Employee Lunch & Learn workshop

A Family Alcohol Awareness Night was co-sponsored by The Elizabeth Grady Companies, Rotary and The Perfect Storm Foundation in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Three students planned the event. More than 250 people attended. Response to the event was tremendous. Each parent attending received a copy of the booklet Words Can Work: When Talking With Kids About Alcohol, written by Jeanne Blake. The following plan will help you organize a similar event.

Four or Months Prior to Event (It can be planned in less time)
• Schedule time and place for event. Ours was in our high school auditorium on a Thursday night. Make sure the space is available and no other events are planned to compete for your audience. 
• Pick a back-up date in case of bad weather or other unexpected emergency.
• Form advisory board, to bring ideas and support to your planning. Try to include school personnel and members of the community. Our board included the school principal, superintendent, health teacher, Director of the local Department of Health and a substance abuse counselor.


Three Months Prior to Event
• Schedule several meetings with your advisory board. We suggest now, two months prior, one month prior, two weeks prior and two days prior to your event.
• If a corporate sponsor is not organizing the event, identify sponsorship to pay for refreshments, extra copies of Alcohol: True Stories and any other costs you may incur, such as kitchen clean-up after refreshments.

Consider:
   • Chamber of Commerce
   • Rotary
   • Local businesses
   • Associations such as the Elks or AmVets

We called and wrote letters asking for support. In Gloucester, The Rotary Club agreed to donate copies of Alcohol: True Stories to the library so families could check them out.

John Walsh, owner of The Elizabeth Grady Companies, supported the distribution of Words Can Work: When Talking With Kids About Alcohol booklets, written by Jeanne Blake, to parents at the event. Also, a copy of the booklet was mailed, with funding from Mr. Walsh, to the home of each middle or high school student.

Create a schedule and budget for the event.

Consider:
   • Entertainment - Someone appealing to get students and parents to the event. We had the Floor Lords, a break dancing troupe from the Boston area. (We were lucky. Ilton, one of the Floor Lords is featured in Alcohol: True Stories.)

   • Guest Speakers - someone students can related to. We invited a 17- year-old injured in an alcohol-related fight. He spoke for 5 minutes, before the video aired, and told how he nearly died from his injuries. Our Mayor welcomed everyone to the event.

Two Months Prior to Event
• Finalize entertainment and guest speakers

Begin planning publicity:
   • Design and print a flyer to be hung around town. . An art student designed ours. It was visually interesting to get attention.

   • Prepare a press release (see the sample at the end of this document)

   • Send release to local newspaper, TV and radio stations.

   • A Boston TV station, WBZ-TV, attended and aired a story on the 11 PM news the night of our event. The Gloucester Daily Times ran several positive stories about the event as it was being planned and covered the event itself.

   • Secure audio/visual equipment needed for screening Alcohol: True Stories, for Guest Speakers and entertainment. Equipment should include:

   • Large screen TV or projector

   • Microphone/sound system

   • Also be sure to have someone scheduled to operate the a/v equipment and lighting


One Month Prior to Event
• Decide what refreshments will be served. We received donations of pizza from local pizzaria's and soda from two local grocery chains, Stop & Shop and Shaw's.

• Determine whether you need someone to serve refreshments and be in clean up. We received the help of the school's Food Services agency.

• Design a program to be handed out at your event. Our health teacher designed ours. Include the agenda, sponsors and advisory board. On the back of the flier we listed confidential telephone numbers and Web sites offering information about alcohol and substance abuse.


Two & Three Weeks Prior to Event
• Meet with leaders of various faith-based organizations in your community to request their help in letting their members know about the event.

• Contact school officials, state reps, and other city leaders to request their help in getting information to the community about the event.

• Consider speaking with school officials about offering students an opportunity to receive extra credit for attending the event. In Gloucester, athletes who attended received a credit towards their alcohol awareness requirement.
• Arrange for tables at the entrance and volunteers to work at them. Have sign-up sheets where students receiving extra credit can sign in, if this is offered.

• Ask for volunteers to hand out programs.

One Week Prior to Event
Confirm with everyone involved in the event:
   • Speakers

   • Entertainment

   • Donation/purchase/serving of refreshments

   • Audio/Visual Equipment, Lighting operators
   • Set up/Clean up

   • Make sure programs are printed. The High School printed ours.

   • Designate someone to pick up refreshments, if they are not being delivered.


Day of Event
• Test Audio Video Equipment to make sure it works

• Make sure you have a copy of Alcohol: True Stories cued up.

• Reserve seating for guest speakers

• Set up tables with event programs and sign-up sheets. The sign up sheets are only needed if students are getting credit for attending or you want a list of attendees.

One Week After Event
• Write Thank You notes to all who helped make your event possible

Sample Agenda
This is how our program was planned. You can fill in your own names and guests.

    • Students planning the event welcome everyone and introduce the Mayor.

    • Mayor Welcomes attendees.

    • Students introduce young man injured in alcohol-related fight who speaks five minutes.

    • Students introduce Jeanne Blake, producer of Alcohol: True Stories.

    • Jeanne Blake Introduces Alcohol: True Stories.

    • Play Alcohol: True Stories - run time 20 minutes.

    • Ilton, profiled in the video, speaks for two minutes following the video.

    • Mr. John Walsh, owner of Elizabeth Grady Companies and event sponsor, speaks briefly.

    • Student introduces Floor Lords.

    • Floor Lords Dance for 10 minutes.

    • Student thanks everyone for attending.

    • Refreshments Served!