CCSD Host Inspirational Say No to Drugs Inspirational Speaker

Matt Kelley of Equip Ministries from Livingston, AL, spoke of the danger drugs pose to teens when he presented to the students at W.F. Burns Middle School, Valley High School, J.P. Powell Middle School and LaFayette High School in three separate assemblies hosted on Wednesday, October 30th.  The activities were coordinated by the Chambers County School District as part of the CCSD’s Red Ribbon Week initiative.  Red Ribbon Week is celebrated across the USA from October 21st – 31st.  The Red Ribbon initiative is the oldest, largest drug prevention program in America, reaching millions of young people every year.  

This year’s theme for 2024 is “Life is a Movie, Film Drug Free.” The CCSD was excited to support and promote this initiative with our students at all of our schools across the district. Daily themes varied to promote the Red Ribbon cause across the system from school to school.  www.redribbon.org

Matt Kelley leads Equip Ministries to reach teenagers because each of them is at risk to the dangers of nicotine, drugs, and alcohol.  At 8:45 a.m., Kelley began sharing his message with 550 students at W.F. Burns Middle School.  Kelley then delivered his message to 350 freshmen & sophomores at Valley High School.  He then travelled down Highway 50 to share his Red Ribbon message with 335 students at LaFayette High School’s auditorium to both LHS 9-12th graders and Eastside-J.P. Powell STEAM Magnet School 6th-8th graders.  Mr. Kelley’s powerful message for students across the district was well received as he shared from his own life experiences. 

Mr. Kelley, shared with students that 85 percent of all addicts become addicted before the age of 18 while focusing on all of the steps of successfully deceiving a wild turkey with decoys.  He noted that this is the same type of trap students get caught up in while experiencing with vaping, tobacco products, alcohol, and marijuana.  Students develop patterns that allow them to get caught in this trap with addictive substances such as nicotine taking the bait that it’s safer to vape.  He cited the invisible chemicals that are trapped in student’s lungs noting that it’s easier to break a Heroin addiction than one to nicotine.  

Today, Fentanyl is driving an epidemic of opioid overdoses because it only takes 2 milligrams to kill an individual or the equivalent of 7 grains of salt by comparison.  Students were warned that they are being hooked into Fentanyl even through marijuana use or through pills for Oxycodone which is a high-risk controlled substance that will cause death when taken in high doses or combined with other drugs.  At each school, Kelley emphasized the value that each student had and how important each one of them were.  He provided an example of the value of a $20 bill backed by the government with its worth even if it is stepped on, wrinkled on in disrepair.  Hundreds of students on across the four school campuses stood to take a pledge of sobriety against abusing alcohol, drugs and nicotine.

Kelley’s message was powerful and inspirational to the teens attending his presentation at all of the Chambers County School campuses.  He implored students to understand that the risk of vaping, drugging, and drinking could eventually cost them their lives.  He himself is a former addict having been sober for the last 27 years using his testimony to impact teens to not make similar mistakes.  Thanks to Kelley’s message, an overwhelming number of students at all four campuses publicly took a pledge of sobriety against using drugs, alcohol or vaping products to live their lives sober.  Kelley will continue to speak at over 60 plus schools this fall in Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi and Montana on his mission to educate teenagers on substance abuse prevention.  In all yesterday, Kelley shared his anti-drug message as part of Red Ribbon Week with 1042 Chambers County students in grades 6-12.