THOUSAND OAKS : DARE Campaign to Go High-Tech

A nonprofit business organization is planning to go high-tech with a campaign to raise funds for the DARE program in the Conejo Valley.

Plans of the Latin American Business and Professional Network call for establishing a series of 900-number phone lines for donors to call, depending on how much they want to donate to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. The contribution would appear on the donor’s phone bill.

“It’s a lot easier for people to donate money by calling a number than to write out a check and address an envelope,” said Moy Serrano, a Thousand Oaks insurance agent and president of the organization.

The telephone donation system would be based on similar fund-raising programs used by the USO and homeless organizations, said Jerry A. Tyler, a Thousand Oaks father and Sherman Oaks executive. About 85 cents of every dollar collected goes to the charity, with the other 15 cents used for overhead costs, Tyler said.

Tyler estimates that the phone donation program could be operating in a month.

Community concern over the DARE program has increased since the Thousand Oaks City Council cut one of two DARE officer positions from its tentative budget after the Conejo Valley Unified School District dropped its $30,000 contribution toward the program. Last year, the second DARE officer was added to provide instruction to five private schools and the Oak Park Unified School District, and enhanced service to public schools in the Conejo Valley district.

Since 1986, about 6,500 sixth-grade students in the Conejo Valley area have participated in the DARE program, which uses law enforcement officers to teach students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Last month, Thousand Oaks City Council members agreed to consider reinstating the second DARE officer, saying they will look to the community for financial help.

--STEPHANIE STASSEL