Signs Up! to return to county schools

Dubois County CARES is again conducting a Signs Up! campaign at county middle schools, junior highs and high schools in August. 

This is a project CARES created last summer as a show of support for area students. Collaborating with school administrators, CARES staff and volunteer community members greet students at the various schools on select days during the first few weeks of the school year. 

The visitors hold signs bearing messages such as “You’ve Got This!,” “Welcome Back!” and “You Matter!” Last year, school personnel including teachers, resource officers and custodians spontaneously joined in, yukking it up with the teens and tweens as they entered the school building. 

CARES would like to expand the initiative this year by inviting those who live on a bus route or near a school to display their own signs of support during the first days of classes. All county schools start Aug. 11. 

CARES Executive Director Hilary Duncan explained that the initiative was started because for several consecutive years, Dubois County students have reported on the Indiana Youth Survey that they don’t feel noticed or appreciated by their community. Students in grades six through 12 throughout Indiana take that survey annually. It is largely about substance use, but a few of the questions relate to the students’ interactions with neighbors. 

“We hope that activities like this one help students of all ages realize that their community does care about them,” Duncan said. “For a more personal approach, we urge residents to share encouraging words with their neighborhood youth, young people at church and the teen cashiers at the stores where they regularly shop. You know them, and your kindness can have such a big impact.” 

Positive interactions such as these serve as protective factors for youth; the more protective factors adolescents have, the less likely they are to start experimenting with alcohol and drugs or engaging in other unhealthy behaviors. 

If you would like to join CARES at one of the local schools, call program assistant Martha Rasche at 812-630-8992 for the schedule. 
 
“If we get enough volunteers, we’d love to extend to the elementary and intermediate schools in the county,” Duncan said. “Coming together as a community to empower our youth is what makes Dubois County so great. One small act of kindness and one encouraging word could make all the difference in the lives of our youth. Signs Up! is one way our community can show our young people that they matter, that we see and support them.” 

Dubois County CARES works to support adolescents in remaining alcohol- and drug-free. It encompasses a group of adult supporters as well as CARES clubs at the county high schools. For more information, visit DuboisCountyCARES.org or call 812-827-8464.