Proclamation 6882

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 ninetysix, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twentieth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., April 12, 1996]