November  2016 Newsletter

SAPCA's Fall Highlights & Annoucements
Alexandria Teens Attend Titan Takeover & Pledge to Be Bully Free
The  Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria (SAPCA)  and the  Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy (ACAP)  hosted their  Titan Takeover Teen Night  at  William Ramsay Rec Center  on Friday, October 14. More than 65 youth came to play basketball, take goofy photos in the photo booth, dance to music, and eat dinner.  The teen night also featured the  Bully Free Starts with Me Campaign  and youth who showed up wearing green and pledged to be bully free were entered in to a special raffle for a $25 iTunes gift card. A special thanks to the  Alexandria Police Department's COPS Unit  who attended the teen night and the  City of Alexandria's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Activities Department  for hosting the teen night at the William Ramsay Rec Center. 

Save the Date for the next Titan Takeover coming up on December 2!

Over 300 lbs of Prescription Drugs Collected during October Prescription Drug Take Back Day
SAPCA partnered with the Alexandria Sheriff's Office, the Alexandria Police Department, The Neighborhood Pharmacy of Del Ray, Alexandria's Medical Reserve Corp and AlexRenew to host a community drug take back event on October 22. A total of  310 pounds of prescription drugs were collected among the three collection sites - APD Headquarters, First Baptist Church, Neighborhood Pharmacy of Del Ray - in Alexandria. This was the third drug take back event hosted in 2016, leading to a total of 1,022 pounds of unused prescription drugs that were disposed of by residents. This demonstrates the demand from residents and the support that they need in safely disposing of unused/expired medications. SAPCA hopes to expand the drug take back events in 2017 to better meet the community's needs.

Read the WTOP article featuring the October Drug Take Back Day Event!
SAPCA Holds Annual Sticker Shock to Remind Adults not to Buy Alcohol for Minors
The Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria held their Annual Sticker Shock event on Saturday, November 5, to remind adults not to buy alcohol for minors. More than 25 youth volunteers and 14 adult volunteers teamed up to visit 50 Alexandria stores to place warning stickers on alcohol products to remind adults that it is against the law to purchase or provide alcohol to anyone under 21. SAPCA hopes that when adults see the warning stickers on the packs of beer and wine coolers, they will think twice and decide not to make the purchase. The success of our annual sticker shock event would not be possible without the support from our coalition partners: the Alexandria Police Department, Alexandria Sheriff's Office, City of Alexandria Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Activities, T.C. Williams' JROTC Program, and Virginia ABC.
SAPCA & ACAP Joint Community Meeting
Developmental Assets: Discovering the Basic Building Blocks of Human Development
SAPCA & ACAP Joint Community Meeting

Please join SAPCA & ACAP at a community forum to engage in fun activities and rich discussions surrounding the Alexandria Developmental Assets data. Learn how you can use the Assets in your work as healthy building blocks to help youth of all ages succeed!

Date: Tuesday, December 6
Time: 4:30 - 6:30 pm
Location: Durant Center, 1605 Cameron St

A formal invitation and registration link will be sent out next week! We hope to see you there!
Upcoming Community Events:
ASTEAM Family Carnival
The City of Alexandria Parks, Recreation and Cultural Activities Department along with the Northern VA Urban League is hosting a free, family carnival on Saturday, November 19.

ASTEAM stands for Aviation, Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics and the carnival will feature activities for youth to explore each of these areas. 

  View the flyer
Contact Us:
Whitney Chao, MPH
Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria 
421 King Street, 4th Floor Suite
Alexandria, VA 22314
O: 703.746.3670 
C: 571.414.8297
whitney.chao@alexandriava.gov
www.PreventItAlexandria.org
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