Press Release |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Jennifer de Vallance (202) 395-6618
Erika Batcheller (202) 828-8821
February 19, 2002
New York City, New York—At the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, John P. Walters, Director of the Office National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), announced the creation of a new effort -- Parents. The Anti-Drug. @Work Program -- to encourage the nation's businesses to educate employees about youth drug prevention. Substance abuse by family members can have a tremendous effect on a company's bottom line due to absenteeism, turnover and decreased productivity. As part of a larger initiative to involve America's businesses in youth drug prevention, ONDCP's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has developed tools and materials to make it easy to distribute resources to parents where they spend so much of their time - at work.
"When family problems reach the workplace, someone pays the cost - often employers," said ONDCP Director John Walters. "Employers can make a difference in their businesses and in the lives of their employees by providing them with information on youth drug prevention. I encourage every employer to take advantage of the @Work program and the opportunity to share our resources with their employees."
Walters was joined at the NYSE by representatives of business, labor and the human resource communities who have agreed to share youth drug prevention information with workers. Participants included Chris Boyll, President, Cellular One Group; Bob Chase, President, National Education Association; Greg TenEyck, Director of Public Affairs, Eastern Division, Safeway, Inc.; David Forman, Senior Vice President, Society for Human Resource Management; Randy Smith, Senior Executive Vice President for Corporate Marketing, Westfield Inc, and Michael Castine, Managing Partner, TMP Worldwide.
Walters capped the announcement by ringing the NYSE Closing Bell™ at 4:00 p.m.
"The NYSE is proud to partner with ONDCP and John Walters in support of programs that help keep kids drug-free," said NYSE Chairman and CEO Dick Grasso.
Human resource professionals surveyed by the Media Campaign strongly agree that employers have a bottom-line interest in contributing to drug prevention efforts. David Forman, Senior Vice President of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) explained, "Workplace practices that are designed to help employees cope more effectively with family and life issues can be beneficial to an organization's bottom line. These progressive benefits are preventative in nature and can be instrumental in helping employees feel more in control, thereby reducing stress and absenteeism and increasing productivity." SHRM is the world's largest human resource management association and provides education and information services to more than 165,000 professional and student members throughout the world.
Since the Internet is an increasingly critical internal communications tool, the Media Campaign expanded its existing Web site for parents to include a new feature designed for employers and human resource professionals, www.theantidrug.com/atwork. The @Work Web site offers employee newsletter articles, email parenting tips, posters and brochures on drug prevention formatted for easy adaptation and customization by employers. In addition, employers can call 1-800-788-2800 to obtain and distribute free materials like "Keeping Your Kids Drug-Free: A How-To Guide for Parents and Caregivers," a parenting brochure developed with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National PTA.
Companies who have already committed to the @Work program include BlueCross BlueShield, Capital One, DKNY, New York Stock Exchange, Halliburton, Mills Malls, Safeway Inc., Synapse, TMP Worldwide, Warner Reprise, and Western Wireless/ Cellular One Group. The Media Campaign's corporate participation program seeks business involvement through in-kind donations of goods and communications services and through contributions to underwrite advertising, programs and materials.
"The Media Campaign already involves the nation's premier civic, government, volunteer, public health, youth-serving, multicultural and media organizations," said Director Walters. "Partnering with leading corporations and business organizations is a natural extension that will increase our effectiveness in reaching youth and families in innovative ways."
In 1998, with the bipartisan support of Congress and the President, ONDCP created the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, an effort designed to educate and empower youth to reject illicit drugs. Counting on an unprecedented blend of public and private partnerships, non-profit community service organizations, volunteerism, and youth-to-youth communications, the Campaign is designed to reach Americans of diverse backgrounds wherever they live, learn, work, play and practice their faith.
