East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School students recently planted a promise garden as part of the school’s Red Ribbon Campaign to bring awareness to substance abuse and encourage individuals to be drug free.

The Plant the Promise Kit was donated to the district’s Prevention Task Force by member Mary Kate Lynch, who served as coordinator to a similar community prevention-related organization that disbanded in 2014 and influenced the current Prevention Task Force’s formation. The group was excited to sponsor the activity, which resulted in a cross section of students from a variety of student groups and programs planting red tulips in front of the high school building. According to school social worker and Prevention Task Force Co-Chair Kristen Mednick, the flowers planted during Substance Abuse Awareness Week will bloom each spring during Alcohol Awareness Week, serving as a reminder of hope and the beauty of life when it is drug free. 

Ms. Mednick extended her gratitude to former Pupil Personnel Director Laura Hastings, Assistant Principal James DeTommaso and social worker and Transition Coordinator Maureen Schutta for providing organizational support and planning for the event.