This past school year, nearly 4,000 students from all parts of the state participated in the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey's (PDFNJ) Design a Fourth Grade Folder Contest. On Wednesday, March 5, 2008, the top 30 entries were on display at the statehouse in Trenton, in the vestibule outside Cafe` NJ on the 3rd floor of the Statehouse Annex. A ceremony honoring the finalists was held and the winners were announced: Bailey King of Queen of Heaven School in Cherry Hill and Yash Balaji of Stony Brook Elementary School in Pennington.

"The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey has consistently believed that early prevention programs, like the Fourth Grade Folder Contest, are effective ways to actively engage New Jersey's young people in selecting and maintaining a drug-free, healthy lifestyle," says Angelo M. Valente, executive director, PDFNJ.

The contest was open to fourth grade students throughout the state. STudents were challenged to create anti-drug artwork relating to the theme of the contest: "Fun Things To Do Instead of Doing Drugs."

The winning entries will be made into a folder and will be available to every school in New Jersey.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) was created in 1992 with a mission to reduce the incidence of substance abuse throughout New Jersey. PDFNJ continues to serve as an anti-drug alliance to localize, strengthen and deepen drug and alcohol abuse prevention media efforts in our state. PDFNJ also offers school-based programs, drug-free workplace assistance, and parent education training. PDFNJ works in cooperation with the Governor's Council on Alccholism & Drug Abuse and the NJ Department of Human Services. All PDFNJ programs are available free of charge to the residents of New Jersey.