Photo contest for Family Day
More than a decade of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University has proven that kids who eat dinner with their families are less likely to smoke, drink or use drugs. Through its Community Action Team (CAT) program, Informed Families is supporting CASA’s national Sept. 28 Family Day, a national movement to remind parents that frequent family dinners make a difference, with its own “Family Day Photo Contest,” open to all families across Florida.
With the contest, Informed Families is asking families to submit photos of them eating dinner together for the chance to win one of three Publix gift cards – one $50 gift card or two $25 gift cards. To be eligible to win, participants must also sign a “Family Day Pledge,” (available at www.informedfamilies.org/familyday) promising to eat dinner with their children on September 28th and more frequently throughout the year. Submissions will be accepted from Sept. 4th – Oct. 5th, 2009.
“CASA’s research supporting the benefits of eating regular family dinners together as a means of preventing risky behavior among youth,” said Peggy Sapp, president and CEO of Informed Families. “Through our statewide photo contest, we are seeking to educate and inspire participants to eat regular family dinners.”
“The contest is just one example of how we encourage kids to be safe, healthy and drug-free through our CAT prevention activities, through which we reach approximately 150,000 Florida adults and youth,” Sapp continued. “Our CATs use integrated approaches to promote environmental changes in schools/communities and strengthen parents’ abilities to communicate with their children, while improving youth’s communication skills and helping them build a positive future and a more directed sense of self.”
According to CASA, frequent family dining is associated with lower rates of teen smoking, drinking, illegal drug use and prescription drug abuse. Compared to teens who eat dinner frequently with their families (five or more family dinners per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are three and a half times likelier to have abused prescription drugs, three and a half times likelier to have used an illegal drug other than marijuana or prescription drugs, three times likelier to have used marijuana, more than two and a half times likelier to have used tobacco, and one and a half times likelier to have used alcohol.
Since its inception in 2001, CASA’s Family Day has grown to become a major nationwide celebration. In 2008, President Bush, all 50 governors and more than 800 mayors and county executives proclaimed and supported Family Day.
Participants can submit their photo and pledge by mail to Informed Families, 2490 Coral Way Miami, FL 33145, Attn: Photo Contest; or they can email the photo to and submit the pledge online. Submitted photos will be property of Informed Families and may be promoted on its website and other publications.
Winners will be selected on October 23rd and notified by October 30th.
For more information on Informed Families, please visit our Web site at www.informedfamilies.org, or call (305) 856-4886.
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Posted by Andrea Freygang on Aug 29 2009. Filed under Families. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
