funded by the commission , has an annual operating budget of more than $ 3 million .

The messages featured in Talk it Out are emotional and hard-hitting . When it initially launched , the first video showed four families discussing how their lives had been affected by underage drinking . Several parents spoke about their children

— STEVE SCIASCIA , MAYOR OF HARRISBURG , NC

being critically injured or killed as a result of alcohol-related accidents . The agency asked three parents who had lost children to review the ads , share their input and help determine whether they were too intense . The response ? One parent said that “ tough ” is getting a call at 3 a . m . from a stranger saying your son is dead , not an emotional ad .

Harrisburg , NC mayor Steve Sciascia participated in the campaign by sharing the story of his son , Joseph , who was killed in an underage drinking-related accident in 2011 .

“ Losing a child to something as preventable as underage drinking is more than any family should have to endure ,” he said . “ This initiative provides parents with the tools necessary to start the conversation and prevent tragedy in their families .”

The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control focuses its youth education on peer engagement . Its legacy program , the Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project ( YADAPP ), is in its 34th year of partnering with high schools and community coalition groups to engage students in learning about underage and dangerous drinking .

Virginia ABC sends four students and one adult sponsor from each group to a weeklong kickoff conference to train them on drug and alcohol trends , strategic planning , leadership skills and coach them on developing prevention plans to take back to their schools and communities to implement throughout the coming year .

“ Students are more likely to make behavior changes based on what they see their peers doing versus just hearing a speaker or from an adult , so YADAPP was developed on that premise ,” says Katie Weaks , education and prevention manager . “ In addition to that , the program itself is peer-led . To practice what we preach , we allow students to apply back after they ’ ve participated in the program for a year to be on staff and help train the incoming participants .”

Students can return at three leadership levels : youth leaders , which is akin to a traditional camp counselor ; junior staff , where they teach the curriculum and trainings ; and interns , who are in charge of planning the entire kickoff conference .

In 2013 , Virginia ABC built its Being Outstanding Leaders Together ( BOLT ) program as a companion to YADAPP . Through BOLT , peer leaders are able to engage and impact middle schools in their area .

“ We were starting to see trends in the research and the data that experimentation and first onset abuse of alcohol was beginning in the middle school years , whereas it had previously been in the high school years ,” Weaks says . “ We knew we needed to come up with something to address that middle school age group , with the theory of role models being really effective due to the stage of development at that age .”

To reach younger , elementary-aged students , Virginia ABC has partnered with the Miss Virginia Organization since 2013 . So far in 2017 , Miss Virginia visited 40 schools and spoke with 17,879 students .

“ Initially , it was more of a high school and middle school target audience . But we found that she is most effective with elementary

12 StateWays | www . stateways . com | Drink Responsibly 2017