By Jill L. Roberts | Senior Vice President, DEA Educational Foundation
At the end of 2019, the DEA Educational Foundation Youth Dance Program team joined a national conference call to discuss all of the successes and challenges in 2019. One of the most common themes echoed throughout the country is how so many of the children in our programs struggle for even basic necessities in their lives, let alone a means to find a way to express themselves positively and joy. We also discussed how so many are faced with difficult choices and home lives and often face negative outlets. And, despite the efforts of many organizations here in the United States, opioid use declined only slightly in 2019 and other drugs are ramping back up, with methamphetamine production at an all-time high. As we discussed our goals for 2020, and we all agreed that drug abuse education and positive mentorship in the lives of children is critical. We want to reach more children and families than ever through our informative and fun launch assemblies, through our partnership with our impressive law enforcement partner, DEA, and through weekly inspiring mentorship through our caring and impressive Youth Dance Program instructors.
Programmatically, the DEA EF YDP ended on a very positive note. We launched dozens and dozens of programs across the United States in the fall, celebrated National Dance Day, created new partners to help us to expand and reached thousands of children through the joy of dance. Our dedicated Regional Managers and instructors took important programming to schools, community centers, youth summits, and more. In addition, students from Philadelphia had the opportunity to view professional Nutcracker performances and professional dancers taught a workshop to the Young Marines.
We are proud to announce that in 2020 we will be reaching news cities including Las Vegas and Columbus and we will be expanding within many of our current cities. In addition to growing the Youth Dance Program, the DEA Educational Foundation is in the process of developing new youth programming, such as martial arts, soccer, baseball and basketball all based upon the successful model of the DEA Youth Dance Program. We are honored to be a respected partner in communities across the United States and we look forward to an impactful 2020 year!
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By Jill L. Roberts | Senior Vice President, DEA Educational Foundation
By Kiera Anderson | National Project Consultant - DEA YDP
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