Fentanyl Awareness Campaign

Teens Team Up for Opioid Awareness!

The Snoball Youth Committee has teamed up with the City of Salem - Opioid Prevention to start their first-ever campaign to raise awareness about opioids for this December's winter dance.

The slogan for the 2025 campaign is: "Stay Chill. Ditch the Pill! Dance at the Sno."

The teens want to encourage everyone to have fun at the event without using drugs. After learning about the dangers of street pills that can be laced with fentanyl and the local impact it is having on teens and young adults, the Youth Committee decided to help save lives by spreading the word to their friends, classmates, and families.

They want everyone to ditch the pill and just dance!

In addition to adding the campaign to the Snoball website and social media, the campaign includes awareness stickers provided at their upcoming ticket sales tables during lunch at school and handed out to teachers and classmates.

Snoball is a long-standing tradition in our community, and this year marks its 72nd year of providing a safe, fun, and pro-social drug-free event for high school students in the Mid-Willamette Valley.

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ILEAD Youth Summit 

ILEAD 2026:  Saturday, March 7

Join Us for the ILEAD Youth Summit!

Our ILEAD Youth Leadership Summit is a free, one-day event for high school-aged youth. It’s open to teens from Marion, Polk, and Linn Counties, and it takes place in the capital city.

ILEAD is anchored in substance use prevention strategies concentrating on protective factor building and developmental assets. The day is filled with fun activities, workshops, food, networking, resources, and donuts!

The workshops cover topics like:

• Leadership Skills
• Preparing for College and Careers
• Health and Wellness
• Being Ready for Life; and
• Personal Growth

You can register online starting in mid-January!

For more information:  ILEAD Summit

Follow us: Instagram @ileadyouthsummit  and  Facebook @ileadoregon

Youth Substance Use Prevention Month

Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Marion and Polk Counties partnered with the City of Salem for a 2nd year in a row in observance of October's Youth Substance Use Prevention Month and its National Red Ribbon Week Program.

This year's Red Ribbon Week theme -  LIFE IS A PUZZLE: SOLVE IT DRUG FREE

All eight (8) club locations provide week-long, age-appropriate lessons and discussions to help build awareness around the harms of illegal substance use and medically prescribed medicine misuse. 

Younger elementary-aged children cover important ideas such as only taking medicine from trusted adults and understanding it's okay to say no. Pre-teens may be learning the specific dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes while middle schoolers are also learning how to become peer advocates to avoid Fentanyl-laced pills.

Skill and confidence-building activities focus on the importance of:

• finding a supportive community,
• discovering personally engaging activities or hobbies,
• learning healthy ways to cope with life stressors,
• identifying peer pressure,
• practicing refusal skills, and
• creating personalized exit plans.

Over 350 children and teens participate each year in this important program thanks to the City of Salem's Opioid Prevention partnership with Boys & Girls Club and their club location staff.  

Read more on this year's partnership and themed activities here: https://www.cityofsalem.net/Home/Components/News/News/1737/15#!/ 

For more information on Boys & Girls Club: https://bgc-salem.org 

For more information on Red Ribbon Week: www.redribbon.org 

 Posted: October 28, 2025

October Mayoral Proclamation

City Councilor Irwin M. Brown, left, Ward 5, and representatives of Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Marion, and Polk Counties, honor October as National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month and October 27-30 as Red Ribbon Week in Salem.

Substance use disorder has a profound and often tragic impact on individuals, families and the community, including decline of physical and mental health, the breakdown of families, the demands on public safety and health care systems, and the overall safety, livability and strength of a community.

Youth prevention aims to stop use of all substances under the age of 21 and stop misuse of doctor-prescribed medications before it starts by strengthening protective buffers and reducing risk factors, addressing social determinants of health, being culturally responsive and supporting sustainable efforts.

(Pictured with Brown are youths from the Boys & Girls Clubs, and Anna Magana-Rivera, Erin Oliver, Chief Executive Officer; and Tony Stafford, Chief Operations Officer.)