The Catskill Chronicle

CALLICOON, NY – On Sunday, May 16 Sullivan County D.A.R.E. students who were essay winners in their respective schools, were treated to lunch and a day of activities with their families.

Sponsored by the Villa Roma Hotel and Resort since 2001, D.A.R.E. Day has gotten help the last two years from Kohl’s Department Stores.

Through their “A-Team” Community Outreach program, Kohls provides personnel from their Distribution Center located in Wurtsboro, as well as a $500 grant to assist the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office with DARE Day.

“The Villa Roma and Kohl’s are great partners with law enforcement,” said Sheriff Mike Schiff. “We are very fortunate to have businesses like these in Sullivan County who get involved and give back to the community.” Pictured above with the DARE students at the Villa Roma are (l to r) Liberty Police Officer Anthony Dos Santos, Kohl’s Loss Prevention Manager Jim Milnor, Sheriff Mike Schiff, Kohl’s employee Ben McMinn, and Sheriff’s Sergeant Luis Alvarez.

D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.

D.A.R.E., which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 percent of our nation’s school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world. This year millions of school children around the world will benefit from the highly acclaimed program.