Foundation Hosts 120 H.S. Students For Prevention Training Retreat

The Pennsylvania Masonic Foundation for Children hosted a group of 120 high-school students from the Pennsylvanians Against Underage Drinking (P.A.U.D.) at the Patton Campus in Elizabethtown on Jan. 4 through 6. P.A.U.D. endeavors to train high-school students throughout the Commonwealth by having college-aged students present information about the dangers of underage drug and alcohol use. Students attending the retreat participated in a variety of workshops that furthered their knowledge about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and the consequences of underage use, and advanced their public speaking and presentation skills.

Felicity DeBacco-Erni, the Executive Director of P.A.U.D., said that the weekend conference was a huge success for the participants, providing them with a weekend of both education and fun. Bro. Raymond G. Brown, the Director of the Children's Foundation is a regional chairman of P.A.U.D. and is on its Steering Committee that helps to determine which projects to sponsor, and how best to participate in those projects.

At the end of the conference, the students made alarge "thank-you note" (pictured above) and sent it to the Grand Master to illustrate how important to the success of P.A.U.D. is the partnership between Pennsylvanians Against Underage Drinking and the Pennsylvania Masonic Foundation for Children.