Drug Free Clubs of America M.A.D.E. Rally Returns to Downtown Chillicothe Friday
Article presented by Rathkamp Financial
Since 2016, Drug Free Clubs of America have had chapters in Ross County high schools. Dave Huggins, Program Development Specialist with DFCA says the program territory has spread into neighboring counties across Southern Ohio.
During its short time of operation, Huggins says 10,000 students have been impacted by the program.
The objective has been to change what the drug epidemic has done to the lives of citizens in our communities. When the M.A.D.E. program was established, the students came up with the acronym My Attitude Determines Everything, and the message still stands today.
The rally will bring close to 1,600 kids to Chillicothe’s Yoctangee Park marching to the Ross County Court House for the rally. The Rally begins at the Donald M. Smith Municipal Swimming Pool in the city park and the march to the Ross County Court House begins at 10am. Paint Street will be closed from Main to Water and motorists should expect delays at the intersections of Paint and Second Streets and paint and Water Streets between 10am and 12pm Friday.
Huggins says the rally (Friday October 28) will be a day of highs and lows, filled with music, hot dogs and fun as well as testimonies about the impact drugs have had on the lives of their fellow students.
“For the most part, we have two types of kids (at the rally)” says Huggins. “We have kids who have been affected and kids who have not been affected by drugs being in their family or friend groups. So, one’s who have had that, look at that person on stage and they say ‘Gosh… there’s someone else like me out there’ and then you take the side that hasn’t been affected by that yet and they start to realize how deep this problem goes. And they start to gain some empathy for their peers and they start to show some compassion they didn’t know was there or needed.”
Learn more about Cincinnati based Drug Free Clubs of America
More Litter Media Coverage:
2017 M.A.D.E. Rally Highlights
2018 M.A.D.E. Rally Highlights
2021 Preview with American Idol’s Murphy and M.A.D.E.’s Chris Scott
2021 M.A.D.E. Rally Highlights
