DEA Educational Foundation

“No child should have to live through the loss of a loved one from a drug overdose and all should have the chance at a better tomorrow. . ."

Opioid and heroin abuse affect us all, not the least of which are the most vulnerable among us: our children.

If you are a child in foster care in West Virginia, there’s a staggering 83% chance you are there because your parent or guardian suffers from opioid or heroin addiction. In 2017, almost a thousand people lost their lives to a drug overdose involving opioids. The economy in West Virginia is losing an estimated $8 billion PER YEAR, or about $4,793 per resident, due to opioid substance abuse.

If you are a child in Kensington, a community in Philadelphia, PA, you are likely to walk past someone using heroin on your way to school. Large homeless encampments known for open-air drug use are common in Kensington, where the number of opioid-related deaths rose by 49% between 2016 and 2017. Fifty-five percent of child-placement cases in Philadelphia are due to drug-related causes.

For children in New Hampshire, a state which boasts the highest median household income in the country, low unemployment and crime, 2017 was the deadliest year on record for opioid-related deaths. The opioid crisis in the United States does not discriminate based on economic status, race or creed.



The DEA Youth Dance Program begins at a participating school with an assembly led by a professional dance company. The professional company demonstrates different styles of dance to appropriate musical choices, speaks to the students as role-models, and asks student volunteers to try out movement during the performance hour. Students then may elect to register for a free dance class series led by a professional dance instructor. At the end of the series, students perform in a community or  school performance setting or simply demonstrate an open house, bringing family and other students together. Students targeted to participate in the program are primarily in upper elementary and middle school years.

The DEA Educational Foundation has impacted more than 22 million students, teachers, and parents and the dance program curriculum incorporates the DEA Educational Foundation’s anti-drug messages and themes such as: participating in positive alternatives to drugs and gang violence, the building of self-esteem, teamwork, resisting negative peer pressure, and focusing on positive health and attitude.

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Angel - Boston Public School
“I feel happy, I can’t even express how happy! They teach me how to be healthy and how to dance. The nice things they say help me to wake up in the morning.”

Students who have experienced the DEA Youth Dance Program through weekly classes after-school report a more positive, confident and healthy outlook. The DEA Youth Dance Program curriculum focuses on fostering a sense of community and energizing students to make positive and healthy choices for their life, all while being led by a strong mentor. Armed with these tools, students are learning to value themselves and resist dangerous substances like opioids. Together, we can provide hope and prevention education to children in these areas that are most in need through the expressive art-form of dance.

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Hi my name is Khloe and I am one of the scholarship recipients of the DEA Youth Dance Program. There are many things I can go on and on about, but let me just tell you a little bit about this program and about my experiences being in DEA Youth Dance Program. This program teaches kids discipline and it teaches them to stay away from drugs and violence. But the DEA Youth Dance Program makes it even better by letting kids dance. I love this program so much. I started dancing with DEA Youth Dance Program in the 4th grade where I was constantly bullied, verbally bullied, physically bullied and even cyber bullied. I thought that there was no way out and I just felt so trapped.

Then I was introduced to this program by an amazing friend of mine. When I felt that I had nowhere to go or stressed out dancing with this program helped me stop thinking about the bad things but the positive things. DEA Youth Dance Program truly helped me express my feelings and let me be myself. I haven't been dancing long with this program but they immediately took me in like family. To me the DEA Youth Dance Program is just an awesome place to be. I just wanted to say thank you to my mom for supporting me, to my dance instructor Ms. Stephanie Reed for teaching me discipline and how to be brave and to the entire DEA Youth Dance Program staff for making this happen. I also want to thank the DEA and the DEA Educational Foundation... without you guys supporting this program, I wouldn't be here where I am today. Thank you.

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It is the generosity of our family of individual, corporate, and foundation supporters that enables the DEA Educational Foundation https://www.deaeducationalfoundation.org/ to remain a national leader in providing the best possible educational vehicle to inform Americans of the destructive health, environment, safety, and family impacts of drug abuse on our society.

$25 (USD) will pay for one student to attend five weeks of dance classes at their school, including t-shirt and final performance.  

$300 (USD) will pay for a one student scholarship to attend dance at a local dance studio.

$1,200 (USD) will pay for Local Dance Company Participation - Professional Dance Assembly, which includes choreography, rehearsals and training highlighting the themes of anti-drug and anti-violence messaging.  

$6,300 (USD) will pay for an entire school program for a year, including professional dance assembly, 20 weeks of dance classes for 25 students, student performances and scholarship.  

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Never before has there been a more crucial need to provide an opportunity to learn about healthy lifestyles and the crippling costs and consequences of drug abuse. The common link among all of our donors is the desire to make a meaningful difference in the health, safety, and well being of our communities, both today and for generations to come. Whether you support our goals with an individual gift, or you elect to be a corporate sponsor, now is the time for your involvement. Your participation will play a critical role in the success of our endeavors, and together, we will make a difference.

To help the DEA EDUCATIONAL  FOUNDATION’S YOUTH DANCE PROGRAM  continue saving kids’ lives one dance step at a time , CLICK THE "TAKE ACTION" BUTTON!