Schuylkill County high school students want others to know the consequences of furnishing alcohol to minors.
Members of the county Drug and Alcohol Junior Advisory Board, comprised of 26 county students, will be placing warning posters and stickers at participating beer distributors later this month as part of Project Sticker Stock. The bright yellow posters and stickers have on them that a first offense for furnishing alcohol to minors is $1,000. A second offense can cost $2,500.
"We understand beer distributors are doing everything to the letter, but once a case leaves the door it is not their problem anymore," Diane Rowland, prevention services coordinator with the Schuylkill County Drug and Alcohol Program, said Thursday.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board started the project several years ago, but it is the first time Schuylkill County students participated in the effort.
"Their whole idea behind it was to have it coincide with prom and graduation to remind everyone to be careful," Rowland said.
The Junior Advisory Board consists of two students from each of the 13 schools in the county. The state board consists of 28 students, two from each district in Schuylkill County. They meet monthly while school is in session.
"Basically, we wanted to get the message out to parents and everyone over the age of 21," Collin Boris, a senior at Blue Mountain High School, said Thursday. "We are trying to show them that even though there are kids our age doing these things, there are others like us trying to put an end to it. Plus, it is nice to remind people everywhere of the positive things kids are doing and prevent things like this from happening."
The students will be placing the posters and 6,500 stickers in stores throughout the county from April 29 through May 1. About 35 different distributors are participating in the project.
"We had really good cooperation with the beer distributors," Rowland said.
The Beer Shak in Schuylkill Haven is one of the local stores supporting the project.
"We don't want to see the underage kids getting hurt," Jennifer Snyder, store owner, said Friday. "We need to make sure young kids are not getting alcohol in their hands. If the kids want to do something to raise awareness, we are willing to help out."
The students also made place mats with the warning on them to be used in local restaurants and will be on WPPA's "Step Up to the Mic" program later this month. They will soon start working on projects to raise awareness about the dangers of marijuana.
"It's (marijuana) become more prevalent and there are a lot of issues that people are not aware of," Boris said.