Poster Winner Promoting Prevention

Council’s Family Dinner Night

The Newtown Prevention Council is joining forces with The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University to celebrate the seventh annual Family Day — A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children on September 24.

The council will be branding this year’s activities with the help of Jack Brotherton, a 12-year-old Sandy Hook resident, who was the 2007 Newtown Prevention Council “What’s for Dinner?” poster contest grand prize winner.

“Jack’s roast turkey incorporates all the elements of a good poster,” said Beth Agen, grant coordinator of the Newtown Prevention Council. “It was neat, appealing, well-colored and representative of a family meal.”

Jack’s turkey will be used on a billboard on Route 25 in support of Family Dinner Night. The turkey is also featured on tickets to an NPC event.

Other first place winners in the contest were Jeanna De Fusco, Grade 2, and Robin Rockwell, Grade 4. Their posters will be featured on the Newtown Prevention Council website this winter.

“Eating together promotes good communication, strengthens family bonds, and helps family members learn more about one another,” said Judy Blanchard, co-chair of the Newtown Prevention Council. “It is never too early or too late to start the habit of having dinner together.”

To aid Newtown families in being able to spend mealtime together on Monday, September 24, the council will be hosting a Family Dinner at Dickinson Park in Newtown from 5:30 to 7:30.

Launched by CASA in 2001, Family Day is a national movement that encourages parents to frequently eat dinner with their kids and be involved in their children’s lives. CASA’s research consistently shows that the more often children eat dinner with their families; the less likely they are to smoke, drink, or use drugs.

Family Day helps remind busy families of the invaluable role that parental involvement plays in steering children and teens away from cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol.

Founded in 1986, the Newtown Prevention Council (formerly the Newtown Substance Abuse Task Force) has worked on many drug prevention issues. The mission of the prevention council is to build a coalition of community members working toward a safe and substance-free town. The Newtown Prevention Council is committed to strengthening families and believes that celebrating Family Day is an important first step in helping to provide a substance-free youth for America’s children and teens.

Tickets to the Dickinson Park event are $2 per person; food, beverages, and games are included. To order tickets, and learn more about the Newtown Prevention Council, 270-4335 or visit www.newtownprevention.org.