Cherry Hill High School East used a fact-card scavenger hunt for Red Ribbon Week, Eastside first reported Nov. 5. Students could return cards to guidance for prizes.
A national prevention campaign
The national observance ran Oct. 23–31, according to the National Family Partnership’s 2026 announcement. Its theme was “Make a Difference. Be a Hero. Stay Drug Free.”
Ava Tackett submitted the winning slogan through the organization’s annual theme contest. NFP says the campaign encourages students to model healthy choices and influence peers through their everyday behavior.
The organization encourages schools, families and community groups to use the theme in prevention activities. It emphasizes young people’s role in shaping the message.
How Red Ribbon Week began
The DEA Museum’s campaign history traces the observance to Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who was kidnapped and killed in Mexico in 1985.
Students at his former high school in Calexico, California, started a Camarena Club that April. The National Family Partnership coordinated the first national Red Ribbon Week in 1988.
Participants wore red ribbons to remember Camarena and raise awareness of drug misuse, according to the museum.
