Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
1
Year:
2021
Type of Events Held:
- Lecture/Briefing
Target Audiences:
- University students
Approximate Number of People Reached:
50
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
We held a special event lecture led by Professor Amy Minor to discuss the effects of alcohol on the brain. This included slides showing MRI images, cognitive testing, and graphs tracking behavioral changes. Also included in this discussion was broader information addressing the impact of illicit drugs over time. This lecture was for a college-level audience and included statistics and realistic discussion about when one might need to seek help for alcohol addiction. This was not a “don’t drink” type lecture; instead it simply was an awareness of how unsafe levels of alcohol consumed regularly could have detrimental long term impact on the brain.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Advertisements
- Emails
- Other
Other Publicity Methods:
Class announcements through instructors.
Which of These Publicity Methods Was The Most Successful?
Resources
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- New Fact Sheets
- New Lesson Plans
- Activities/Experiments
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- Brain Awareness Week Logos
- Brain Awareness Week Editable Flyer
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
We have had several students ask for resources due to their drinking or a family member’s addiction. Understanding that damage to the brain from alcohol addiction can be mitigated by early intervention seemed very important to the students who sought us out after the presentation.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
We find it helpful to be realistic and honest. For example, we did not say “don’t drink” and we admitted that we both drink on occasion (these are college-age students). We explained that the trick is understanding limits as well as potential drug interactions (prescription meds as well as street drugs).
Did/do you like our Facebook page?
No
