SC private sector targets underage drinking

The private sector in South Carolina is stepping up to fight underage drinking in the state.
Janice Driggers has worked at The Kangaroo Express in North Charleston for about 7 months. Sometimes, she may have a customer, buying alcohol, present to her a fake I.D card.
“They’ll come through, they’ll either have a torn up I.D., or if you ask them for an I.D they’ll just back away and say ‘nope, I don’t have it.’ It doesn’t work with us, we have a strong program,” says Driggers.
The program is called “We I.D,” and all employees in the 284 Kangaroo stores in South Carolina have to participate in training on how to identify a fake I.D. or someone underage. Brad Williams is Senior Vice President for The Pantry Incorporated, that owns Kangaroo Express.
“We just want to communicate to the community that we are proactive in this fight for underage sales and we just want to draw awareness because it really should be a partnership,” says Williams
The Pantry has partnered with the leader in promoting responsibility, Anheuser-Busch for this prevention campaign. Spokeswoman Carol Clark-
“Well, we know that there’s been great progress in underage drinking across the country, in fact, government statistics show that 84% of young people ages 12 to 17 have made the smart choice not to drink, and here in South Carolina that number is even higher at 86%. So, we want to keep those numbers coming down, and there’s obviously more work to do though and that’s what this partnership is all about,” says Clark.
So, after the new training program and preparation, Driggers is ready for the next time she sees another fake I.D.
“Oh, yeah, we know exactly what to look for and it’s, they pretty much cooperate with us,” says Driggers.
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