The Groton Dunstable Alliance for Youth, or GDAY, is a community alliance made up of parents, educators, youth, health care professionals, businessmen and woman, local law enforcement and school administration.   This alliance was formed in response to the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey formulated by the Center for Disease Control and administered to our district’s Middle and High School teens under the supervision of the School District in partnership with Emerson Hospital.   This survey measures a wide range of teen behaviors, including general health and nutrition habits, alcohol, tobacco and drug use, and self-esteem.   The survey was first conducted in the Groton Dunstable district in 2000.   The results of that survey indicated that some of our students are engaging in “risky” behavior.   The Alliance formed to address this behavior with the goal of substantially reducing alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among our teens as well as reducing related problems including violence, harassment and depression.

Our Mission

GDAY is a non-profit independent coalition of parents, teachers, students, and community partners.   We are committed to promoting safe, healthy and respectful decisions in order to reduce high risk behavior by the youth of Groton and Dunstable.

We believe that by creating community partnerships and programs we can significantly increase healthy decisions by youth and the associated positive outcomes.  Through these efforts we will address the diverse needs of all youth and reinforce their value to our communities.

What do we do?

Community Circle Discussion forums in which a variety of specialists work with GDAY to facilitate parent and youth workshops on timely issues effecting the youth of our community.  GDAY is proud to announce it's 2007 community discussions  programs:

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results

Town Meeting on Alcohol Use among our Youth

Preventing First Use: Drugs of choice in Groton and Dunstable

Beyond the College Tour

(for more information on dates, locations and guest facilitators please click on the highlighted link above)

Parent to Parent Network

Half Day Network

Safe-Prom and other programming to increase the awareness of the risks associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs and ultimately reduce their use

Health Information Campaigns

Student and Peer initiatives

Creating the Link - Resource and referral information for youth and families

Community Reading Day at the Elementary Schools

Our History

The Groton Dunstable Alliance for Youth (GDAY)   was formed in 2001 in response   to the results of the 2000 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (the survey).   This survey is a standardized survey of youth behavior that is given throughout the country.   It is created by the Center for Disease Control and is modified by communities to appropriately fit their demographics. Our district conducts the survey among 6th, 8 the and 9 the through 12th graders.   The survey is conducted anonymously and is scientifically considered to be a highly reliable data source.  

The results of the 2000 survey indicated that some students from the Groton Dunstable district rated higher in certain “at risk” behaviors than their peers in surrounding communities. It became the mission of GDAY to change these numbers by providing our children with the tools necessary to help them make good choices in their lives.   As a community, the formation of GDAY in partnership with the Groton Dunstable Regional School District was the first step in dealing with these issues and helping our children have a healthier environment.

To that end GDAY has facilitated a number of programs and initiatives including  

Community Reading Day, Community Circle discussion programs , Developmental Assets Initiative , Red Flags books , GDAY Days (mini heath fairs) at the Middle School, the Safe Prom initiative, the Parent to Parent Network , the Half Day Initiative and many more initiatives through the efforts of the various subcommittees within GDAY.

Since that time our district has participated in the 2001 survey, the results of which were release in February, in 2003.   The results of that survey indicate some improvement, but   clearly the message is that there is still work to be done.   This website has been created to support the efforts of GDAY by providing the community with information from each of the subcommittees and their programs.

GDAY is a non-profit, non-discriminatory organization that welcomes all members of the community; students, parents, educators and anyone with an interest in promoting safe and respectful behavior among our youth.

Donations

We invite your to visit our Fundraising page to view our current fundraising needs.

All donations made to GDAY are tax deductible and can be sent to:

GDAY

PO Box 328

Groton, MA 01450

Want to get involved?

If you are interested in getting involved or learning more about GDAY please contact any member of our Steering Committee or e-mail Dr. Judith Robinson at

jrobinson@g-day.org