BE A HERO. STAY DRUG FREE.

Sponsored by the Preston County Health Department (PCHD) in partnership with the Preston Prevention Partnership (PPP).

Registration Opens: September 1, 2026
Final Submission Deadline: October 1, 2026
Red Ribbon Week: October 23–31, 2026

The 2026 Red Ribbon Week Student Contest is open to eligible elementary, middle, and high school students in Preston County, West Virginia.

Students will compete within the division corresponding to their current grade level:

• Elementary School: “My Healthy Superpower”
• Middle School: “Heroes Help Heroes”
• High School: “Preston Prevention Challenge: Data Into Action”

Students must complete the contest registration process and provide all requested student, school, and parent/guardian information.

Elementary students are invited to create an original superhero that represents a positive quality, skill, or healthy behavior.

Students should complete the statement:

Healthy superpowers may include kindness, courage, asking for help, being physically active, helping others, making healthy choices, being a good friend, or another positive behavior selected by the student.

• Artwork must be original and created by the student.
• Students should create an original superhero rather than copy an existing copyrighted character.
• Traditional art materials such as crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint, collage materials, and mixed media are permitted.
• The student's healthy-superpower statement should accompany the artwork.
• The student's name, grade, teacher, and school should be included with the submission.
• AI-generated artwork or images are prohibited.
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First-, second-, and third-place winners will be selected.

Students who place will receive prizes valued at up to $100.

Middle school students will create an original multimedia prevention message demonstrating how young people can make healthy choices, help themselves, support their peers, or connect others with help.

Topics may include:

• Vaping or nicotine prevention
• Alcohol or substance use prevention
• Peer pressure
• Stress and healthy coping skills
• Bullying
• Asking for help
• Supporting a friend
• Healthy decision-making
• Positive friendships
• Healthy activities and hobbies
• School or community connectedness
• Other appropriate prevention topics

Students may submit:

• Video PSAs
• Memes
• Posters
• Comics
• Original artwork
• Photography
• Digital graphics
• Infographics
• Social media-style prevention messages
• Other original multimedia formats

Each middle school submission must include an approximately 100-word essay written by the student explaining:

• Why the student selected the prevention topic.
• Why the topic is important to young people.
• How the project was planned and created.
• Why the student selected the chosen media format.
• What message the student hopes other young people take away from the project.
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The written component must be the student's original work.

First-, second-, and third-place winners will be selected.

Students who place will receive prizes valued at up to $150.

High school students will use real 2025 Preston County Icelandic Prevention Model/ICEC youth survey data to develop an original peer-focused prevention campaign.

Selected 2025 ICEC findings will be provided to participating students. Students must select a topic from the provided data and use at least one associated statistic in their project.

Students must:

• Select a topic from the provided 2025 Preston County ICEC data.
• Incorporate at least one relevant ICEC statistic.
• Accurately represent the statistic and its meaning.
• Translate the data into an understandable prevention message.
• Create the campaign with a teenage audience in mind.
• Promote healthy choices, positive peer norms, protective factors, healthy coping skills, help-seeking, connectedness, or another appropriate prevention response.

Students may submit:

• Video PSAs
• Memes
• Posters
• Infographics
• Photography
• Digital graphics
• Social media campaign concepts
• Short-form videos
• Original artwork
• Other original multimedia formats

Each high school submission must include an approximately 200-word essay written by the student explaining:

• Which 2025 ICEC topic and statistic(s) were selected.
• Why the finding stood out to the student.
• Why the issue is important to Preston County youth.
• How the project was planned and created.
• Why the student selected the chosen media format.
• How the ICEC data were incorporated into the prevention message.
• What message, action, or change the student hopes to encourage among peers.

First-, second-, and third-place winners will be selected.

Students who place will receive prizes valued at up to $200.

The purpose of this contest is to showcase the ideas, creativity, skills, and voices of Preston County students.

Therefore:

• All artwork, media, designs, and written materials must be the student's original work.
• AI-generated images and artwork are prohibited.
• AI-generated essays and written explanations are prohibited.
• AI-generated videos or other AI-generated creative content may not be submitted as the student's original work.
• Students may use standard photography, video-editing, graphic-design, presentation, and other creative software to assemble or edit their own original content.
• Using editing software does not change the requirement that the underlying creative work must be produced by the student.
• PCHD/PPP may disqualify an entry if there is reasonable evidence that prohibited AI-generated content was used.
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The goal is simple: We want to see what YOU can create.

Students are encouraged to create their own characters, graphics, photographs, slogans, and designs.

Entries should not improperly use copyrighted or trademarked characters, logos, photographs, videos, music, artwork, or other intellectual property belonging to another person or organization.

All submissions must be appropriate for a school, family, and community audience.

Entries may not contain content that:

• Encourages or glamorizes substance use.
• Demonstrates unsafe substance use behaviors.
• Promotes violence or illegal activity.
• Contains bullying, harassment, discrimination, or inappropriate language.
• Contains sexually explicit or otherwise school-inappropriate material.
• Identifies another person's substance use, mental health concerns, family circumstances, or other sensitive personal information without appropriate permission.

Prevention topics can address serious issues, but they should do so in a responsible and prevention-focused manner.

7. Individual & Group Entries

Individual submissions are accepted in all divisions.

Group submissions may be accepted for middle and high school multimedia projects.

For group entries:

• All participating students must be identified.
• Each student must meaningfully contribute to the project.
• The required written component should describe the group's creative process and contributions.
• Prize distribution for group entries may differ from individual awards and will be determined by PCHD/PPP based on available funding and contest guidelines.

Students must complete the designated contest registration process.

Late or incomplete entries may not be eligible for judging.

Instructions for submitting physical artwork, videos, digital media, and other multimedia projects will be provided to participating students and schools.

Eligible entries will be reviewed by a judging panel selected by PCHD and/or PPP.

Judges may consider:

• Connection to the Red Ribbon Week/prevention theme
• Creativity and originality
• Clarity of the prevention message
• Age-appropriateness
• Effort and overall presentation
• Ability to communicate with the intended audience
• Quality of the required written explanation, when applicable
• Accurate and meaningful use of ICEC data for high school entries

Professional artistic ability is not required. The contest is intended to recognize student ideas, creativity, prevention knowledge, and communication—not simply technical artistic skill.

Decisions of the judging panel will be considered final.

PCHD/PPP intends to recognize first-, second-, and third-place entries within each division.

Maximum prize values are:

Elementary School: Up to $100
Middle School: Up to $150
High School: Up to $200

Prizes may consist of age-appropriate educational, creative, recreational, media, leadership, wellness, or positive youth-development items or opportunities.

Actual prizes may vary and are subject to availability, funding requirements, and applicable grant guidelines.

Winning students may also be recognized as Preston County Prevention Heroes.

As part of registration, a parent or legal guardian will be asked to provide appropriate permissions.

Selected entries may be displayed or featured through:

• Preston County Health Department
• Preston Prevention Partnership
• Participating schools
• Community events
• Red Ribbon Week activities
• Prevention presentations
• Websites or social media
• Future educational or prevention materials

Permission to publicly identify or photograph a student will be requested separately. Declining permission to use a student's name or photograph will not affect the student's eligibility to participate or win.

Students should not include sensitive personal information about themselves, friends, family members, or other individuals in their projects.

A student does not need to disclose personal experiences with substance use, mental health, family challenges, or other sensitive issues to create an effective prevention message.

Projects should focus on education, prevention, healthy choices, protective factors, support, and community solutions.

PCHD/PPP reserves the right to determine whether an entry meets contest requirements.

An entry may be disqualified for reasons including:

• Missing the submission deadline.
• Failure to complete required components.
• Use of prohibited AI-generated content.
• Plagiarism or submission of another person's work.
• Inappropriate or unsafe content.
• Misrepresentation of ICEC statistics.
• Copyright violations.
• Failure to meet grade-level contest requirements.

When possible, minor administrative issues may be addressed with the student or school before an entry is removed from consideration.

Submission of an entry indicates that the student and parent/guardian have reviewed and agree to follow the official contest rules.

PCHD and PPP reserve the right to make reasonable modifications necessary for contest administration, student safety, grant compliance, or circumstances outside the organizations' control.

Questions regarding eligibility, submiss

ions, or contest requirements should be directed to the Preston County Health Department.

September 1, 2026 — Registration Opens
October 1, 2026 — Final Entries Due
October 16, 2026 — Winners Announced & Recognized
October 23–31, 2026 — Red Ribbon Week

Winning students will be announced and recognized approximately one week before Red Ribbon Week, allowing PCHD, PPP, participating schools, and community partners to highlight the winning prevention messages leading into the national observance.

Selected winning entries may then be featured throughout Red Ribbon Week, October 23–31, 2026, through school displays, community activities, social media, prevention outreach, and other approved PCHD/PPP activities.

Preston County Health Department
Preston Prevention Partnership