National D.A.R.E. Day, 1996

Proclamation 6882 of April 10, 1996

National D.A.R.E. Day, 1996

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Drug abuse and violence pose serious threats to the
health and well-being of American youth. We must
redouble our efforts to help children understand the
consequences of destructive behaviors and give them the
tools they need to succeed. This critical endeavor
requires all of us--government, law enforcement,
schools, religious communities, and families--to work
together. Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is
a proven means of communicating a strong anti-drug,
anti-violence message to students of all ages. This
year, D.A.R.E. will provide 33 million young people,
from kindergartners to 12th graders, with information
and strategies to help them resist peer pressure and to
avoid drugs, tobacco, inhalants, and alcohol abuse
throughout their lives. Reaching children in 30
countries, all 50 States, and 70 percent of our
Nation's school districts, D.A.R.E. also empowers
students with vital conflict resolution and anger
management skills.

Today and throughout the year, let us recognize this
program as a model of effective, grassroots
organization and commend D.A.R.E. officers for their
dedicated efforts to promote health and safety. As an
integral and valued part of countless American schools,
these caring men and women are joining parents,
teachers, and concerned citizens everywhere to help
children lead safe, healthy, productive lives.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim April 11, 1996, as National
D.A.R.E. Day. I call upon families, educators, and all
the people of the United States to observe this day
with appropriate activities and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and twentieth.