The Castlegar Rotary Club donated $500 and the USCC Kootenay Men's Group Society donated $100 to help Castlegar RCMP teach the internationally recognized Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program to 148 local Grade 5 school children.
Staff Sergeant Anthony Choy, the Non Commissioned Officer in charge of the RCMP Drug and Organized Crime Awareness Service which oversees the Castlegar D.A.R.E. program, said that over 250 police officers teach D.A.R.E. to thousands school children in 92 communities throughout British Columbia. "The D.A.R.E. program equips our children with the critical thinking and life skills necessary to choose a drug-free life," he said. "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. The learning materials cost approximately $10 per student."
S/Sgt. Choy said D.A.R.E. BC is their main partner on the D.A.R.E. program. D.A.R.E. BC is a registered charitable organization responsible for raising funds from within each community to cover the cost of the student learning materials. "We are very grateful to these service club for their generous donations which covered the cost of learning materials for 60 students who took the program during the 2011-2012 school year," he said.
The founder of D.A.R.E.BC, retired RCMP Staff Sergeant Chuck Doucette said next year's DARE program starts in September and we will need to raise $1,500 in Castlegar to cover the cost of learning materials for the 150 students who are expected to take the DARE program. We are appealing to the citizens of Castlegar to help provide the financial support needed to empower Castlegar's school children in choosing a drug-free healthy lifestyle. Donations can be made on line by visiting the D.A.R.E.BC website. (www.darebc.com).