has pushed them over the top of their five year fundraising campaign.

The money, which was a gift from the Bermuda Telephone Company, has helped the group to exceed its $3 million dollar target.

It will be spread throughout a five year period and will be used to fund the programmes of the five agencies of the Council Partners -- Fair Havens, The Lions Quest programme, PRIDE, Focus, and The Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (CADA).

To date $3,010,332 in pledges and donations to fund programmes for the next five years have been made in support of the Council Partners.

Council treasurer Mrs. Pauline Richards said yesterday that the ongoing success of the fundraising campaign was allowing the staff and volunteers of the five agencies to focus on their respective programmes.

"Each of the Council Partners agencies is free to concentrate on what really matters which is the education, prevention, and rehabilitation activities that make up their individual programmes,'' Mrs. Richards said.

She added: "We all use to spend so much time trying to raise money that it was very difficult to feel that much progress was being made.

"The success of this campaign is ensuring that our programmes are up and running.'' On looking back at this year Mrs. Sandy Butterfield of Focus said that since the Council Partners campaign started she and her co-director Jerry Griffiths had received 300 phone calls from persons looking for assistance in dealing with their drug problem or from persons wanting to volunteer their time to help Focus' clients.

"One of our clients continues to study at the Bermuda College and is excelling in her chosen field,'' Mrs. Butterfield said.

Lions Quest chairman Mr. Dave Cardell said that in 1994, over 3,000 students participated in the Skills for Growing and Skills for Adolescence segments of the Lions Quest Programme.

"Thirty-nine principals, 170 teachers, and 27 counsellors in the Bermuda school system have been trained in the principles of the Quest programme, which provides children and young people with the skills to make healthy choices,'' Mr. Cardell said.

"In 1995, Primary five and six teachers will be trained in the Skills for Growing programme, and when the middle school system is in place, the Skills for Adolescence programme will be an integral part of the middle school programming.

"The Bermuda Life Skills Group, who support the implementation of the Quest programme in the schools, will be organising local Lions/Lioness Club members, who have been trained in the programme, to assist in its implementation.'' Mr. Cardell also said that the Quest believes that this programme "is a major weapon of the arsenal in the war against drugs, because it focuses on education and prevention from an early age.''