Our Story
“Thank you so much for sharing the Sold Out Program with our students. We really appreciate it, looking forward to using the curriculum and resources with our students and staff.”
THE SOLD OUT PROGRAM STORY
The Sold Out Youth Foundation (SOYF) School Program exists today because of an inspiring origin and story. In 2012 the DARE Program funding was cut by the federal government. It was at this point, SOYF CEO Roman Gabriel III was approached by a local Boone, NC group of businessmen who were concerned about their children and grandchildren not having drug and alcohol education programs. That group of committed businessmen 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. We are proud to say, we were and still are the only alcohol and drug abstinence education program that offers immediate student feedback via a QR code associated with the Sold Out pledge technology. Since inception, over 70% of all middle school students participated in the Sold Out Drug and Alcohol Abstinence Pledge. By 2016, within three years of starting the online pledge, Sold Out grew to over forty 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, which meant the Sold Out in-person assemblies were also shut down. The future looked bleak as funding for the Sold Out Youth Foundation came to a sudden halt, negatively impacting our foundation which depends upon donations, sponsorships, and grants.
Throughout the spring and summer of 2019, we began to meet with the leadership of school districts we had been serving for many years. Partnering with those districts, they worked with us to develop an initial distance learning version of the program. Through our webmaster, innovation, and creative technology, Sold Out transitioned from an in-person school assembly to a 100% online in school presentation. We simultaneously began offering an online school follow-up student video platform. The new online program was met with enthusiasm from our school partners, counselors, parents, and students alike.
In the fall of 2019 students began self-reporting through our online QR code Sold Out pledge technology that they were struggling with anxiety and depression from the isolation of distance learning. Based on those concerns we began to focus our attention on how we could help students cope with mental and emotional challenges. Born from the student feedback came our online Student Health and Wellness support. With this new aspect of the Sold Out program, Roman approached many of his professional and sports contacts, putting together a Dream Team of health and wellness professionals who contributed to developing the current drug and alcohol, fitness, health and wellness videos.
In 2021 the SOYF Team began to learn more about the growing Fentanyl Crisis in America, as fentanyl had become the number one killer of teenagers in the US. SOYF quickly realized that more direct education and support was needed to protect our teenagers. Through hard work and research, SOYF leveraged schools already existing interactive communications systems. For the past three years SOYF has provided schools with a PLA College Accredited Fentanyl Education Curriculum and online platform. The groundbreaking program educates all school administration and staff, district parents, and students. The program has been lauded by school districts, law enforcement agencies, private and public health organizations, drug education and rehabilitation organizations, and many media outlets.
Sold Out is definitely a Covid-19 success story. The program is now serving schools in six (6) states and growing: North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, California, and Arizona. For information on how your school district, home school association, or youth organization can establish the Sold Out Program: Email: soldouttv@gmail.com or call 910-431-6483.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS WE SERVE

