Cebrin Goodman Teen Institute

(Springfield, IL) – One year after the relaunch of an Illinois youth drug prevention group, its summer conference attendance by Illinois high school teens is expected to jump 40 percent.

The Cebrin Goodman Teen Institute, administered by the Springfield-based Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association (IADDA) and boosted by a $1.1 million grant from the Skokie-based Cebrin Goodman Center, will host nearly 450 Illinois youth – up from 285 in 2012 – at Eastern Illinois University on July 21–25.

“The $1.1 million Goodman grant included additional funding for an outreach coordinator whose job is to reach out to communities across Illinois who have never participated or have higher rates of alcohol or drug use,” said IADDA CEO Sara Moscato Howe. “The grant also included additional dollars to provide 150 scholarships for youth to attend the summer conference.”

Larry Goodman, along with his late wife, Lillian Goodman, founded the Skokie based foundation in honor of their granddaughter, Cebrin, who died of a drug overdose. The Foundation has committed the three-year grant to the Springfield-based youth drug prevention program, previously known as the Illinois Teen Institute, as part of his crusade against youth drug abuse.

“We have been able to dramatically expand our outreach to high school students throughout Illinois and provide drug prevention programming to thousands of youth who would otherwise now be overlooked because of the Illinois budget cuts in the last few years,” said Director of Program Development Ron Jakubisin.

Here are the communities that are new to Cebrin Goodman Teen Institute for 2013 that were not in attendance in 2012:

Arlington Heights, Athens, Belvidere, Bunker Hill, Carbondale, Carpentersville, Carterville, Centralia, Champaign, Cicero, Cordova, DeKalb, Divernon, East Alton, Flossmoor, Franklin, Franklin Park, Godfrey, Granville, Green Bay, Greenview, Herrin, Leland, Lostant, Lovington, Malta, Mark, Milwaukee, Naperville, Princeton, Round Lake, Roxana, Sandwich, Schiller Park, Sullivan, Swansea, Vernon Hills, Walnut, Walnut Hill, Waukegan, Williamsville, Wood River, Worden, and Wyanet.

For any questions about the registration/application process, please contact the IADDA office at 217.528.7335 ext. 12.

About the Cebrin Goodman Center

Established in 2005, the Cebrin Goodman Center is committed to the goal of helping young people fulfill their potential as happy, healthy contributing members of society. The often tragic consequences of drug use, abuse, and addiction are a powerful threat to the realization of that goal.

Lillian and Larry Goodman created The Cebrin Goodman Center in memory of their granddaughter Cebrin who lost her battle with drug addiction. The Goodman family wants to spare other families the pain of losing a loved one by educating teens, parents, and communities about substance abuse and other challenges facing teens today.