By Jeff Griffith | Chief Operating Officer
We would like to start out by saying thank you to all our GlobalGiving supporters for your support and unwavering dedication to our youth in 2024! As we close out the year, we would like to share our message of recognition and awards to show you that we are not only outstanding stewards of your donations, but also people around the country recognize the great work our staff and our youth perform day in and day out.
At the end of September, The Youth Connection office phone rang, and the caller ID let us know the call originated from Washington, DC. The call was from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy who wanted to recognize our Drug Free Communities coalition, the Love Detroit Prevention Coalition, and our youth committee for our work this year! The DFC Director from the White House, Helen Hernedez, also asked if we would host a visit for Dr. Gupta, the Director of ONDCP, to celebrate youth substance use prevention month! She indicated that we were specifically selected out of hundreds of coalitions nationwide because of the documented outcomes of our successful engagement in our communities. They gave us about two weeks’ notice to coordinate this event and showcase our coalition.
Never underestimate what a few driven people can do when your reputation and national recognition depend on it. We pulled it off! We hosted over 100 guests who represented the 12 sectors of our coalition which included: Law enforcement, youth, parents, faith-based organizations, government, school, health care, other substance use prevention organizations, volunteers, media, youth-serving organizations, and businesses. Representatives from each sector especially our youth were in attendance and our board of directors was well represented. Special guests for the event also included the City of Detroit Deputy Mayor Bettison, Police of Chief James White, and many Captains and neighborhood police officers, and our two City Councilmen Scot Benson and James Tate, Jared Wolendosky representing State Department of Health and Human Services, Wayne State University School of Pharmacy students and instructors, local and State Prevention leaders and many of our partner agencies and coalitions.
Our coalition received the DFC Transforming Communities Together award from ONDCP while our youth sector and chair received the Spirit of Detroit Award from the Detroit City Council. Four of our youth coalition members participated with Dr. Gupta on a panel and shared their experiences and the work we have done and are doing on behalf of the coalition to bring awareness and community level change to youth substance use prevention.
Our new landlord allowed us to host the event in the atrium of our building and provided the necessary staging and sound equipment. We were able to transform the area into a well-organized and polished event.
The accolades for the work we are doing did not stop with Dr. Gupta’s visit. CADCA formerly known as Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America at the request of the United States , Center for Disease Control invited us to be part of another nationwide webinar to celebrate prevention month. Several of our youth and our CEO participated.
AND to culminate prevention month we received a special invitation to have one of our youth speak on a national ONDPC webinar with Dr. Gupta on our youth engagement and the prevention work that we are doing here in Detroit! What an incredible chain of events and none of it would be possible without your support (most of our grants couldn’t pay for the extra expenses of hosting the White House)!
Also, this fall The Youth Connection and Love Detroit Prevention Coalition hosted the National DEA Drug Takeback Day in the City of Detroit. Our teams worked tirelessly to prepare and staff (with volunteers from our coalition members, other coalition partners, and the Wayne State University School of Pharmacy students) 17 sites for people to bring in their unused, expired, or unwanted medication to be safely disposed. This not only keeps pills out of our community, but also greatly decreases the environmental impact of unused pills being thrown into landfills or seeping into our drinking water when they are improperly flushed down the toilet. We’ve been a partner with the Detroit office of the DEA since 2018 and in that time, we have collected and disposed of MILLIONS of pills. However, this fall, we collected the most number of pills EVER in once day – over 532 pounds of pills! Hats off to all our volunteers and especially The Youth Connection staff who helped coordinate the communication campaigns that helped us achieve this massive haul of medications!
In short, with the end of the year nearly upon us, you can be assured that The Youth Connection is working hard to utilize your donations in the best way possible and that, around the country and here in our own backyard, others are noticing our outstanding work and we’re piling up accolades, recognition and awards! As always, we wish you and yours a blessed holiday season and we look forward to continuing our work to help youth connect to a brighter future!
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