Happy Holidays!

InnerAct Alliance and our Coalition partners StandUP Polk and UthMpact would like to thank our generous supporters and wish you
 a safe and happy holiday season!

Stocking Stuffers - InnerAct Alliance's Wish List

InnerAct Alliance's Wish List

Dear Friends of IAA,

We wish you the very best holiday season filled with family and food and fun! Speaking of Filled… (see what we did there?), please kindly consider a donation to help fill the stockings of those served by our prevention agency and earn a tax break before 2019 ends. 

Here are some options that would GREATLY assist in fulfilling our mission:

Hard Candy Christmas: Our teachers enjoy giving fun incentives such as bookmarks, stickers, candy, etc. to students enrolled in the Bullying and Drug Prevention courses offered by our agency to encourage and reward them for completing homework assignments with their parents. Unfortunately, there was no money in this year’s tight budget to purchase incentives. Your generous donation of $60/class would help so much (.25 x 10 wks. x 24 kids for 625 classes).

Main Branches: Prevention Education is one of our most pivotal programs. Our agency’s 12 teachers teach prevention strategies to Fourth through Ninth Grade classes throughout Polk County to help students learn to stand firm against risky behaviors. Your generous donation of $777 would help fund materials for a class ($777 x 52 classes - $41,181).

Shining Moments: UthMpact (our youth leadership program) has two great projects, Project Prom & Project HOCO, to collect and gift formal wear to teens. Donations are made free to deserving students in exchange for signing a Prom Promise to keep themselves and their friends safe from risky behaviors on Prom or Homecoming night. You and/or your organization can help by hosting a formal wear drive or making a donation that can be used to purchase formal wear. Especially needed are larger-size dresses and smaller-size men’s wear. Accessories, jewelry, and shoes are also needed. Suggested donation of $50.00 would go a long way to providing a new formal wear outfit for teens in need!

UthMpact Leadership Class IX On The Move!

UthMpact Leadership is unique program, spearheaded by InnerAct Alliance, StandUP Polk, UthMpact, business and community partners, that helps teens develop crucial leadership skills. Members of UthMpact Leadership Class IX have been busy in the community this Fall with great experiences during monthly Leadership Days, organizing successful Project Homecoming Shopping Days, and volunteering at the Red Ribbon 15K, 5K & Kids Fun Run.

The November Leadership Day, themed “Education”, began at Family Fundamentals and Explorations V where UthMpact teens explored the Museum and learned about community resources offered for early childhood education. Next, it was on to iMagination Inc. on the campus of Lake Region High School which offers a special marketing, technology, and graphic design curriculum to provide students with job-ready skills to prepare for careers in public relations, advertising, graphic design, event planning, and sales. The academy partners with Polk State College to offer students dual enrollment classes and help them jumpstart their college education.

Education Day continued with a stop at Crystal Lake Community Partnership where student leaders toured the new health clinic and learned about programs offered for the community. The UthMpact group headed to Florida Polytechnic for lunch followed by a campus tour. The final stop of the day was at New Beginnings High School, a school that provides second chances. During the visit, the students heard testimonies from New Beginnings students on how the school and its programs has provided them with support along with the opportunity to earn a High School diploma.

The hardworking teen leaders hosted several successful Project Homecoming Shopping Days on Saturdays during September and October to provide formal wear to teens at the Project Homecoming store in Lakeland Square Mall. During Shopping Days, the UthMpact members experience all aspects of running a successful retail operation, including greeting customers, assisting teens with choosing outfits, coordinating dressing room visits, checking customers out and encouraging everyone to sign a Project Prom/Homecoming Pledge.

InnerAct Alliance & StandUP Polk Host DEA Opioids 101 Training

InnerAct Alliance and the StandUP Polk Coalition were proud to partner with the DEA and the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids to host an informative Opioids 101 Training on December 12, 2019 that was attended by over 50 members of the staff, coalition, and community.

Attendees enjoyed the opportunity to hear prevention professionals speak on the topics of "Opioid 101 Heroin & Other Opioids", "How to Talk with Your Kids about Anything”, and “Nuts & Bolts of Organizing and Delivering Presentations” and discuss ways we can work as a community to help fight the Opioid crisis. The event was held at Southside Baptist Church in Lakeland.

Please visit https://www.wakeup-tampabay.com/ and https://drugfree.org/ to learn more. 

Successful Annual Prevention Summit October 14, 2019

Successful Annual Own The Upside Prevention Summit

InnerAct Alliance and the StandUP Polk Coalition, along with our sponsorship partners Publix Super Markets Charities, Florida Department of Health-Polk County, Tobacco Free Florida, and SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco), were proud to host the 10^th Annual Own The Upside Prevention Summit on October 14, 2019 at the Heartland Church in Winter Haven to discuss important issues facing our community. Nearly 125 participants attendees enjoyed learning from guest speakers who shared a realistic view of current drug trends, human trafficking, autism awareness, the E-epidemic, youth vaping and juuling, and the importance of internet safety. 

Fall 2019 DEA Prescription Drug Take Back Nets Over 2,000 Pounds of Medication

Fall 2019 DEA Prescription Drug Take Back
Nets Over 2,000 Pounds of Medication

StandUP Polk and local law enforcement agencies were proud to participate in the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back event on October 26, 2019 for residents to turn in expired or unwanted human and pet medication. The DEA also accepted vaping pens and other e-cigarette devices at drop off locations. Kudos to Polk agencies for collecting an estimated 2083.58 pounds of pharmaceuticals that were safely disposed of via incineration. This latest event brings the total for collections held in Polk County to 20,656 pounds of recovered pharmaceuticals dating back to 2010.