FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2019

Contact: Nicolette Nappi, 973-382-4560, nicolette@drugfreenj.org
 

Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey Claims Three First-Place Trophies at NJ Ad Club Jersey Awards

MILLBURN ­— The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) received six awards, including three first-place awards, at the NJ Ad Club’s 51^st Annual Jersey Awards on June 5.

For the second year in a row, The Partnership along with The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey received a first-place award in the Public Relations: Not for Profit/Pro Bono category for the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Hall Series.

The Town Hall Series, supported by a grant from The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, began in April 2017 and continued into 2018, during which the final seven town halls were held. More than 500 people attended the town halls in person and videos of the event received 9,000 views. The events were held for audiences from every county and include participation from county prosecutors, state legislators, doctors and professionals from the prevention, treatment and recovery fields.

The Partnership also received a first-place award in Television: Not for Profit/Pro Bono Work for an hour long special produced in collaboration with The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey and NJTV. The show focused on many of the best practices introduced and discussed during the town hall series to help address the opioid crisis throughout the state and the impact they have had on New Jersey residents.

PDFNJ also received a first-place award in the Public Relations: Advocacy/Political Multimedia Campaign category for the third annual Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day, an event held on Oct. 6, 2018. About 10,000 participants spread the message of the risks of opioids and the link to heroin by distributing 200,000 door hangers throughout communities and 10,000 prescriber guides to New Jersey physicians and medical professionals. This initiative was a collaboration of PDFNJ, with the Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Morris, the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

“It is with great honor that we accept these awards in recognition for our efforts to resolve this epidemic and the positive impact has had on New Jersey residents,” said PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente.

The Partnership was also awarded second place in Collateral/Direct Marketing: Not for Profit/Pro Bono for Knock Out Opioid Abuse in New Jersey: A Resource for Safer Prescribing. The Partnership received two Award of Excellence titles in Radio: Not for Profit/Pro Bono and Digital Media: Not for Profit/Pro Bono for the Broken Heart Campaign web banners.

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Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $100 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception, the Partnership has garnered 180 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.