Congressman Danny Davis, Aly Raisman fight underage drinking with new public service announcement
Chicago, IL. — Today, Congressman Davis (D-IL) partnered with The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility’s Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix program and gold medalist and US 2012 Olympic team captain, Aly Raisman, to encourage kids to “say ‘YES’ to a healthy lifestyle and ‘NO’ to underage drinking.”
To begin the new school year, Congressman Davis and The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility launched a public service announcement with Ask, Listen, Learn “Superstar,” gold medalist and US 2012 Olympic team captain, Aly Raisman. The PSA, which will appear on YouTube and Twitter throughout Illinois’7th Congressional District, includes positive messages for kids and parents and encourages parents to start the conversation about underage drinking with their kids early and to have it often.
The Ask, Listen, Learn program, which was developed and launched more than 10 years ago, has reached thousands of middle schools across the country to encourage an effective discussion between parents and kids about underage drinking. The PSA is The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility’s latest project in its effort to spark conversations between parents and their middle school-aged kids about the dangers of underage drinking and how to “say ‘YES’ to a healthy lifestyle and ‘NO’ to underage drinking.”
“Parents have a lot of power regarding their children’s decisions about alcohol,” said Congressman Davis. “Sometimes parents may feel as if their kids are not listening to them but research says otherwise. The decisions our kids make today will set them on a course for the rest of their lives. I’m working to encourage parents to talk to their kids about alcohol and urge kids to make healthy decisions for a brighter future.”
“Even though the availability of alcohol to underage youth has declined for more than a decade, 30 percent of adolescents say they’ve tried alcohol by the time they reach eighth grade,” said Ralph Blackman, president and CEO of The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. “We believe that by having Congressman Davis and Aly talk about the importance of saying no to underage drinking in this PSA, we are able to reach parents and kids at the same time, and that will hopefully serve as a catalyst to a conversation about the dangers of underage drinking. It’s critical that parents understand their opinion matters to their kids.”
About Ask, Listen, Learn
Ask, Listen, Learn is the most widely-distributed alcohol education program of its kind. Ask, Listen, Learn’s initiatives include Asklistenlearn.com, a website that encourages kids to “say ‘YES’ to a healthy lifestyle and ‘NO’ to underage drinking” by offering kids interactive and educational games and videos. On the website, kids can read about positive role models and take a pledge to make healthy choices. Parents and educators are also encouraged to visit the website for tips on how to facilitate these conversations and read interviews with gymnast Aly Raisman’s parents on how they talked to their kids about underage drinking. Ask, Listen, Learn is also on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest constantly promoting a healthy lifestyle message.
About The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility
The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility is a national not-for-profit leader in the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and is funded by the following distillers: Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Beam, Inc.; Brown-Forman; Constellation Brands, Inc.; DIAGEO; Hood River Distillers, Inc.; and Pernod Ricard USA. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility promotes responsible decision making regarding beverage alcohol and develops and implements innovative programs and public awareness campaigns which ignite action through strategic partnerships. Established in 1991, their initiatives are highlighted online at www.www.responsibility.org and www.asklistenlearn.org.