City of Alexandria Launches Respect Campaign

For Immediate Release: October 24, 2024
Media Contact: Emma Beall, SAPCA Coordinator, [email protected], 571.302.1022

Alexandria, Va. - In recognition of National Bullying Prevention Month and National Substance Use Prevention Month, the Mayor's Campaign to End Bullying and the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria (SAPCA) launched the Respect Campaign,a series of short videos created by Alexandria City High School (ACHS) students.

These videos feature students defining what respect means to them, sharing ways to show respect, and highlighting how substance use impacts their school and community. The campaign invites social media followers to share these videos, along with their own definitions of respect and suggestions for how to show respect for ourselves, others, our schools, and our community.

This series was created in response to concerns about youth safety and substance use and complements several video series previously created by the ACHS TV and Media Production program, including:

• "A Bully Free Alexandria: It Starts With Me and You,"a series of videos featuring youth and adults sharing ways they can prevent bulling in our schools and our community; and
• Three multi-media prevention campaigns encouraging youth to be substance free. The videos, which feature Alexandria youth sharing reasons why they do not drink alcohol, use marijuana, or use e-cigarettes/vaping devices, reinforce and raise awareness of the social norm that the majority of youth in Alexandria choose to be substance free. These campaigns can be accessed on SAPCA's YouTube channel.

Formed in 2007, SAPCA is an alliance of parents, youth, schools, City health, human service and recreation agencies, media, nonprofits, businesses, policymakers and law enforcement representatives. SAPCA's mission is to engage diverse sectors of the community in collaborative, cross-cultural and comprehensive prevention efforts that result in a reduction of underage substance use and misuse in the City of Alexandria.

Since 2014, the Mayor's Campaign to End Bullying has worked tirelessly to create programs to prevent and end bullying in our City. This committee includes City agencies, Alexandria City Public Schools, community organizations and coalitions, youth leaders, and community residents.

Visit alexandriava.gov/SAPCAto learn more about ways to prevent substance use and misuse. Visitalexandriava.gov/EndBullyingfor more information about the Mayor's Campaign to End Bullying.