Todd Sylvester believes it's not enough to just tell youth to say no to drugs - they also need to know the whys and hows of drug-free living.

Because his belief is so strong, this 23-year-old convert has created an anti-drug program that he and two partners have been taking to Utah's elementary schools during the past two years. "I want the kids to know that a positive attitude, believing in themselves and writing down goals helps keep them away from drugs," remarked Sylvester, a member of the Brighton 9th Ward, Salt Lake Brighton Stake.The program, the mascot of which is a caricature of a dog on a skateboard, goes by the name "Sly Dog - Drug Free That's Me!" and it not only teaches the dangers associated with drug use, it also emphasizes the importance of a positive attitude and good self-esteem in living drug-free. The two ways to achieve these, according to Sylvester, are through goals and service.

"When I was in sixth grade I didn't write goals down," he recalled, "I didn't care about the future, but these kids, when they see this [programT, it makes them realize, `Hey, yeah, the future is important.' And they start setting goals."

Because the word "service" is distasteful to some youth, it is disguised in the program's "double-win" concept, explained Chad Brown, 25, a partner in the program and a member of the College 1st Ward, Orem Utah College Stake.

"We tell them if they try to build their self-esteem by thinking only about themselves, it just doesn't work. They have to go outside themselves and help someone else. That's where the `double-win' comes in. If I help you win, I'm going to win myself," said Brown.

"It all has to do with service when it comes to building self-esteem. We don't come right out and say service, but the undertones are there," he added.

To put the "double-win" principle into practice, students are encouraged to participate in a food drive for a homeless shelter. "We make a banner with the school's name that all the students sign, plus they bring a can of food to donate," Sylvester said. "We take the food and the banner to the family shelter and the energy that comes from that banner is incredible. I truly know we have helped someone down there because of the banner."

"Sly Dog," the program's mascot, is an important part of the program, said Sylvester. "We want to give the youth something to cling to after we are gone and the Sly Dog character works well. We leave them with a "double-win" folder that tells about Sly Dog, how he became a reality, and it has space where they can write down goals, ways to achieve those goals and things to avoid in order to achieve those goals, with drugs being the number one thing to avoid."

There are two things that distinguish the Sly Dog drug program from others: it lasts a full week, and, it emphasizes one-on-one contact with students, according to Brad Carson, 23, also a partner in the program and a member of the same ward as Sylvester.

"That's one of the biggest things we've got going for us," he explained. "Rather than come in, drop a drug program and then leave, we come in and spend time with the students, bond with them and get to know what their needs are. This way we can really reach them."

And how does the bonding occur? By joining students at lunch and playing with them at recess.

Susan Robinson, mother of sixth- grader Matt Robinson, said her son was impressed with the one-on-one approach. "How do you reach a sixth-grade boy?" she commented. "The program is all Matt talks about. Usually boys come home from school and you have to pull every little piece of information out of them, but Matt comes home and says, `These guys are great. They go out on the playground and they are right there with us!"'

The three young men don't get paid for what they do. They rely on sponsors and donations to finance the program. They hold part-time jobs, and two of them are going to school.