Riverhead CAP seeks volunteers

The anti-drug group Riverhead Community Awareness Program Inc., or CAP, is looking for volunteers to teach this school year’s drug and alcohol prevention program to fifth- and sixth-grade students at Pulaski Street School, officials have announced.

Volunteers would work about three hours per month through the school year.

There are seven monthly session in all, and the sessions are taught by volunteers from the community with help from peer leaders from the eighth grade and Riverhead High School.

The instructors also get training from professional staff members prior to each presentation, so there is no prior experience required.

“This small investment of time yields a tremendous payoff, both for the volunteers and community” said Felicia Scocozza, the group’s executive director. Training begins in October.

CAP has provided this program annually for Riverhead students since 1983, Ms. Scocozza said.

“It is a research-based program that undergoes rigorous statistical testing and evaluation each year to prove its effectiveness,” CAP officials said in a press release. “The program concludes with the 28th annual ‘Say NO to Drugs March.’”

“Volunteering with CAP is fun and interesting, and I was surprised at how much I learned as well,” said Felecia Wilson, a CAP volunteer since 2010. “CAP allows us to enrich the lives of the children in our community.

“I welcome the chance to enlighten and encourage these students to avoid the pitfalls of drug and alcohol abuse while building self-esteem, improving decision-making, and teaching them how to cope with peer pressure and bullying.”

She also commended the peer leaders, saying they’re “inspiring; they are prime role models and I applaud them.”

For more information about becoming a CAP volunteer, or to sign up, please contact Clare Marie Lundberg at (631) 727-3722.

Visit CAP’s website at www.RiverheadCAP.org for more information about the program.