Campus and Community Coalition is focus of chamber breakfast

Representatives of the Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking (CCC) will discuss its efforts at the next monthly breakfast of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Red Barn at Hampshire College. Admission is $15 for chamber members and $20 for non-members. The event is sponsored by Amherst Office Park and UMass Five College Credit Union.

CCC co-chairs Sally Linowski, assistant dean of students, and Lisa Queenin, the director of Community and Regional Legislative Relations, will join other CCC members for a panel discussion about the coalition’s work and upcoming initiatives. The group’s many successes include reductions in binge drinking on campus; changes to campus policies and town bylaws; implementation of BASICS, an evidence-based intervention for students, and social norms marketing campaigns.

The CCC’s mission is to promote responsible decision-making about alcohol and other drug use, and to reduce the prevalence of high-risk and illegal drinking. The CCC’s membership includes numerous area businesses, organizations, municipal departments and campus partners.

University and community leaders, with support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, came together to form the CCC in 2005. Since its inception, binge drinking is down by as much as 27 percent and the CCC has earned national recognition for excellence in delivering innovative, data-driven programs.

Feb2013ChamberBreakfast.pdf