Imagine yourself standing before a smoke-filled stage with multicolored lights sweeping the room, heart-pounding live music pumping, all amidst a crowd dancing and singing to the music. This is no rock concert—it’s a FutureNow school assembly. “FutureNow is an organization out of Valdosta, Ga. that goes into middle and high schools to talk to teenagers about their choices and their future,” says FutureNow Director Chris Musgrove. FutureNow draws young people into their message with live music, meaningful drama, video effects and real-life stories combined in a one-hour presentation. The topics include telling students that their current choices will affect their education, careers, dreams and future.
Madison County Health Department’s Tobacco Program, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Safe Schools/Healthy Students program, known locally as Project Safe Zone, have partnered with Madison County Schools to provide this powerful program of daytime assemblies to middle and high school students on March 23. Fellowship of Christian Athletes hosts FutureNow’s night event, open to the entire community at the Madison County High School Gym on Wednesday, March 23rd at 7 p.m. Students will have the chance to win an iPod or Wild Adventures tickets in a drawing that evening. Parents, church youth groups, and the community at large are invited to come and enjoy the evening event.
Always looking for new opportunities to deliver tobacco prevention and cessation activities that support the school district’s tobacco-free policies, Tobacco Prevention Specialist Dog Freer praised the FutureNow event as an exciting and timely venue that goes hand-in-hand with the health department’s tobacco-free lifestyle goals. The Students Working Against Tobacco members from Madison County Central School will be serving as volunteers for the event, continuing their active support of programs that promote healthy living throughout the district.
Similarly, Project Safe Zone Coordinator Octavious Tookes acknowledged the importance and power of promoting positive behavior, praising the FutureNow production for its focus and ability to connect to youth of all backgrounds. With his focus on enhancing school safety and providing a healthy learning environment that addresses issues such as bullying prevention and mentoring, Tookes further acknowledged his pleasure to support a program that complements the core themes of Project Safe Zone.
To find out how you can get involved with this event as a supporter or a volunteer, please contact Elton Dixon at 229.245.9499, or visit www.futurenow.us for more information.
