[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 15 (Monday, April 15, 1996)]
[Pages 647-648]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6882--National D.A.R.E. Day, 1996

April 10, 1996

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Drug abuse and violence pose serious threats to the health and well-
being of American youth. We must redouble our efforts to help children 
understand the consequences of destructive behaviors and give them the 
tools they need to succeed. This critical endeavor requires all of us--
government, law enforcement, schools, religious communities, and 
families--to work together.
    Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is a proven means of 
communicating a strong anti-drug, anti-violence message to students of 
all ages. This year, D.A.R.E. will provide 33 million young people, from 
kindergartners to 12th graders, with information and strategies to help 
them resist peer pressure and to avoid drugs, tobacco, inhalants, and 
alcohol abuse throughout their lives. Reaching children in 30 countries, 
all 50 States, and 70 percent of our Nation's school districts, D.A.R.E. 
also empowers students with vital conflict resolution and anger 
management skills.
    Today and throughout the year, let us recognize this program as a 
model of effective, grassroots organization and commend D.A.R.E. 
officers for their dedicated efforts to promote health and safety. As an 
integral and valued part of countless American schools, these caring men 
and women are joining parents, teachers, and concerned citizens 
everywhere to help children lead safe, healthy, productive lives.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 11, 
1996, as National D.A.R.E. Day. I call upon families, educators, and all 
the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate 
activities and programs.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of 
April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-

[[Page 648]]

six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two 
hundred and twentieth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., April 12, 
1996]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on April 
15.