Our Impact
Vape Detectors
Choose Not To Use has funded the installation of vape detectors into bathrooms in some of the schools in Scott County, including: Jordan High School (April 2024), Jordan Middle School (May 2024), Prior Lake High School (February 2025), Bridges Area Learning Center (April 2025), and Shakopee High School (September 2025). This initiative is part of our ongoing efforts to create safer and healthier school environments by addressing the growing concerns of vaping among students. Prior to the vape detectors being installed, students were going to faculty and asking them to do something about the vaping. We are proud to fund this initiative and hope to have vape detectors installed in all Scott County schools in the next few years!
Chris Herren Project
Chris Herren is a former NBA player who travels across the country sharing his journey of navigating the disease of addiction, with a focus on prevention education, and his mission to reach just one person and make a difference.
For the last three years, we have had the privilege and honor of funding several trips for Herren to come to Minnesota to speak to Scott County students, parents, and community members and share his journey of navigating the disease of addiction. He spoke in Jordan, New Prague, Prior Lake, and Shakopee.
Scholarship Program
Take It To The Box
Billboards
Damascus Way
We announced a new scholarship initiative in 2025, aimed at supporting Scott County high school students who overcame addiction challenges they personally had or family members had. Five $2,000 scholarships were awarded to students to use towards their post-secondary education, providing crucial financial support to help them achieve their academic goals.
Take It To The Box is a program for Scott County residents to dispose of unneeded prescription and over-the-counter medications, pet medications, illegal drugs, and drug paraphernalia anonymously and free. This program is now run and maintained by Scott County Public Health in order to best serve our citizens and surrounding communities.
As part of our ongoing efforts to raise awareness about substance use and abuse, we rent two billboards along Highway 169 in Scott County. These billboards display powerful messages aimed at educating the public on the dangers of substance misuse. With an average daily reach of 31,820 people, they provide a significant opportunity to engage and inform a large portion of the community.
In the fall of 2025, CNTU donated $15,000 to Damascus Way Re-Entry Center, an organization whose vision is to help people reach long-term recovery from substances and successfully reenter the community after previously being involved in the justice system. Damascus Way offers a weekly transitional services group specifically designed for youth at the Scott County Juvenile Alternative Facility (JAF) in Jordan. As youth begin to transition out of the JAF, they are provided with essential life skills and support to assist them and set them up for success as they leave the facility.