Student Drug Fighters Win Top Disney Service Award

An organization begun by 11 high school students last year to produce anti-drug films won $50,000 and the top honor Tuesday at the annual Disneyland Community Service Awards luncheon.

The Orange County Student Advisory Council Against Drug Abuse was among 63 groups to receive a total of $250,000 from Disneyland at the 32nd annual awards presentation at the Disneyland Hotel.

The council, started in February, 1988, has grown to more than 100 students from 60 high schools. They have produced three 90-second public videos which are showing in local theaters. The students do all the writing and acting, aiming to help students deal with peer pressure.

Came as a Surprise

Nimisha Gohal, 18, one of the original council members, said the top honor came as a complete surprise and that she started shaking as it was announced.

“It’s amazing what we have done,” Gohal said. “We wanted to form a council to let students know that it’s OK to say no to drugs.”

Gohal, a senior at Orange High School, said the council will use the $50,000 to make another video.

A total of 452 nonprofit organizations had applied for the awards. Winners were selected by a six-member committee of community leaders and all of the money awards were donated by Disneyland.

Receiving the two Special Judges Awards of $12,500 were the Interval House and the Laguna Beach Community Clinic.

The Interval House was established 9 years ago to help women and children who are victims of domestic violence. The Laguna Beach Clinic offers prenatal care and has recently started an AIDS testing program.

‘Prenatal’ Was the Key

Bill Plumb, the clinic’s executive director, said of the announcement: “It was great. As soon as they mentioned prenatal, I thought it was us. Then when I heard the statistics, I knew it was.

“We’ve been facing a cash-flow crunch over the last 3 months,” Plumb said. “This will help us get over that crunch.”

In addition to the top three awards, 50 awards of $2,500 each and 10 of $5,000 each were given to various organizations in such categories as cultural arts, special health services and social community services.