throggs Neck community action partnership Creating a Bridge of Prevention and Promise for Our Community

FALL 2013

ily Newslette r Fam

TNCAP HOSTS 14TH ANNUAL POSTER CAMPAIGN “The Risk Is Real. I Make Good Choices”

Above, Senator Jeff Klein Neck community. Past campaign We received and Rep. J. Crowley’s district topics have targeted graffiti, drunk 600 submissions representative Thomas Messina driving and tobacco use. This year, from MS 101, Mott help our 2013 honorees celebrate middle-school students were asked Hall Community School, St. their achievements in the Poster to develop a poem, letter or poster Benedict School, St Frances de Campaign, “The Risk is Real. I Make on the theme “The Risk is Real. I Chantal School, Preston Center Good Choices.” Since 1999, the Make Good Choices.” Students for Compassion, Phipps Beacon Throggs Neck Community Action learned that underage use of alcohol and Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. Partnership, with the support of has many consequences, some Many thanks go to these agencies, our elected officials, schools and immediate and some long-term, principals, teachers and students merchants, has hosted an annual on their school, family and social for their participation and to the poster campaign for area schools on lives, and on physical and emotional Throggs Neck Little League. issues of importance to the Throggs health. Senator Jeff Klein’s Teen Health Awareness Campaign

News from Senator Jeffrey D. Klein Serving Bronx/ Westchester News from Senator Jeffrey D. Klein Serving Bronx/ Westchester

CONTACT: Anna Durrett, 415.203.1455

One of my proudest achievements New Yorkers to “weigh-in” on how community is addressing the serious this year was launching the Teen much they know about important issue of underage drinking from all Health Awareness Campaign. The health issues. With student support angles. campaign focuses on reducing and the past success of our Cyber Along with the Awareness campaign, adolescent obesity, educating Bully Census, I believe this will be I helped establish the Teen Health students about the health a very powerful tool for kids and Awareness Education Fund, which consequences of short and long- lawmakers. will appear as a “check-off box” on term alcohol and substance abuse, The Throggs Neck Community all future state income tax forms. The and raising awareness among young Action Partnership’s mission is to check-off box will enable New Yorkers women and health professionals work in our community to reduce to make donations directly on their about endometriosis, an often alcohol and substance abuse among tax form and we hope that it will raise undiagnosed but debilitating disease. our young people. This campaign as much as $1 million for the Fund’s As part of the awareness campaign, goes hand in hand with TNCAP’s programs through voluntary taxpayer I launched the first ever teen health “The Risk is Real” awareness donations, beginning next year. survey online to encourage young campaign, demonstrating that our

Please tell any teenagers you know to log on to www.TeenHealthNY.com to take our free, anonymous teen health survey. TNCAP has consistently worked to make our community brighter and healthier for the next generation and I believe that the Teen Health Awareness Campaign will complement TNCAP’s work.

Assemblyman Benedetto attended our TNCAP meeting October 2, 2013. The Assemblyman was a teacher for 35 years and as a result, our work is very meaningful to him. He is the chair of the Education Committee. He is very active in education and veterans affair (chair of Veterans Committee). He commended TNCAP on all our good work. He has sponsored the bill to prohibit tackle football for players below the age of 11 due to all the research on the dangers of concussions and blows to the head. Those are just a few bills Assemblyman Benedetto is working on. TNCAP members asked him to come back next year. THE RISK IS REAL Teach your child to think, not drink. TNCAP Using videos, posters, flyers, mailings, teen is preoccupied LAUNCHES A 7-ft. banners, Twitter and Facebook, only with his/her MULTI MEDIA TNCAP is committed to increasing friends. Teens are also influenced by CAMPAIGN the number of underage youth in our hearing and seeing other teens talk community who choose not to drink and about the harmful consequences they “THE RISK to providing parents with the information suffered as a result of alcohol abuse. IS REAL” they need to talk to their teens about Kids are often surprised to learn about it. The harmful effects of underage alcohol’s “hidden” harms, such as its drinking are many and kids can and do effects on date rape and other violence, make better choices, particularly if their depression and suicide, Emergency parents have communicated clear family Room admissions, pedestrian Say expectations and rules. fatalities, etc. The Risk is Real website has videos that feature actual teens “YES” Frances Maturo, Chairperson of TNCAP, and their stories. Without judging or to a says, “Research shows that youth who moralizing, the videos present the healthy start drinking before the age of 15 are realities of alcohol abuse, rather than four times more likely to have alcohol the glamorized and sanitized picture lifestyle dependency. We want parents to talk presented in movies, advertisements and to their kids early and often … (about and popular music. While popular the) risks and how to avoid them.” A culture insists that it’s all good fun and “NO” youth survey conducted by TNCAP in no one actually gets hurt, the Risk is to 2011 revealed that 22% of 9th graders Real website reveals the damaged lives had used alcohol. That’s one out of five that are left behind after everyone else underage 13 year olds who are flirting with the leaves the party. The website also drinking possibility of alcohol dependency. The has information for parents to help good news is that parents have a large them have the conversations that can influence over their teen’s opinions and literally save their teen’s life. For more behavior, even when it seems that the information, visit www.adapp.org

HOW TO SAY NO TO A DRINK • Walk away • Change the subject • Avoid kids who drink • Make an excuse • Say “No thanks” • Suggest another actiity

COMO DECIR NO A UNA BEBIDA • Alejarse • Cambiar el tema • Evite los niños que beben Hacer una excusa • Decir “No, gracias” • Proponer otra actvidad www.theriskisreal.org Monster Teeth Recipe 1. Cut apple into quarters; remove core. Cut each quarter into 4 slices. Spread 1/2 teaspoon peanut butter on one side of each slice. throggs Neck 2. With kitchen scissors cut each marshmallow community action partnership in half lengthwise. Place 4 marshmallow halves Creating a Bridge of Prevention and over peanut butter on 8 apple slices, extending Promise for Our Community slightly over peel of slice, for teeth. c/o ADAPP 2789 Schurz Avenue 3. Top each with remaining apple slice, peanut Bronx, 10465 butter side down, to make smiling mouth.

Phone: 718-904–1333 ext. 16 Fax: 718-823-2177 A SWEET AND HEALTHY TREAT FOR THE E–mail: [email protected] KIDS ON THANKSGIVING DAY Frances Maturo, LCSW, Chairperson Sweet-Potato Crunch Sweet potatoes can be a hard Editor: Janit Bliss, LCSW WWW.ADAPP.ORG sell to the under-10 set. Try sweetening the superfood with orange peel and pumpkin-pie spice, then top with a crunchy layer of corn flakes, brown sugar, and pecans. You just might win a few converts. Archdiocese of New York Drug Abuse Prevention Program (ADAPP) What’s new at TNCAP?? Congressman Joseph Crowley SQUASH Senator Jeffrey Klein BOWLING Assemblyman TNCAP’s website has been MATERIALS Councilman updated and given a new look. Visit our website at www.adapp. -Squash 45th Precinct Community Council org and click on our logo. Like us -Acrylic craft paint Bronx Community Board # 10 -Vinyl sticker on Facebook at www.facebook. Bronx Health REACH/Institute numbers com of Family Health -Painter’s tape Bronx Smoke Free Partnership TNCAP has instituted a Smoke- Bronx Underground, LLC STEPS Free Entryway and Grounds Crossroads Tabernacle Policy to protect from the STEP 1 NYC Department of Education, To make the pins: Attach vinyl sticker Office of Safety & Youth Development dangers of second hand smoke. numbers to 10 butternut squashes. (District 8) In collaboration with our member Owners’ Cooperative, Inc. agencies BronxHealthReach/ STEP 2 First Lutheran Church of Throggs Neck Institute for Family Health and the With painters’ tape, cover portions Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership, of each squash to create stripes. Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, Throggs Neck Unit we urge all businesses, stores, Fill in stripes using acrylic craft paint, Parent Advisory Committee apartment buildings etc. to and let dry. Parish of St. Benedict consider such a policy for your STEP 3 Parish of St. Frances de Chantal premises. Please see www. Carefully peel off stickers and tape. Phipps Beacon at the nycsmokefree.org for more Designate a lane, and set up the Piagentini & Jones Campus information. Preston Center of Compassion pins, placing lower numbers in front Preston High School and higher ones in back. Have each Throggs Neck Little League player stand about 15 feet away, grip Throggs Neck Merchants Association a small pumpkin by the stem, and Schuyler Hill Funeral Home bowl. (Should the stem fall off after Youth Advisory Committee a few tries, players can grab onto the whole pumpkin.) Give everyone SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS two turns, and award each player Bronx Times Reporter The , the number of points on the pins Throggs Neck Branch knocked down.

Visit us online @ www.riskisreal.com • www.adapp.org • www.facebook.com