HANLEY FOUNDATION SALUTES BOYNTON BEACH WINNER OF THE 12th ANNUAL SCHOOL BUS DRUG PREVENTION POSTER CONTEST
Katherine Ledsome, a senior from South Tech Academy was awarded a $1,000 scholarship
(West Palm Beach, Fla.) – Leadership at Hanley Foundation, the nonprofit statewide leader in adolescent substance use prevention and education, has announced that Boynton Beach resident Katherine Ledsome won the 12th Annual School Bus Drug Prevention Poster Contest. Ledsome, a senior at South Tech Academy, was award $1,000 at the Palm Beach County Behavioral Health Coalition award ceremony on April 12. She plans to attend Palm Beach State College in the fall.
The theme for this year’s contest was “Adventure with Me Alcohol Free. Adventure with Me Vape Free.” As part of Ledsome’s award, her poster will be displayed inside up to 1,000 of the school district’s buses and will also be displayed in schools.
“Katherine’s poster used key statistics to show that most of her peers are not engaging in underage drinking,” said Kathryn Grace, Director of Prevention for Hanley Foundation. “We felt her ‘Adventure’ poster fit the theme perfectly and would grab students’ attention with the bright colors. The goal of this contest is to show that despite what some teens think, most of their friends aren’t drinking alcohol and this poster drives that message home.”
Ledsome created a graphic that featured a woman on a rainforest adventure. The poster noted an important statistic from the 2020 Florida Youth Substance Survey: 86 percent of Palm Beach County teens are alcohol free.
“Hanley Foundation offers an array of research-based substance abuse prevention programs for parents, caregivers and students,” continued Grace. “We recognize that understanding the disease of addiction empowers people to develop healthy coping skills and lifestyles, which, in turn, helps to prevent its onset. One of Hanley Foundation’s key prevention programs is the Alcohol Literacy Challenge, which reflects Ledsome’s poster message and is offered free to schools, churches and youth groups.”
The annual School Bus Drug Prevention Poster Contest was held by the Palm Beach County Behavioral Health Coalition in partnership with the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD), Florida Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Art Synergy. Sponsors included Hanley Foundation, the Judith Carreras Scholarship, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Rotary Club of Wellington, the South Florida Fairgrounds and the Michael Joseph Brink Foundation.
Hanley Foundation envisions a world free of addiction, leading the way as the largest provider of educational programs that prevent underage drinking in the State of Florida. In addition to offering treatment scholarships to those in need and facilitating trainings to identify the signs of substance misuse, the Foundation works to reduce stigma and change policy through its advocacy efforts. The Foundation’s mission is to eliminate addiction through prevention, advocacy, treatment, and recovery support.
For more information about Hanley Foundation please visit www.hanleyfoundation.org.
