These are some of the highlights from the Project Purple Lighting Ceremony in Boston. Help VITALITY+ and support Chris Herren and Project Purple in their quest to bring awareness to the dangers of substance abuse and shed light on effective treatment practices.
That Boston will go purple on April 24 in support of ex-Celticsguard Chris Herren’s new Project Purple, a campaign that he hopes will change the bullying culture that kids who don’t use drugs or alcohol face in school. The Fall River homey, whose own substance abuse battles have been well chronicled, has enlisted the Pru — where the kick-off event will take place — to “light up” purple. Ditto for the State House, UMass Boston, the infamous “gas tanks” and State Street Bank. Also, the Celtics will honor Herren’s Project Purple during the Green’s game at the Garden against the Miami Heat. What a score!
Project Purple is an initiative of The Herren Project, a non-profit foundation established by former NBA basketball player, Chris Herren, that assists individuals and families struggling with addiction. Project Purple was launched to break the stigma of addiction, bring awareness to the dangers of substance abuse and shed light on effective treatment practices.
Background
The Project Purple concept was developed when Chris spoke at a local high school in 2011 and the front row of students were wearing Purple shirts. After Chris shared his story, one of the purple shirts raised her hand and stood up to speak. As snickering and laughter could be heard throughout the auditorium, the student said “Thank you Mr. Herren for validating what we do. We are the sober students of this high school and each year we take a pledge to not use drugs or alcohol.” Chris was captured by the courage it took to not only stand up and share the symbolism of the purple shirts, but was inspired to make a difference amongst adolescents across the United States.
The Facts
In the US in 2008, almost one third of adolescents ages 12 to 17 drank alcohol in the past year. – SAMHSA, 2010
In an average day 4,365 used an illicit drug for the first time – SAMHSA, 2010
90% of addictions get their start in the teenage years. – The Partnership at Drugfree.org
Stand Up and Join Us
On April 24th students across the United States will stand together against substance abuse wearing Project Purple shirts and awareness bands. Additionally, the Prudential Center will light the Boston sky Purple in support of Project Purple. It is our hope through Project Purple we can all join together to make a difference, celebrate life and support one another.
Join The Herren Project as we stand up and “Go Purple” on April 24th showing support for the fight against substance abuse. Together we can make a difference, celebrating life and supporting one another.
“People who are never challenged by life don’t have the opportunity to learn how to overcome adversity, which enables them to develop coping strategies, identify who the important members of their social network are, and feel competent after they make it through,”.
Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD, the University of California, Irvine
Researchers have found that a lack of sleep diminishesyour attention and concentration, thereby affecting your problem solving abilities. Without adequate rest, you cannot learn well. It also keeps you from “consolidating” memories, so you cannot remember what you learned from day to day.
An All-Star in the making? Possibly. Incredible talent? Absolutely! Anders Broman, a Christian Academy high school junior, scored 71 points in Saturday night’s game marking the second-highest single game total by an individual player in Minnesota state history.
Leading an intense comeback from a 16 point deficit at the half, Broman scored 47 of his 71 points in the second half, shooting an incredible 67 percent and hitting six of his eight three-pointers. With stellar performances like this, it is no surprise that this 6-foot-1 phenom became the youngest player in Minnesota history to reach 3,000 career points earlier this season.
With Virginia Tech, Northwestern and San Diego State already recruiting this youth, you can be sure we’ll keep an eye on this outstanding athlete in the future.