Friday morning, a theatre full of 10th graders, and you could have heard a pin drop. Students were so invested in the speaker – I was so invested in the speaker! This was such a powerful presentation.

I thought that the presentation did a very good job of highlighting the effects that your choices can have on others. Even if you think something will only impact you, you need to consider the broader scale and all of the possible scenarios to see whether or not it is truly a good idea.

Thank you for being so easy to work with. I completely understand budgets and budget cuts, and I truly appreciate you making this opportunity possible.

I think the kids really enjoyed the message and listened closely to Chris. I believe hearing from someone with a true-life story really captured their attention and made the message meaningful to them.

I also received some great feedback from our staff about how well Chris related his story to the students—and even to the adults. One staff member said it felt like they were right there beside him throughout his experience. I thought that was a great way to describe the impact his story had.

Again, thank you for helping get this set up at Blue River Valley. I hope we can make this an event we bring back every year or every other year. I truly believe it was valuable for our students and staff.

Thank you again for everything!

We really enjoyed having Chris, Jess & Noah on campus last Friday. The presentation and activities had a big impact and even though it was only the 10th grade at the presentation, we had many seniors, juniors, and even freshman and eighth graders participate in the activities portion. I had a student approach me at our Fall Festival that evening and thank me for bringing such a powerful assembly to campus – this speaks volumes coming from a 10th grader!

I am sorry that this email is late, but I wanted to reach out and thank everyone for their contributions to our pre-prom safe driving event. I know it was a lot to take out of your already busy days, but I think it made a huge impact on the kids, and in the end, gave them the information to make safe choices.

I don’t think we always get to see the impact of what we do, but the fact that all our kids had a fun night, and made it home safely, is in large part because of all of you. I look forward to making this a yearly tradition, and hope you can join us next year. Thank you again for keeping our kids safe, and for making Nonnewaug a great place to be.

On behalf of York High School, I would like to sincerely thank you for taking the time to reach out and introduce us to the Choices Matter Program.

The activities and presentation were both engaging and informative, and it left an impression on our students and staff.

We truly appreciate the effort your whole team put into sharing valuable insights and experiences. Your program’s message about the dangers of making choices that involve substance use was not only inspiring but also relevant to our student body. The students were so engaged and attentive during Chris’s speech (which speaks volumes!). His passion for the subject and his personal story were impactful.

Thank you again for your time and dedication to making a difference in our community. We hope to welcome you back to our school in the future!

We are very thankful for the program yesterday. Chris was sincere and did a great job sharing his story. We would love to be considered in the future for similar programs. It was a tough but necessary message for our students.

Thanks for reaching out. The program was excellent; and I believe it reached our students in a positive manner! We are very thankful for being afforded this opportunity for our studentgs! I have signed and returned the letter for you.

Please let me know if you need anything else from me.

Hey, Chris! It’s the kid you talked to, about the uncle that crashed in the burning car. I just wanted to say you made a huge impact on how I see things. I wanna say thank you.

I found his story very inspiring and uplifting. It was great to see how he didn’t ruin his life over this mistake and kept pushing. I think that that is a great mindset to have in life. His experience in prison was a bit scary to me. It’s even more scary that he wasn’t addicted to alcohol, it was just a very big mistake. The speaker definitely taught me to be careful and consider all risks when dealing with peer pressure or any kind of addictive substance.