Cowboys Mascot Teaches Kids to Live Drug Free

Rowdy, the official mascot of the Dallas Cowboys, took time away from the gridiron to teach Mansfield ISD youth that you can’t score in life by doing drugs.

The mascot was the special guest at Danny Jones Middle School for Red Ribbon Week, a nationwide effort to visibly take a stand against drugs. He educated the seventh and eighth graders about the dangers of drugs and encouraged them to stay safe and smart.

In true Rowdy fashion, the program was filled with entertainment and dancing, which included dance-offs, crowd chants and giveaways. Event organizers hoped the upbeat pep rally would inspire students to make the right choices in life.

Rowdy pumps up the crowd at Jones Middle School.

“We wanted to get everybody’s juices flowing,” said Jones Middle School PTA President Lisa Huff. “I hope they take away the message that being drug free is valid and good and always something that we want to do as good people in the world, and that we make that commitment all of our lives.”

The 2016 theme for Red Ribbon Week was: YOLO. Be Drug Free. (YOLO stands for You Only Live Once.)

Schools all across Mansfield ISD held events that encouraged kids to say no to drugs. Several campuses wore red ribbons, took part in special activities and held dress-up days to show the importance of living a drug-free lifestyle.

Red Ribbon Week also motivates youth and parents to have open dialogue about the need to live a healthy lifestyle because children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those who don't.

The first Red Ribbon campaign began more than 30 years ago. Today, the Red Ribbon Campaign is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation reaching millions of young people. View more information about Red Ribbon Week and sign the pledge.