NOPE of Pinellas..... A School Year Like No Other!

The 2020-2021 school year has been like no other in our history! As we would all agree, these last 12 months have presented a new way of life, many challenges, and many changes.   

Sadly, the Pinellas County Medical Examiner reported 534 overdose deaths in Pinellas County alone for the year 2020.  That number far surpasses any other year, even those years surrounding the "pill mill crisis." Thus, we as a community and certainly as NOPE of Pinellas, must continue our efforts to educate and support our students and citizens.   

During the 2020-2021 school year, NOPE of Pinellas had the opportunity to present virtually to all 6th through 12th grade students attending the Pinellas County Schools. That equates to over 48,000 middle and high school students in Pinellas County hearing the NOPE message!  We also were privileged to virtually present 8 presentations to students enrolled in the FACE IT Program within the Pinellas Schools.  

Due to the Covid crisis, for the first time in over 12 years, the NOPE of Pinellas Candlelight Vigil had to be cancelled for 2020. The good news is that the 2021 NOPE of Pinellas Vigil is being planned for mid October of 2021. We are awaiting feedback from the City of Largo regarding the exact date! 

This year NOPE of Pinellas was excited to award 5 college scholarships to deserving Pinellas County Seniors. Scholarship winners had to write an essay or create a video on the topic “As a teenager, if you become an addict what are the potential impacts to your long-term future goals?” This year, we had 26 scholarship applications from across Pinellas County high schools.  The 2021 scholarship recipients:

·       Ash Hyla $2,000 – Tarpon Springs High School

·       Lauren Lopez $1,500 – Clearwater High School

·       Lauranna Hancock $1,000 – Pinellas Park High School

·       Samantha Kopec $750 – Tarpon Springs High School

·       Carina Lumia $750 – Osceola High School

NOPE of Pinellas continues only through your support and participation.  Please contact us at nopepinellas.org or Laurie Serra at laurie.serra@gmail.com. for questions or more information. Donations to NOPE of Pinellas are used for equipment and materials for presentations as well as NOPE scholarships. To donate, go to www.nopepinellas.org/donate