What: 

Kevin’s LAST Walk is a national program that raises awareness about the dangers of our nation’s most used and abused drug, alcohol.  Kevin’s LAST Walk spearheads underage drinking by educating schools on addiction, alcohol poisoning, binge drinking and drunk driving. 

Why:  

As research continues, it is evident that alcohol is still the most widely used and abused drug effecting our youth and it is killing more teenagers than all other drugs combined.    The average age for first time alcohol use is 11 years old for boys and 13 years old for girls, and the average age at which Americans begin drinking regularly is 16 years old.  Our society has become so increasingly acceptant on underage drinking that we have forgotten about the risks and consequences associated with the child’s development.  As the age at which Americans start using alcohol decreases, we are seeing an increase in the number of adult alcoholics.  This is no coincidence.  More than 40 percent of those who start drinking at age 15 or younger develop a dependence (“alcoholism”) on alcohol.  To put this problem in perspective, alcoholism affects more people than diabetes, lung cancer, breast cancer, or heart attacks.  

The saddest part of this whole problem is that less than one third of all students say they have learned about the dangers of alcohol in high school.  There is an obvious void in youth alcohol education that needs to be filled.  While the problem of alcohol abuse affects mostly adults, it is clear we have to aim our efforts at educating youth about the risks and consequences of underage drinking.       

How:

Kevin’s LAST Walk will be distributed in the form of a box/tool kit and is intended to start the third week in February.  Contents in the box include:

• A 15-minute video talking about underage drinking, and giving the whole reason behind Kevin’s LAST Walk
• An educational notebook that includes: facts and warning signs, a collection of terms and definitions, prevention recommendations, and a list of available resources
• An activity/lesson guide that includes: suggested week long classroom activities, ideas for fundraisers, and how to implement Kevin’s LAST Walk around your school’s track
• A documentary of Kevin’s LAST Walk