Local Youth End the Summer with a Public Awareness “Pizza Box Top” Event to Target Adults who Provide Alcohol to Youth
Smithtown’s younger generation of volunteers participated in the annual Town of Smithtown Pizza Box Top Project on August 16th. This youth-led initiative helps to prevent underage drinking, and the sale of or providing of alcohol to minors. Five Pizza Parlors participated in this years “Pizza Box Top” campaign. The youth volunteers adhered approximately 1,200 stickers to carry out bags from the pizza parlors.
“I’m so pleased to see our younger generations take action and educate adults…I’m a big fan of the work that our Youth Bureau, Community Alliance, and Horizons Center do to improve our community and way of life. And I’m especially grateful for the local pizza shops who got involved this year, especially with the new school year swiftly approaching.” - Supervisor Ed Wehrheim
Gino’s Pizza (Kings Park), MeMa’s (Commack), Monte’s (Smithtown), Three Bambino’s (Hauppauge), and Branchinelli’s (Hauppauge) took part by providing carry out bags to be used for the project. Participating pizzerias are partners in this Youth Bureau/Horizons Counseling and Education Center/Youth and Community Alliance of Smithtown effort to combat the buying of alcohol for minors. By allowing the prevention messaging stickers to be placed on carry out bags and beer cases for all customers to see, these pizza parlors help to provide a strong reminder: “Your actions matter! Preventing underage drinking is everyone’s responsibility.”
During the Pizza Box Top Project planning meeting, the youth volunteer group responsible for this initiative learned all about the dangers of underage drinking, the Social Host Law, the Good Samaritan Law, and the Suffolk County Police Department’s Cancel the Keg Hotline.
DID YOU KNOW:
● Alcohol is the most widely abused drug used by young people
● The goal of Alcohol Awareness initiatives is to bring attention to the issue of underage drinking and the adults who provide alcohol to minors
● These projects are sponsored by the Town of Smithtown Horizons Counseling and Education Center, Youth Bureau, and the Youth and Community Alliance of Smithtown.
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.