History of Operation Snowball
Operation Snowball started in 1977 in Rockford youth and adults who attended the Illinois Teenage Institute on Substance Abuse (ITI) sponsored by the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association (IADD). It was created with the theory when a person affects another in a positive way, they would go on to positively affect someone else, creating a "snowball" effect. In 1979, the Superintendent of Barrington Area Schools asked three Barrington High School students to identify ways Operation Snowball could work to have a positive impact on both middle school and high school students. The team of three juniors designed and piloted a peer-to-peer drug and alcohol prevention & intervention program in 1980. In this pilot program Barrington High School student leaders were asked to meet with each Barrington Middle School class to discuss their leadership role, the impact alcohol has had on their lives, their choice to abstain and the additional choices abstaining has created for their lives. Its founders wanted to start a prevention and intervention program for youth, where they would learn leadership skills, feel empowered by making their own decisions, and could readily see the impact of their decision in light of their education and life goals. From its inception, Operation Snowball was planned and directed by teens/youth, with adults serving primarily advisory roles. By 1989, all of Illinois School District 220 was implenting the Barrington model. Within a few years, Operation Snowball chapters began to organize throughout the state of Illinois. At first the program was targeted at high school (Operation Snowball) and junior high school students (Operation Snowflake), but later expanded to include elementary schools (Operation Snowflurry). The model has continued to evolve over time and is now implemented mainly through retreats.
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