600+ students celebrate completion of D.A.R.E. program

Students cheer as the Hawaii Fire Department's Chopper 2 prepares to land during a scenario for the kids during D.A.R.E. Day Friday at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

The Hawaii Fire Department loads a patient into Chopper 2 after extricating the victim from a wrecked car in a simulation put on Friday for D.A.R.E. Day at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

Hundreds of Big Island students took the D.A.R.E. pledge Friday during D.A.R.E. Day at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

Above: A member of the Hawaii Police Department’s Special Response Team throws up a shaka during D.A.R.E. Day Friday at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Photos by Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

The Hawaii Police Department's Special Response Team approaches a vehicle during a scenario put on for D.A.R.E. graduates Friday at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

Left: Hawaii Police Department Lt. Roylen Valera speaks to hundreds of students prior to taking the D.A.R.E. pledge Friday.

A student stands next to a Hawaii Police Department officer as the Hawaii Fire Department's Chopper 2 takes off following a scenario put on for D.A.R.E. graduates Friday at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

Students watch as the Hawaii Fire Department arrives Friday for D.A.R.E. Day at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

The Hawaii Fire Department heads with a patient to Chopper 2 after extricating the victim from a wrecked car in a simulation put on Friday for D.A.R.E. Day at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

Top left: The Hawaii Fire Department heads with a patient to Chopper 2 after extricating the victim from a wrecked car in a simulation put on Friday for D.A.R.E. Day. (

Hundreds of students got the thrill of Chopper 2 landing at the D.A.R.E. Day event Friday at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

Students race to the bleachers to get a good spot for the mock scenario Hawaii Police Department and Hawaii Fire Department members put on for D.A.R.E. Day held Friday at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona. (Chelsea Jensen/West Hawaii Today)

KAILUA-KONA — Some six hundred Big Island students took the D.A.R.E. pledge to be drug- and violence-free and healthy Friday morning at Kekuaokalani Gymnasium in Kailua-Kona.

The annual Drug Abuse Resistance Education Day event brought in students from as far away as Paauilo for a day of fun to celebrate completion of the 10-week program. Schools in attendance were Kanu o ka Aina NCPCS, Konawaena Middle School, Honokaa Elementary School, Honokaa Intermediate School, Waikoloa Elementary School, Waimea Elementary School, Kohala Elementary School and Paauilo Elementary and Intermediate School.

The D.A.R.E. program was founded in 1983 by the Los Angeles Police Department to teach school-age children how to resist peer pressure and live drug- and violence-free lives, according to the nonprofit organization’s website. It has been taught in schools throughout Hawaii for more than three decades.

600+ students celebrate completion of D.A.R.E. program

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