Community Corner
Local Teens Prepare for Conference Against Drinking
Teens from nine area towns will gather in Madison to learn about substance abuse.
The town of East Haven, along with eight other communities, has planned a Youth Leadership Conference to be held July 15 at the Congregational Church Green in Madison. Sponsored by the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut, participating towns are: Branford; Guilford: Madison; Clinton; Westbrook; Old Saybrook; Tri-town (Chester, Deep River, Essex) and Haddam-Killingworth.
“We are proud to be supportive of grassroots efforts to combat underage drinking,” said Peter Berdon, executive director and general counsel of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut, the trade association for the distribution tier of the wine and spirits industry.
At the conference, teens will learn leadership and community organizing skills and the importance of “assets,” the ingredients a young person needs for success. The more assets a teen has, the less likely he or she will participate in high-risk behavior including substance abuse.
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The Wine and Spirits Wholesalers is interested in the responsible use of alcohol by everyone and each year awards a prize to the college student who can produce the best television ad discouraging teen alcohol use. This year’s winner of the contest will air his public service announcement (PSA) for the leadership conference.
“We’re really excited we have an opportunity to showcase our PSA contest,” Berdon said. “We saw the youth leadership conference as a great opportunity to partner on this endeavor and to get additional feedback about the PSA from parents and Connecticut youth.”
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In addition to the PSA winner, the conference will include:
- The Connecticut Camp Guys, who will teach participants about assets
- The Governors Prevention Partnership, a not-for-profit collaboration between state government and business leaders whose mission is to keep Connecticut’s youth safe, successful, and drug-free
- A speaker who will discuss the impact of alcohol on the developing teen brain.
For more information about the conference, contact Marcy Beatty, assistant coalition coordinator for Madison Alcohol and Drug Education Coalition at 203-245-5694 or beattym@madisonct.org.
Laurie Ruderfer is coalition coordinator for Madison Alcohol and Drug Education Coalition.
