Washougal High Student Chloe Connors Receives Prevention Award

Washougal, WA – Unite! Washougal is proud to announce that Washougal High School Senior Chloe Connors has been awarded the 2018 Washington State Exemplary Substance Abuse Prevention Award for Youth Leadership. Connors and other awardees were honored on November 6, 2018, at the 2018 Washington State Prevention Summit in Yakima, Washington. The award recognizes the efforts of dedicated individuals and professionals in the prevention field.

“Chloe was chosen for this prestigious award because of her dedication to our community and to healthy choices for youth and families,” said Margaret McCarthy, Unite! Washougal Drug Free Communities Grant Coordinator.

Nominees for the awarded had to demonstrate notable participation in community and/or school prevention activities for a minimum of one year and have demonstrated quality peer leadership, teamwork, and volunteerism.

Dedicated to Prevention work since she was 11 years old, Connors helped coordinate “Challenge for Change” to bring resources and awareness to substance abuse issues in our community. She serves on the Unite! Leadership team and engages community, parents, law enforcement, youth and business sectors in creating healthy change.

“No job is too big or too small for Chloe,” said McCarthy. “She helps with childcare for Guiding Good Choices parenting workshops, leads the coalition in strategic planning and reaches out to the community to collect data.”  Connor is also involved in every level of coalition work and has served over 450 hours by her leadership and involvement in strategies like Drug Take Back, Let’s Draw the Line, Spring Youth Forum, Kindness Challenge Campaign, #findyourgood campaign, Prevention Policy Day in Olympia, and Capitol Hill day in Washington, D.C.

“Chloe has a very positive energy that makes her a great leader!” said Ann Stevens, Unite! Coalition leader. “She is also very dependable and follows through on her projects and is an inspirational example to other youth!”

“I volunteer and feel passionate about prevention because I want to help my community and people close to me,” Connors says. “I know how important it is to have information, education and resources available to help people make healthy choices.”

This award is sponsored by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery in cooperation with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Department of Health, Washington Traffic Safety Commission, Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Washington Association for Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention and Prevention Specialist Certification Board of Washington.