The first "Just Say No" club was formed in Oakland, California in 1985 in response to First Lady Nancy Reagan's campaign against drug use. The Just Say No Foundation was incorporated in 1986 and later renamed Just Say No International. Mrs. Reagan was its honorary chairperson.
The Just Say No Foundation first served as a coordinator for school "Just Say No" clubs across the country. It received financial support from other national organizations such as the 4-H Club and the Girl and Boy Scouts of America as well as from the Department of Agriculture and various private companies, foundations and celebrities. Its goal was to prevent the use of alcohol and other drugs by children and young teenagers. In addition, it provided free services to existing clubs and communities interested in forming clubs, including educational materials, on-site training for club leaders, and coordination of annual national events such as Back-to-School Month and the Spring Walkathon.
In 1989 Just Say No International joined forces with public housing authorities in six cities to train local residents as adult club leaders and to help them form "Just Say No" clubs in public housing projects. The program was later expanded to eight cites and lasted through 1992.
After leaving the White House, Mrs. Reagan established the Nancy Reagan Foundation to continue her campaign to educate people about the dangers of substance abuse.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Just Say No Campaign collection, Ms. 2008.010, Brown University Library.
This collection contains material, primarily photographs, related to the "Just Say No" campaign against drug use from 1985 to 1996. The first series includes some correspondence to and from the Just Say No Foundation and Just Say No International. While most of the material in this series concerns "Just Say No" activities in the United States, photographs of events in Sierra Leone and the Philippines are included.
The second series includes an undated photograph of Kurt Cameron, one of many celebrities who supported the "Just Say No" campaign. The first album in this series, labeled No.1, contains photographs from the 13th IFNGO Conference against Drug and Substance Abuse in the Philippines in 1991 as well as photographs of "Just Say No" conferences in Nepal and Thailand from 1991 to 1995. The second album contains photographs of "Just Say No" activities in Nepal and Thailand from 1995 and 1996. The three boxes of slides are unlabeled. They were originally in a folder dated 1990.
The three videocassettes in this collection were probably used for training purposes. The workbook published by the Just Say No Foundation contains anti-drug information and suggestions for activities related to the "Just Say No" program.
The collection is arranged into the following series:
The "Just Say No" Campaign collection was donated to the Brown University Library by John de Miranda in July 2003.
No further materials are anticipated for this collection.
Brown University Library catalog record for this collection:
Several related collections may be found at the Brown University Library. The Artha May McConoughey papers contain material related to the American Temperance Movement and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. The Robert Holbrook Smith and the Clarence H. Snyder collections contain material related to alcoholism and its treatment.
Additional material concerning the "Just Say No" campaign may be found at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif.
This series consists primarily of photographs of walks, rallies, training sessions and conferences related to the "Just Say No" campaign in the United States, Sierra Leone and the Philippines from 1985 to 1992. It also includes a brochure, contact sheets, correspondence, fliers, negatives, a copy of a proclamation from the governor of Nebraska declaring May 7 to May 13, 1989 as "Just Say No" Week, and color slides. Some of the photographs are official White House photographs. The material from the Philippines includes an invitation from Mrs. Corazon D. Aquino, President of the Republic of the Philippines, to the opening ceremony of the 13th IFNGO (International Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations) Conference against Drug and Substance Abuse in November of 1991.
This folder includes photographs of Nancy Reagan at a "Just Say No" rally at the Universal Amphitheater.
This folder contains photographs of a "Just Say No" rally at the Rose Bowl.
This folder contains one letter, with a photograph attached, to the Just Say No Foundation newsletter describing Anderson's third annual "Just Say No" walk.
This folder contains photographs and a letter describing Crawfordsville's third annual "Just Say No" walk.
This folder contains several black-and-white photographs of characters from the cartoon series "The Flintstones", produced for a "Just Say No" television special, as well as a letter from Taft Entertainment to the Just Say No Foundation regarding the photographs and the special.
This folder includes correspondence between the Nashua Housing Authority and the Just Say No Foundation.
This folder contains photographs of "Just Say No" club activities and negatives of an RSVP training session. RSVP was a program designed to help students identify and address various issues in their schools and communities.
This folder contains slides of "Just Say No" activities at various Norfolk public schools.
This folder contains both a color and a black-and-white image of the "All-Star" cartoon characters and a letter regarding copyright for the "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue" artwork.
This folder includes an aerial photograph of the flight deck of the USS Okinawa, showing a human billboard spelling out "Just Say No".
This folder includes copies of two newspaper clippings showing photographs of the activities of a local "Just Say No" club. One photograph is of Ozzie Guillen of the Chicago White Sox.
This series contains one undated black-and-white photograph of Kurt Cameron, star of the television series "Growing Pains", two small photograph albums, and three boxes of unlabeled slides that were found in a folder dated 1990. The albums are labeled No.1 and No.2. The first includes photographs of the 13th IFNGO Conference in the Philippines and well as photographs of "Just Say No" conferences in Nepal and Thailand. The conferences pictured took place from 1991 to 1995. The second album contains photographs of "Just Say No" activities in Nepal from 1995 to 1996.
The three videocassettes in this series were probably used for training purposes.
This series consists of The Just Say No Club Book by J. Scott Wallace, published in 1987 by the Just Say No Foundation.