40 Years–40 Stories of InnerAct Alliance | Story #12: Meet IAA Friend Patrick T. Grady

 

40 Years - 40 Stories | Story #12: Meet Patrick T. Grady - He Has Character, He Encourages Character, He IS a Character! ⭐

For over 30 years, Patrick Grady has been leading rallies, trainings, and planning retreats for our nonprofit agency. He's a great friend to InnerAct Alliance, StandUP Polk, and UthMpact, as well as a mentor to so many in our community.

About Patrick

Patrick hails from Wahoo, Florida, and is the owner of Today & Tomorrow Enterprises, Inc. He travels full-time throughout North America inspiring and encouraging individuals to do their best in all endeavors. He's a published author and licensed presenter for keynote addresses and delivers the most entertaining and informative seminars.

His supportive family includes a wonderful wife, one beautiful daughter, fantastic twins (a boy & a girl), four sisters, two brothers, nine nieces, ten nephews, to in-laws (no outlaws!), three dogs, four hogs, eleven chickens, and a partridge in a pear tree! Please consider giving this talented, brilliant, handsome, witty, charming, intelligent gentleman a shout out and support InnerAct Alliance in his honor!

Support Prevention Education

$40 = classroom set of workbooks for students

$40/month = 12 class sets of student workbooks
$400/month = incentives & materials for 12 classes

$4,000 = 10 more hours of prevention instruction

Thank you, Patrick for 30+ years of dedication to our mission!

Donate by

texting IAA to 26989

https://www.inneractalliance.org/#donate

#40Years40Stories #InnerActAlliance #PatrickGrady #ThankYouPatrick #CommunityHeroes #PreventionEducation #30YearsOfService

#Mentor #Motivational #PolkCounty

Children Are Seeds of Our Future

 

The wonder of youth and promise of hope for the future are wonderfully depicted in this photo - the world would be a better place if everyone dreamed as a child does! 💭

Parenting these days is quite a challenge, especially finding ways to keep our children healthy and drug-free. In addition to communicating about the risks of harmful substances, one of the best ways to keep kids off drugs is to encourage them to dream big and set goals that will keep them futured on a bright future. 🌈 Having dreams and goals in life teaches us to focus attention on things that are most important. It helps create a vision of how we would like our life to be.

Children are the seeds for the future - let's nurture them to blossom to their full potential. When young people have dreams, along with family encouragement to achieve them, they can learn to be responsible, persevere through obstacles, and develop effective strategies to achieve their goals in life - all vital skills need to avoid the trap of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and addiction.

Spring Forward – Set Clocks Ahead 1-Hour This Weekend

 

It's almost "time" to spring forward! Daylight Savings Time begins on the second Sunday in March - which this year falls on Sunday, March 8, at 2am - that's THIS WEEKEND!⏰

Best to set your clocks FORWARD 1 hour before going to sleep on Saturday night so you don't wake up confused the next day! With the start of Daylight Savings Time, we may lose an hour of sleep😴but on the bright side, we gain later sunsets! 🌇

Here in the United States, a few parts of the country do not observe Daylight Savings Time - Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

Personally, it would be great to see Florida join that list. I enjoy Daylight Savings Time with the sun being out longer at the end of the day 🌞- but it's crazy to keep moving backwards and forwards every year. 

Just pick one - Daylight Savings or Standard Time - and keep it that way. Studies show time change increases heart attacks and road collisions and we all feel "off" for a few days every spring and fall. Which side are you on?

Save The Date: Own The Upside Annual Prevention Summit - May 4, 2026

 

40 Years–40 Stories of InnerAct Alliance | Story #11: UthMpact Rocks!

 

40 Years-40 Stories | Story #11: UthMpact Rocks!

UthMpact is our youth coalition comprised of 40 outstanding student leaders, all working together to create a more positive teen culture in Polk County. One powerful way they accomplish this? Social norming campaigns in schools!

How It Works

Students are asked what percentage of teens in Polk County use alcohol or other drugs. At first, students may guess incorrectly that it's a higher percentage; however, by the end of the campaign, they answer correctly - learning most teens do NOT use drugs. When students know the FACTs, they feel empowered to make healthy choices, stay away from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, and support each other to stay drug free.

Check Out These Creative T-Shirt Designs! 

These peer-to-peer campaigns are changing perceptions and saving lives!

Support Pro-Active Messaging from Our UthMpact Teen Leaders

$40 = sponsors a UthMpact student's personality test

$40/month = covers meals for UthMpact Class

$400/month = bus transportation for Leadership Days

$4,000 = brings in a National Motivational Speaker

$40,000/year = provides staff support for UthMpact Leadership program

Donate by

Texting IAA to 26989

https://www.inneractalliance.org/#donate 

#40Years40Stories #InnerActAlliance #UthMpactRocks #SocialNorms #YouthLeaderships #PeerToPeer #TeenLeaders #PolkCounty #MostTeensDont #PreventionWorks #PositiveChoices

It's Important to Keep Track & Safely Dispose of Medications

 

Truth is...most teens don't get prescription pills from strangers. They get them from the home medicine cabinet. 1-in-4 teens say they've abused prescription drugs. That's why keeping meds locked up safely out of the reach of children, teens, and those who may have addiction issues matters.💊

Our prevention partners at Informed Families are sharing quick steps that can make a real difference.
* Lock them up
* Track what you have
* Safely dispose of meds that you don't need

InnerAct Alliance and StandUP Polk would like to share when and where citizens can dispose of unneeded or expired human and pet medication. Our county's DEA National Rx Take Back Day will be held on Saturday, April 25 from 10am-2pm at participating Police Department locations.

Be aware💊 Don't Share💊 Lock Your Meds💊

40 Years–40 Stories of InnerAct Alliance | Story #10: Celebrating the Red Ribbon Run

 

40 Years-40 Stories|Story #10: Celebrating the Red Ribbon Run-We've Come a Long Way Baby!

InnerAct Alliance's signature event, the Red Ribbon Run, stemmed from the humble "Just Say No" March of the early days and grew into the first time, first-even one-mile run for youth and adults in Lakeland called the Red Ribbon Classic in October 1992.🎽

Fast Forward to Today

Our agency has been recognized for hosting one of the largest drug prevention awareness campaigns in the state of Florida! The Red Ribbon Run brings together thousands of students, parents, schools, supporters, and volunteers to champion a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. The Red Ribbon Run marks the culmination of the month-long Red Ribbon Campaign - sharing prevention messages across Polk County and reminding our youth that their choices matter and that their community supports them.🏅

A Generational Tradition!

It's incredible that this awareness event now spans a generation - with parents who ran in the Red Ribbon Classic 34 years ago now bringing their own children to run! What an amazing legacy of prevention!

Here's How You Can Help for the 2026 Red Ribbon Run on Saturday, October 31, 2026

$40 = supports 1 student & Family on race day
$40/month = funds a commercial to promote the event and its mission
$400/month = sponsors timing for the race heats
$4,000 = sponsors event sound & music
$40,000 = transforms the Run into a festival experience

Donate by

Texting IAA to 26989

https://www.inneractalliance.org/#donate

#40Years40Stories #InnerActAlliance #RedRibbonRun #GenerationalImpact #PreventionLegacy #PolkCounty #DrugFreeLifestyle #Community Tradition