Leland Police Department spearheading new D.A.R.E. program at Leland Middle School; Corporal Sherry Lewis tapped as department’s D.A.R.E officer

June 13, 2006 

LELAND – The Leland Police Department is spearheading a new D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program at Leland Middle School, Chief Osey Sanders has announced.  The curriculum has been approved by the Brunswick County Board of Education, and the board has tentatively approved matching funds.  According to Chief Sanders, the program will come online at the beginning of the new school year in September.

“Our young people are the future of our community,” says Chief Sanders.  “This D.A.R.E. program is another way our town and police department can invest in the lives of Leland’s youth.”

Leland Police Corporal Sherry Lewis has been tapped as the department’s D.A.R.E. officer and will manage the program.  Lewis has been with the department for five years and is certified as a School Resource Officer (SRO). 

“Corporal Sherry Lewis is the perfect person to lead this D.A.R.E program,” Sanders adds.  “She has the experience, credentials and skills needed to help our young people stay on the right track.”

With the launch of its program, the Leland Police Department joins the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department as one of two law enforcement agencies in Brunswick County with an active D.A.R.E program.  The program is already off to a good start:  a fundraiser this past Saturday brought in over $5,000.  For more information, please call 910-371-1100 or visit www.townofleland.com.

D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a highly acclaimed program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence.  D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 percent of our nation's school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world. D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.  For more information about D.A.R.E., please visit www.dare.com. 

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