By Joe Boczek, MaryJo Coppoolse and Shelly Poe
For GameChanger
Beckley —Through a cooperative effort between GameChanger, the Raleigh County Commission, Little General stores and the Kind Vista Foundation, nearly 2,500 students from Independence Middle, Independence High School, Shady Spring Middle and Shady Spring High School converged on the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center Tuesday morning to listen to speakers discussing the dangers of opioids, substance misuse and deadly fentanyl. The morning culminated with the showing of the 34-minute GameChanger-produced award-winning film One Pill Can Kill.
“Effective prevention takes an effort from everyone in the community and today was a heart-warming example of what can happen when education, government and the private sector come together for the good of our youth,” says GameChanger Executive Director Joe Boczek.
During the event, emceed by GameChanger Education and Community Relations Liaison and former WVU basketball standout Meg Bulger, GameChanger students heard remarks about the dangers associated with deadly fentanyl as well as opioid and substance misuse and vaping from United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Moore Capito, Raleigh County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Serena Starcher and Raleigh County Commission President Greg Duckworth.
Capito says his office is as committed as possible to the all-important prevention aspect of educating the state’s youth about the deadly dangers they face today.
“This is not an abstract threat. It is a crisis claiming the lives of our children right now. My office is fully committed to fighting this epidemic on every front, and that includes ensuring every student in this state understands the deadly consequences of fentanyl and substance misuse. The knowledge we give these young people today could be the difference between life and death tomorrow.”
Dr. Starcher says Raleigh County Schools is committed to providing all the educational tools necessary to prevent students from making choices that could end their lives suddenly.
“As educators, we have an obligation now to not only teach academics, but to also provide the best in prevention education. We are pleased to be a part of GameChanger and look forward to having more of our schools become GameChanger schools.”
Duckworth, who along with Commissioners Daniel Hall and Linda Eppling, approved Raleigh County Commission funding to provide support for the GameChanger program, says prevention education is the main tool to stop the deadly drug issue facing youth not only in West Virginia but the nation.
“Think about it — and certainly easier said than done — but if no one would try these drugs, we wouldn’t have an addiction problem. We must start early and often and provide all the education available to every student not only in Raleigh County but throughout West Virginia.”
GameChanger is a student-powered misuse prevention movement committed to building supportive school environments that reduce drug use and empower West Virginia’s youth to make healthy, informed choices on the way to becoming our leaders of tomorrow.
To learn more about GameChanger, Visit: www.gamechangerusa.org
