Committee Updates
Advocacy The Advocacy Committee is currently working on their annual letter project with the Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. A prosecuting attorney writes and signs a letter warning parents about the potential legal consequences of underage drinking and the letter is then sent in an envelope from the Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office addressed “To the parents of…”. These letters are sent in the spring immediately before proms and graduations. This will be the fourth year the committee has successfully worked with every high school in the county to implement this project. An average of 1,800 letters is sent out each year and the committee has been successful in securing a lot of help to make this project possible. Each year, students from TEAM Spirit groups and SADD groups help to prepare the envelopes for mailing. The committee also works to get all the postage for this project donated. Enough postage for the project has already been donated this year and EPIC would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for donating postage: Bethel Assembly of God, Community Caring Council, Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office, Eric and Kelly Morton, Gibson Recovery Center, New Vision Counseling and United Way of Southeast Missouri’s LIFE Initiative. The Advocacy Committee continues to host quarterly Breakthrough Breakfasts to educate local service providers about substance abuse and substance abuse prevention. The Advocacy Committee is working on a new “EPIC Schools” project. The committee wants to create a designation for schools in Cape Girardeau County who are working to prevent substance abuse in their school community. The committee is working on classifying the criterion that would qualify a school to meet this designation and they are also working on identifying incentives to encourage schools to want to achieve the designation. If you are interested in learning more about what the Advocacy Committee is doing and/or getting involved with this committee, please contact committee chair, Kathy LeFebvre at: klefebvre3@sbcglobal.net
Community Outreach The Community Outreach Committee is working with several other local organizations to plan a fun, messy activity for young people who attend Messy Morning. The committee will be helping kids make biodegradable bird feeders out of recycled materials. Messy Morning will be on Saturday, April 5th from 10am-1pm at the Show Me Center. The Community Outreach Committee will also be planning EPIC’s involvement at many other upcoming community events this year including Cape Parks and Rec Day, the Salvation Army Back to School Fair and EPIC’s annual community outreach/fundraising event at the SEMO District Fair. If you are interested in learning more about what the Community Outreach Committee is doing and/or getting involved with this committee, please contact committee chair Jo Peukert at: life@unitedwayofsemo.org
Media The Media Committee continues to assist all of EPIC’s committees with their media products by reviewing and/or developing materials to maintain a clear and consistent brand for EPIC. In addition to that, this committee also regularly works on implementing media campaigns in an attempt to reduce youth substance abuse in our community. This spring, the Media Committee is working to expand EPIC’s public education initiative to increase awareness about prescription drug abuse while also providing information about how to safely and legally dispose of unwanted prescription medications. The Committee is in the process of filming a public service announcement and will also be developing print materials they hope to disseminate through local pharmacies. If you are interested in learning more about what the Media Committee is doing and/or getting involved with this committee, please contact committee chair Cheryl Ellis at: cellis@semissourian.com
Resource The Resource Committee was formed this past December and is EPIC’s newest committee. The Committee will be looking at ways to increase financial and other resources for EPIC as EPIC continues to work toward long term sustainability. The Resource Committee has hit the ground running and they are currently planning the first annual “Off the Wall” art auction to raise funds for EPIC. The art auction will be at Dockside the Upper Deck on Friday June 6th. If you are interested in learning more about what the Resource Committee is doing and/or getting involved with this committee, please contact committee chair Sarah Landers at: sarahl@fccinc.org Youth Group/Faith Based The Youth Group/Faith Based Committee hosts two youth events each year. One is an outdoor event held in the summer and the other is an indoor event in the winter. These events are designed to be fun for the entire family and the committee plans food, games, sports and craft activities for these days. Events have been well attended with between 100-200 people usually. This committee is also discussing starting to host educational events for students and their parents that they will call “EPIC Family Forums”. If you are interested in learning more about what the Youth Group/Faith Based Committee is doing and/or getting involved with this committee, please contact committee chair Robyn Snodgrass at: robyn@missourimentoring.com