Virginia ABC Announces YADAPP 2024 Award Winners

MECHANICSVILLE, Va. - A plan to create a substance-free space to encourage mental wellness and, in turn, reduce the urge to smoke and vape has earned members of a youth coalition a $500 grant from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC).

High school students from the Alternatives World Changers Leadership Team based in Hampton were the 2024 Wheeler Award winners for their efforts throughout the 2023-24 school year to secure funding and deploy their idea of a Y.O.U.R. (Youth of United Resilience) Space.

The grant is part of the Wheeler Award, which is given annually to a school or organization participating in Virginia ABC's Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project (YADAPP). The grant rewards the ingenuity and successful completion of a plan developed by a student team selected from one of many teams from all over the state who take part in the yearlong YADAPP program.

YADAPP is a peer leadership program that begins each summer when high schools and community groups send teams of four students, assisted by an adult sponsor, to a five-day kick-off conference. Teams broaden their knowledge of substance use prevention and work together to create strategic prevention plans known as Strategies to Act Now (STAN) Plans, to be implemented during the following school year. Awards for outstanding STAN Plans are announced the following year.

The team members sought to create a substance-free space as a place for mental wellness and to reduce the urge of students to smoke or vape. This Y.O.U.R. Space model was implemented in Phoebus High School and other community spaces and schools. It was open during the week, monitored by teachers, administration members and adult volunteers and students could participate in activities such as aromatherapy, coloring, meditation and reading. The space also featured You Are Enough (Y.A.E.) Days that featured vendors, community partners and students promoting positive wellness.

Established in 1986, the Wheeler Award honors Morris and Billie Wheeler for their dedication to youth substance use prevention. The Wheelers' daughter Sandy was killed by a drunk driver in 1981. For more than 30 years the Wheelers supported the prevention efforts of Virginia ABC and other organizations to promote youth leadership and prevent drunk driving.

"As recipients of the Wheeler Award have before them, the Alternative World Changers Leadership Team showed how a simple idea can lead to a substance free space in a school community," Virginia ABC CEO Dale Farino said. "We applaud the students' efforts and support their path to achieve success and continued work to build a stronger community and peer network."

Virginia ABC also named five YADAPP teams who participated in the YADAPP 2024 program winners of mini-grants for their developed STAN Plans. Schools or organizations represented by the student teams will receive $250 to support their substance use prevention efforts. Mini-grant recipients include teams representing the following schools and communities:

• Alternatives Inc. World Changers (Hampton)
• Newport News Human Services (Newport News)
• Rockbridge Area Community Services (Lexington)
• Virginia Beach Mayor's Youth Leaders in Action (Virginia Beach)
• Culpeper County High School (Culpeper)

Web: www.abc.virginia.gov Facebook: @VirginiaABC and @SpiritedVirginia Instagram: @spiritedvirginia X: @VirginiaABC LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/virginiaabc

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