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YORKTOWN, N.Y. - It's not often a group of teenagers get together to discourage underage drinking, but that's exactly what the Alliance for Safe Kids (ASK) did.
As part of its first Yorktown Sticker Shock Campaign, teams of ASK youth, accompanied by an adult chaperone, placed stickers on multi-packs of alcoholic beverages at participating stores that read, "Hey You! It is ILLEGAL to provide alcohol for people under 21!"
"Limiting youth access to alcohol is a proven effective strategy to reduce underage drinking," said the group's Executive Director Lisa Tomeny. "Activities such as 'Sticker Shock' help reduce youth access to alcohol and also show that teens can be the driving force behind this movement."
The thrust behind the campaign is to raise public awareness about the minimum age law. The stores also are encouraged to place signs, identical to the stickers, on the windows of refrigerators containing alcohol.
The stores in Yorktown that participated were DeCicco's, Yorktown Beer and Soda and Mobil Mart.
According to statistics, youths who start drinking before age 15, as compared to those who wait until 21, are seven times more likely to be involved in a car crash after drinking. In addition, one-third of teen traffic deaths are alcohol-related.
ASK, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2002, is a coalition that represents different sectors of the Yorktown community to provide a safety net for youth and families.
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