Analysis Of Dancesafe

Submitted By AtTheFunction
Words: 541
Pages: 3

Hip-hop stars are rapping about her, Miley Cyrus is dancing with her, and everybody is looking for her — Molly, the street name for what is supposedly a pure form 'MDMA', seems to be the name on everyone's lips. Although she won't help you find molly, DanceSafe Board President and Executive Director Missi Wooldridge might be the one to save your life. Passing out ice-cold water bottles and handing out drug safety pamphlets, Wooldridge along with several other volunteers drew TomorrowWorld attendants into the DanceSafe tent adjacent to one of the main stages. Once inside, concert-goers entered a judgement-free zone where they could have a real, honest dialogue about drug-use. Wooldridge with a genuine smile stretching from ear to ear, welcomed every one with open arms. Wooldridge is the leading lady behind the non-profit organization, DanceSafe, that promotes health and safety within the electronic dance music (EDM) and nightclub community. With chapters stretching from the U.S. all the way to Canada, DanceSafe trains their volunteers in health education and drug abuse prevention applying principles of harm reduction allowing these individuals to become educators and counselors within their communities. Set up by volunteers at raves and other events, DanceSafe distributes unbiased educational information describing the effects and risks that come along with drug use. Offering other services such as selling drug testing kits, offering on-site peer counseling, patrolling events and making health and safety tools like condoms, water and earplugs available; DanceSafe assists in helping patrons stay safe. No stranger to working DanceSafe tents, Wooldridge got her start with DanceSafe as a volunteer five years ago when she came across DanceSafe.org while doing research for a public health class during her graduate work at The State University of New York at Albany. "It took me a while when I first went into my undergrad to figure out what I wanted to do. I did music education for a couple years and then I switched around a lot. I was lost to say the least," Wooldridge said. "I found myself in a community health class and fell in love it. I knew that is what I wanted