When my daughter first brought this article to me, claiming that Mario was going to help fight drug abuse my first reaction that it was the Nintendo character from Super Mario Brothers. Then I thought it was the funny Italian guy who owns the local trattoria. It turns out there is a popular young singer named Mario too.
Mario knows from first-hand experience how it is to grow up with a parent with substance abuse problems and now he wants to use what he knows to help other kids.
According the the Baltimore Sun, the Baltimore, Maryland native, whose mother has suffered from drug abuse for years, is using his non-profit to help prevent substance abuse in middle and high school students in the Baltimore area.
The Mario Do Right Foundation will house the program at the REACH! School, a Baltimore school that focuses on getting kids into college.
The program will promote healthy alternatives to smoking, alcohol and drug use. It will also teach the kids techniques to resist peer pressure to engage in these activities. There will also be referrals for parents to the University of Maryland Medical Center for substance abuse treatment.
Personal Interaction
Mario will interact with the kids in the program through SKYPE.
He has been very outspoken on how drugs have impacted his family. In 2007, he documented how his mother’s heroin addiction has affected his childhood and life on MTV in a documentary titled “I Won’t Love You To Death”.
It certainly is refreshing to see a singer going out of his way to be a positive role model and use his celebrity for the betterment of our children and society.