Rallying students to help rise above
Even through life’s ups and downs, it’s critically important to make the right decisions when it comes to drugs, alcohol, drinking, peer pressure and bullying.
That message was delivered to more than 4,500 students during the third annual Above the Influence March and Rally.
Students from more than 60 Broward elementary, middle and high schools participated in the recent march that started at Pompano Beach Middle School and walked a mile to Pompano Beach High School.
“It was a very good idea they created, joining schools to walk for a positive purpose, and it’s good for teens to do that,” said Dillard High School junior Tyrie Fluellen, who participated and sang the national anthem. “A lot of teens don’t think about that; I liked that.”
The event is a collaboration between the United Way of Broward County Commission on Substance Abuse and Broward County Public Schools.
“It’s important to bring the whole community and county together to get behind one particular initiative: anti-drugs, violence, drinking and bullying,” said Kathleen Cannon, United Way Broward’s president and CEO. “Above the Influence is about all negatives and about being above all of them, and it’s a way to encapsulate all of them with one movement.”
The recent event was the biggest one yet and was “very much a success,” Cannon said.
“The movement is now the norm, not the minority,” she said. “It’s actually the norm and cool to live above the influence, and we saw how many students came out to embrace that and support that.”
Fluellen, who has participated the last two years, is a member of the United Way’s Broward Youth Coalition, a group of more than 50 high school drug-free youth leaders.
“Be your own person and make your own decisions,” Fluellen advised fellow students.
The next event is slated for March, with the location yet to be determined.
For more information, visit Drugfreebroward.org.