Olympic Gold Medalist Summer Sanders teams up with State Attorneys General and Responsibility.org to Encourage Teens to Say ‘NO’ to Underage Drinking
Sanders and 23 attorneys general filmed anti-underage drinking PSAs for Alcohol Responsibility Month
ARLINGTON, VA. – Kicking off an April-long observance of “Alcohol Responsibility Month,” the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org) and Olympic gold medalist Summer Sanders teamed up with attorneys general from 21 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico to release public service announcements (PSAs) to prevent underage drinking. In the video and radio PSAs, through Responsibility.org’s Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix program, the attorneys general and Sanders encourage parents to have conversations with their kids and teens about saying “no” to underage drinking.
“It is a pleasure to join with Olympic gold medalist Summer Sanders to help spread the word about the key role parents play in preventing underage drinking,” said Derek Schmidt, Attorney General of Kansas. “As attorney general, I represent all citizens of Kansas, young and old. I hope parents and kids hear this important message loud and clear – underage drinking is illegal and dangerous. I’m proud to join with Summer and the team at Responsibility.org to help keep Kansas safe.”
“I’m thrilled to be a part of Responsibility.org’s Ask, Listen, Learn team,” said Sanders, who won two gold medals, one silver and a bronze in the 1992 Olympic swimming competition. “As an Olympian and a 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. I hope these PSAs 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 PSAs, the attorneys general encourage parents to begin talking with kids about alcohol because underage drinking is illegal, unhealthy and negatively effects their developing brains. In addition, these talks are shown to be effective. From 2003 to 2016, conversations between kids and their parents increased 73 percent. Since the inception of Ask, Listen, Learn, underage drinking has decreased 40 percent, according to the 2017 Monitoring the Future study. While this is a major improvement—underage drinking is at a record low—there is still work to be done. The PSAs will begin airing this month.
“It was truly a pleasure working with Summer Sanders and so many of our country’s attorneys general in our longstanding joint effort to combat underage drinking,” said Ralph Blackman, president and CEO of Responsibility.org. “There is no better time than April—Alcohol Responsibility Month—to jumpstart conversations about making smart choices. We hope these PSAs will encourage parents to start the conversation about alcohol responsibility early, and continue it often, with their kids.”
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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 26 years of impact, Responsibility.org has transformed countless lives through programs that bring individuals, families and communities together to guide a lifetime of conversations around alcohol responsibility and offering proven strategies to stop impaired driving. To learn more, please visit us at www.responsibility.org.
Media Contact:
Georgia Cassady, 202-355-1947