To help celebrate Red Ribbon Week (October 23^rd-31^st), Senator Dr. Pan stopped by the Robla School District on Monday October 23^rd to talk to students about Red Ribbon Week and how important it is to say no to drugs and reiterated this year’s Red Ribbon theme “Your Future is Key, So Stay Drug Free.”

Dr. Pan, the California State Senator from the 6^th District, first visited Bell Avenue Elementary where he had a productive discussion with student leadership.  “Dr. Pan was responsive to the student’s questions,” Bell Avenue Principal Lisa Hall says.  “He was very passionate about the importance of Red Ribbon Week and clearly he really cares about the health and well-being of children.”

After visiting with students at Bell Avenue, Dr. Pan met with third grade students at Glenwood Elementary.  Besides being a State Senator, Dr. Pan is also a pediatrician and spoke about how drugs can affect and take over one’s brain. 

“Drugs take over your brain, and instead of doing good things for you, drugs tell you to go get more drugs,” explained, Dr. Pan.  “This is what we call addiction.”

“Be the person you want to be,” Dr. Pan said to students, “not the person drugs want you to be.”

"It is amazing to have a state senator who cares about our kids and the health of our community," said Glenwood Principal David Gutierrez.  "Our students really enjoyed having him as a guest speaker and I am proud to have had him kick off our Red Ribbon Week."

School Board President Dennis Boyd was also in attendance for Dr. Pan’s visit while at Glenwood and wanted to thank the Senator for his visit.  “Dr. Pan took time from his busy schedule to talk to the students about how important it is to stay away from taking drugs of any kind,” said Mr. Boyd.  “The district’s message supported by Dr. Pan is to resist any temptation to start using drugs so that your brain has the opportunity to take you to wherever you desire.” 

Mr. Boyd went on to say, “I would like to commend our third grader students at Glenwood on how well they behaved and listened to the important message Dr. Pan delivered. They asked many good questions that the Senator took time to answer.”

Red Ribbon Week originally started in 1988 by the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth (NFP) to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities.  Schools around the country encourage students and staff to wear red ribbons and host activities throughout the week to remind students that their future is key, so they should stay drug free. 

For more information on Red Ribbon Week, check out the link below.

http://redribbon.org/