Local Youth Kick-off A Public Awareness “Pizza Box Top” event and “Sticker Shock” campaign to Target Adults who Provide Alcohol to Youth
The Town of Smithtown Horizons Center, Youth Bureau, the Youth and Community Alliance of Smithtown launched the annual “Pizza Box Top Project” and “Sticker Shock” event. This youth-led initiative works to educate and change adult attitudes regarding providing or selling alcohol to minors. Over the course of the last two weeks, volunteer students placed 3500 stickers on pizza boxes and beer cases that read “Think, Decide, Prevent; Your actions matter! Preventing underage drinking is everyone’s responsibility”
The “Pizza Box Top” campaign was done in collaboration with Main Street Pizza in Kings Park, MeMa’s in Commack; Mamma Sabaro’s in Hauppauge; and Buona Sera in Smithtown on March 8, 2019. Approximately 1,900 stickers were adhered to carry out bags from the pizza parlors. Participating pizzerias’ were recognized for their help in combating the buying of alcohol to minors.
On March 15th the “Sticker Shock” event was held at Bullseye Beverage in Smithtown where 1,600 stickers were adhered to cases of beer and to-go bags. The prevention messaging sticker provides a strong reminder: “Your actions matter! Preventing underage drinking is everyone’s responsibility.”
Alcohol is the most widely abused drug used by young people. The youth volunteers attended a planning meeting before each of the events, where they learned about the dangers of underage drinking, the Social Host Law, the Good Samaritan Law, and the Suffolk County Police Department Cancel the Keg Hotline. The goal of the annual campaign is to bring attention to the issue of underage drinking and remind adults of the consequences of providing alcohol to minors.
For more information on these and future youth empowerment programs contact Kelly DeVito at Smithtown Horizons Counseling & Education Center at (631)360-7578 or Stacey Sanders at Smithtown Youth Bureau at 631-360-7595.