SOLD OUT YOUTH FOUNDATION

“Any opportunity I can get to help families and tell my story to prevent other parents from having to endure this profound pain that my family has gone through. I am so grateful to partner with Roman Gabriel and Sold Out Youth Foundation as they continue to fight this ever growing crisis and drug epidemic that is plaguing our youth.”
Mahsa Yeager – Scottsdale Az / Parent of Daughter (Sahuaro HS) lost her life to Accidental Fentanyl Overdose

The Sold Out Program is directed at middle and high school students, early college, and at risk underserved communities. Serving private and public schools, home school associations, and youth / sports organizations. The program leverages role model mirroring, and positive peer pressure to challenge students to reach their maximum potential. The online platform delivers video assemblies, an intentional student alcohol abstinence challenge, video life skills, and overall health, wellness, and fitness education program. Including encouraging students to pursue team values, accountability, positive life choices, goal setting, and other critical life skills. Sold Out utilizes positive role models in the area of sports, entertainment, and education. The program is successfully utilized in PE/ health classes, sports and athletic departments, and as a valuable tool for school counselors.

The program’s fitness, health, and wellness curriculum block offers written college accredited courses, along with a unique complimentary student video program led by experts in the field of overall student wellness: Emotional and mental well-being, mental success, nutrition, exercise, and sports specific training. This program gives students the opportunity to receive college credit for learning experiences that take place outside the traditional college classroom. Students can apply Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) credits to a variety of degree programs.

The Sold Out School Program comes with an inspiring origin and story. In 2012 the DARE Program funding was cut by the federal government. Roman Gabriel was approached by a local Boone NC group of businessmen who were concerned about their children and grandchildren having no drug and alcohol education program. That group of committed men decided to donate the original funding to start the Sold Out Program in three local school districts. Quickly the program won the confidence of superintendents and principals alike, becoming one of the few outside programs allowed on junior high and high school campuses. And the only alcohol and drug abstinence program with immediate student feedback through the Sold Out Student in school QR code online pledge technology. Over 70 % of all middle schools students were participating in the Sold Out Drug and Alcohol Abstinence Pledge. Within three years Sold Out grew to over twenty North Carolina School Districts !

Fast forward to February 2019, when the whole world was turned upside down by the Covid-19 Pandemic. Schools closed down immediately, shutting down the Sold Out in school assembly program.

The future looked bleak as funding came to a sudden halt, and the foundation depends upon donations, sponsorships, and grants. Through that spring and summer we began to meet with the leadership of school districts we had served for many years. Partnering with those districts, they worked with us to develop an initial distance learning incarnation of the program. Through our webmaster, innovation and creative technology, Sold Out transitioned the in school assembly to an online assembly along with 100% online school follow up student video platform (see three main links at top of page). The new online program was met with enthusiasm from our school partners, and students.

In the fall of 2019 students through our online pledge began to tell us that they were struggling with anxiety and depression from the isolation of distance learning. From those concerns we began to focus our attention on how we could help students deal with the mental and emotional challenges. Born from that came our online Student Health and Wellness Curriculum.

Roman approached many of his professional and sports contacts, putting together a Dream Team of health and wellness professionals developing the current researched written and video courses. Directed to the current drug and alcohol, mental and emotional youth crisis we face today. Sold Out is definitely a Covid-19 success story. The program has now served schools in six (6) states : North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, California, and Arizona. Including the Official Drug and Alcohol Abstinence Program of the largest youth sports facility in the United States, Legacy Cares located at Legacy Sports USA at Bell Bank Park, in Mesa Arizona. For information on how your school district, home school association, or youth organization can establish the Sold Out Program: E-mail to soldouttv@gmail.com or call 910-431-6483.

“No one ever accomplishes something great alone, and what impresses me the most about Roman Gabriel and the Sold Out Youth Foundation is the ability to bring partners together to accomplish the vital mission of educating youth and parents about the dangers of drugs and addiction. As the saying goes “it takes a village,” and you are fantastic team builders.”
– Henry DeVries, columnist for Forbes.com, author of How To Close A Deal Like Warren Buffett 

Since 2008, Roman is the President of the Sold Out Youth Foundation with the mission of equipping the next generation for success, sharing Good News, and challenging youth and family to reach their full potential ! Since 2012 Roman has operated the Sold Out School Alcohol / Drug Abstinence and Character Education Program, a ground-breaking student friendly public and private school program that uses sports, entertainment, and education through school internet technology to deliver a 365 student online platform designed for engagement on student’s mobile devices the way they like to learn, visually ! Executing alcohol / drug abstinence education, life skills training, and a full fitness, health, and wellness education program. Including assisting students with the mental and emotional challenges that have been elevated since the pandemic.

Roman is a former pro football quarterback, sports and entertainment media host, and established motivational speaker to schools, corporations, civic and faith organizations, and youth and sports initiatives.