ATTENTION: ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN WESTERN PA!

The FBI Pittsburgh HOPE Initiative and the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation are partnering to support the FBI Pittsburgh Division and FBI Pittsburgh Citizens Academy on their Heroin Outreach Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. As opioids are becoming more and more prevalent in various recreational drugs amongst teens, our focus this school year will be centered on the psychosocial factors surrounding why teens may choose to use drugs to cope. This initiative will teach students about the decision behind choosing to self-medicate and provide an understanding of the slippery slope to the lifelong disease of addiction. Our communities are being ravaged by direct and indirect opioid drug abuse, and the first step toward prevention is education.

 

To kick off the new school year with the FBI Pittsburgh Division and their Citizens Academy Alumni Association, the Penguins Foundation will partner to continue to support a high school PSA (Public Service Announcement) video contest. Developed in conjunction with HOPE, the contest is designed to emphasize the dangers of Rx drug misuse and illegal drug use amongst teenagers. This year, the contest will focus on youth stressors and coping mechanisms, the consequences of choosing to self-medicate.

 

Teens from Southwestern PA high schools in grades 9-12 are invited to create a 1-3 minute video that focuses on the above theme. Each team has six chances to win prizes in two categories, “Veterans” (Past Winning Teams) and “Rookies” (Teams who have not won in prior years). Prizes of this contest include the following:

 

1st: $5,000; 10 Tickets to a VIP Party Suite for a Pittsburgh Penguins Game (Feb. 2020); “FBI Agent for a Day” at the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office

2nd: $2,500; 5 Tickets to a VIP Party Suite for a Pittsburgh Penguins Game (Feb. 2020)

3rd: $1,500; 5 Tickets to a VIP Party Suite for a Pittsburgh Penguins Game (Feb. 2020)

 

Team Registration Deadline is September 27, 2019! For more information on the contest, please visit the contest site: https://fbipghcaaa.org/hope/youth/psacontest/.

 

Congratulations to the winning teams from the 2018-2019 School Year: https://fbipghcaaa.org/hope/youth/psacontest/winners/