A Day To Help High School Students "Shatter the Myths" About Drugs

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mentor Foundation USA, in partnership with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and other key partners (as listed below), are together hosting a Youth Drug Facts Rally event at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore on October 30, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center is located at 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21224.

Approximately two hundred local students from Mergenthaler High School, City Neighbors High School and Blueford Jemison STEM High School have been invited to the event to interact with top U.S. scientific experts and inspiring guest speakers to "shatter the myths" about drugs and substance abuse, and pledge to stay drug-free. The students will also participate in poetry workshops led by the DC Youth Poetry Slam Team where they are able to express their feelings and thoughts around drugs and substance abuse.

Keynote speakers include:
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore City
Deputy Director David Mineta, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Dr. Lonise Bias, mother of the late Len Bias
Dr. Antonello Bonci, Scientific Director, NIDA
Yvonne Thunell, Chairman, Mentor Foundation USA
Donna Rattley Washington, Regional Vice President of Government and Community Affairs, Comcast

A+E Networks, the award-winning global media company and Comcast, one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services, will document the day and broadcast the footage on XFINITY On Demand as a tool for teenagers, parents and educators to address the topics of drug and substance abuse. Other supporting partners include global fashion retailer H&M, Endo a 21^st Century health care company and the Venable Foundation.                                 

About the Mentor Foundation USA. The Mentor Foundation USA mission is to prevent drug abuse and promote health and well-being among children and youth in the United States.  Mentor USA offers programs that combine the best of international and U.S. prevention efforts. Mentor USA's approach is to bring the business community together with schools and offer prevention initiatives to youth through different programs. The Mentor Foundation was founded in 1994 by H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden and in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Contact: Michaela Pratt: (202) 536-1594 | [email protected]

SOURCE Mentor Foundation USA