RAISING THE BAR
About Raising The Bar
RAISING THE BAR is a campaign aimed at elevating the experience of Medfield youth during youth-centered events by changing the social norms around adult alcohol consumption and substances use at these events. While the campaign does not intend to eliminate adult alcohol use from our community, it does want adults to model enjoyment, entertainment and delight in alcohol- and substance-free environments at youth-oriented events.
This campaign was first developed in 2017 by the Marin Healthy Youth Partnerships in collaboration with the Marin Prevention Network. Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) signed on to join this campaign during the summer of 2023. To learn more about Marin county’s initiative, visit raisingthebarmarin.org.
To join RAISING THE BAR in Medfield and support local youth organizations, sports teams and parents/guardians to positively influence community norms, please contact us.
To show your support for RAISING THE BAR, request free RAISING THE BAR merchandise or to recommend an organization that may be interested in participating in this initiative, please follow this link.
Why raising the bar in medfield?
At the request of the Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) Coalition, The Town of Medfield licensed use of the RAISING THE BAR campaign in the summer of 2023. This initiative was adopted in response to concerningly high rates of alcohol use among Medfield youth. In 2021, one in four Medfield High School students reported that they binge drank in the past 30 days, a rate that is 67% higher than the MetroWest region.
Youth substance use is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes including increased risk of developing a substance use disorder, mental health challenges, and problems related to school, work and social life. For these reasons it is important that we, as a community, do what we can to reduce and delay youth substance use.
Research shows that parents/guardians are one of the primary influences on their child(ren)’s decisions to use alcohol and other substances, and RAISING THE BAR is an effort to encourage adult modeling of healthy decisions related to substance use. This campaign is not focused on eliminating adult alcohol use from our community; instead, it encourages adults to be mindful of the behaviors we are modeling and work to change the norms that contribute to youth substance use in the Medfield community.
It’s important for kids to see that social events can be fun without alcohol or other substances.
Participating Organizations
Participating organizations sign-on to adopt RAISING THE BAR. As adoptees of the campaign they are asked to send communications to families involved with their events and programs asking that they refrain from offering or using alcohol or other substances at all youth-focused events affiliated with their organization (from youth sports to team celebrations, organization get togethers to field trips). Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) provides letter templates and signage to participating organizations at no cost. A main goal of this initiative, in addition to increasing healthy modeling, is to get the conversation started among the Medfield community.
If you are interested in learning more or joining RAISING THE BAR, please contact us.
