PORT McNEILL—The Port McNeill Rotary Club donated $500 during the 2013-14 school year to help local RCMP teach the internationally recognized Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program to 37 Port McNeill Grade 5 or 6 school children.
RCMP Sgt. Gus Papagiannis, who oversees D.A.R.E. program in B.C. said more than 200 police officers teach D.A.R.E. each year to thousands of B.C. school children to equip them with the critical thinking and life skills necessary to choose a drug-free life. While police officers teach the program, the cost of the student learning materials is covered by community donations so the program can be offered free to all students.
Sgt. Papagiannis said D.A.R.E. BC, a registered charitable organization, helps raise funds within each community to cover the cost of the student learning materials.
“We are very grateful to the Rotary Club for their generous contribution to D.A.R.E. BC to help cover the cost of learning materials for the students who took the program during the 2013-2014 school year,” he said.
The founder of D.A.R.E. BC, retired RCMP Staff Sergeant Chuck Doucette said the organization is appealing to citizens of Port McNeill to support the upcoming 2014-15 DARE program. Donations can be made on line by visiting the D.A.R.E. BC website. (www.darebc.com).