Student Artwork Featured in 2016 Coalition Calendar

The Cortlandt Community Coalition is announcing the availability of its 2016 calendar featuring student artwork accompanied by drug and alcohol prevention messages. The calendars were distributed to school students recently and are available free of charge to Cortlandt residents at Town Hall, One Heady Street, Cortlandt Manor, NY during regular business hours. The artwork was created by students from the Blue Mountain Middle School and Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School and was selected to appear in the calendar from entries submitted earlier in the year.

Messages contained in the calendar from the Blue Mountain Middle School students include, “Fight the Urge” from Brian Stabulas whose poster depicts a large boxing glove to punch out drug and alcohol use. Student artist Emily Kaufman's message is, “In your life…Don’t ever abuse drugs because then drugs will abuse your life.” Student artist Manny Socorro's message was straight forward: “One Wrong Choice with Alcohol and Drugs Can Change the Game You Play.” Socorro's artwork has been selected for inclusion in the calendar two years in a row.

Messages from the Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School student artists include Romualdo Mora's, “Don't do drugs,” which features a hand and five warnings about drugs on each finger. Diana Somarriba's, “Drugs, it causes you to lose control,” and Steven Dini's “Don’t Let Drugs Control You” were also selected to be published in the calendar.

“The calendar serves as a daily reminder about the dangers of drug and alcohol use. The artwork and its accompanying message is very special because the young artists are local middle school students. We work very hard to keep our community safe, healthy and drug free,” said Linda Puglisi, Cortlandt Town Supervisor.

“We had submissions from students who had participated in the 2015 calendar and a lot of new entries as well. The messages resonate because they come directly from the students and the artwork is amazing. We appreciate the time and thought that went into each entry,” said Colleen Anderson, Coalition Coordinator.

The calendar was unveiled and students were able to see their artwork in print for the first time at the Coalition's annual wellness fair at the Cortlandt Town Center.

About the Cortlandt Community Coalition: The Coalition is made up of parents, substance abuse counselors, local and county government officials, representatives from state and county police, faith-based organizations, educational groups, civic organizations, PTAs, and medical organizations. The Coalition's vision is for Cortlandt to become a culturally aware, deeply bonded community in which children can prosper and grow into healthy, resilient members. The Coalition is focused on underage drinking and drug use by working with community business and residents to change adult attitudes about this problem. For more information, contact the Cortlandt Community Coalition at colleena@townofcortlandt.com or call 914-734-1052.