PSA brings attention to Alcohol Responsibility Month, provides resources
OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Mike Hunter has teamed up with Olympic Gold Medalist Summer Sanders and Responsibility.org’s Ask, Listen, Learn campaign to raise awareness and discourage underage drinking during April, which is Alcohol Responsibility Month.
As part of the month-long effort, Attorney General Hunter and Sanders filmed a PSA encouraging parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of underage drinking and point to helpful resources parents can use to begin the discussion.
Attorney General Hunter said he is honored to join the effort to help raise awareness about the dangers of underage drinking and help Oklahoma parents who may be struggling to take the first steps in starting conversations with their kids.
“In 2016, there were 107 Oklahomans under the age of 18 arrested for driving under the influence, 105 individuals under 18 arrested for breaking liquor laws and 293 individuals under 18 arrested for drunkenness,” Attorney General Hunter said. “These statistics are not only heartbreaking, they represent too many of our youth, who are heading down the wrong path at a very early age.
“As the chief law enforcement officer of the state, it is my duty to protect Oklahomans, which is why I am privileged to join Olympian Summer Sanders and Responsibility.org to raise awareness, share advice and provide resources about how to prevent underage drinking.”
More statistics on impaired driving and underage drinking in Oklahoma: https://bit.ly/2qcdN9K.
Sanders, who won two gold medals, one silver and a bronze in the 1992 Olympic swimming competition said she is thrilled to be a part of Responsibility.org’s Ask, Listen, Learn team.
“As an Olympian and mother of two, I’m keenly aware of how important it is to make the right choices, be a positive role model and have meaningful conversations with my kids,” Sanders said. “I hope the PSA will remind parents that they are the biggest influence in their kids’ decision to drink – or not to drink – alcohol and just how important it is to talk to them about underage drinking.”
In the PSA, Attorney General Hunter, who is a father of two adult sons, encourages parents to begin the conversation with their kids at an early age and also share with them the negative consequences.
Both Attorney General Hunter and Sanders point to valuable, free, resources and conversation starters available on asklistenlearn.org and responsibility.org.
View the PSA, here: https://bit.ly/2uRAMws.
About the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility
The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org) is a national not-for-profit that leads the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and is funded by the following distillers: Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Beam Suntory Inc.; Brown-Forman; Constellation Brands, Inc.; DIAGEO; Edrington; Mast-Jägermeister US; and Pernod Ricard USA. Recognizing 25 years of impact, Responsibility.org has transformed countless lives through programs that bring individuals, families and communities together.
About Ask, Listen, Learn
The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org) developed Ask, Listen, Learn to provide youth, ages 9 to 14, with the necessary tools to make healthy lifestyle choices while also teaching them about the dangers of underage drinking.
The program’s new digital resources were created to teach what the brain does, what alcohol does to it, and what that does to you. Teachers and parents can now feel equipped with the facts and tools to have a substantive and powerful conversation about the dangers of underage drinking.
Since the inception of Ask, Listen, Learn, underage drinking has decreased 40 percent, according to the 2017 Monitoring the Future.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter (left) films PSA with Olympic Gold Medalist Summer Sanders.