National Family Partnership® Mourns The Loss Of Former First Lady Nancy Reagan

March 8, 2016 - The National Family Partnership (NFP), formerly the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth, and its affiliates across America are deeply saddened by the loss of our former honorary chair, Nancy Reagan. The former First Lady was an inspiration and a catalyst for preventing generations of children from experiencing the devastating consequences of addiction.

Reagan served as Honorary Chair from 1980 to 1988, during her husband, Ronald Reagan's presidency. Through her presence and promotion of many educational campaigns, such as The Chemical People, Just Say No and the Red Ribbon Campaign, Nancy Reagan served as the face of The Parent Movement, a movement in which tens of thousands of concerned parents across the US worked together to successfully reduced casual drug use by 50% between 1978 and 1991, according to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.

Many of NFP's founders recall Reagan's passion and commitment for promoting drug prevention for children. With her help, the organization's voice was loud and clear against forces that promoted drug use as being normal and recreational.

"Nancy Reagan was a wonderful woman and we will never forget her willingness to stick her neck out for our children; far too few people are willing to do that today for this important cause," said NFP President Peggy Sapp. "She continues to serve as an inspiration as we face the latest drug epidemic: prescription drug abuse and heroin."

The National Family Partnership will be making a donation to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in honor of Reagan's dedication to helping kids grow up safe, healthy and drug free.

THE NATIONAL FAMILY PARTNERSHIP was established in 1980 and is a national leader in drug prevention, education and advocacy. Its mission is to lead our nation's families and communities in nurturing the full potential of healthy, drug-free youth. Red Ribbon Week is the nation's largest and oldest drug prevention campaign. NFP created the campaign in response to the 1985 abduction and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena. In 2008, the Lock Your Meds campaign was created in response to the prescription drug abuse epidemic. Learn more about NFP at www.nfp.org.