January 29, 2007

WELLER CENTER, BLUE RIBBON FOUNDATION PARTNER ON ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE TO STUDENTS AT HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

(WILKES BARRE) The Weller Health Education Center will visit Heights Elementary School Monday, February 5 to help nearly 300 third, fourth and sixth grade students learn about the consequences of smoking, drugs and alcohol. The 45 minute programs, called, Drugs: Choice or Chance, Tobacco Free, You and Me, and It's Up To You will be presented at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. respectively.

The Weller Center's programs are part of The Blue Ribbon Foundation of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania's efforts to help children make positive choices about their health.

The Foundation funded sessions for more than 4,000 youngsters with a $24,000 grant to the Weller Health Education Center. The educational sessions include third, fourth, sixth and eighth grade students. It is at this age when children make decisions about drugs, smoking, alcohol and other harmful substances.

Drugs: Choice or Chance explores how the body systems are affected by drugs, decision making skills and drug recognition. At the end of the program, students test out their refusal skills with A.J., the Weller Center's very own child-sized robot.

Tobacco Free, You and Me explores the dangers of tobacco use to smokers and those around them. It includes high-impact images and student activities to reinforce the harmful effects of tobacco use and erase common myths. Kids learn about the harmful ingredients in cigarettes by building a pizza with "toxic" toppings and see a demonstration of how tar from cigarettes coats the lungs.

It's Up To You discusses drugs in further detail with students, in addition to how the media influences their decision-making process. Students learn the impact of alcohol on their coordination when students get to test out fatal vision goggles, which simulate alcohol consumption.

Please help us teach children that they have power over their health and the choices they make. Your coverage will spread the word about substance abuse and may prompt parents to talk to their children about harmful substances.

Representatives from the media are invited and encouraged to attend the 9 a.m. program of Drugs: Choice or Chance on Monday, February 5. Heights Elementary School is located at 1 South Sherman Street in Wilkes Barre, PA. The number is (570) 826-7255.

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About The Blue Ribbon Foundation
Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health care company headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to approximately 588,000 individuals in 13 counties. Blue Cross established the private, non-profit Blue Ribbon Foundation in 2002 to invest in health and wellness initiatives that will produce measurable results in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania. For more information about The Blue Ribbon Foundation and for grant applications, please call 570-200-6305.

About the Weller Health Education Center
The mission of the Weller Health Education Center is to measurably improve children's lives by giving students the tools they need to make informed and healthy life choices. To accomplish this, each year the Center partners with more than 500 schools to supplement and enhance the teaching of health, character education and life science for students grades K through 12. The Center was the first not-for-profit health promotion, disease prevention education facility of its kind in Pennsylvania. Serving more than 1.3 million children since our inception in 1982, the Weller Center remains the only such center in our 39-county service area and one of just 34 health education centers across the nation.