We hope your chapter will consider holding a Community Briefing next March.  We'd also like to see lots of chapters apply for these resource packs - but hurry!  The application deadline is November 9.  To apply for a resource pack grant, click here.  To learn more about TAKE IT BACK!, visit the website at www.utakeitback.org.

*$500 is the value of the resource pack awarded - not a cash prize.

At the SADD National office, we read news clips about SADD from all over the country, finding great stories about the terrific work SADD chapters are doing to make a difference in their communities.

Sometimes we see "Students Against Drunk Driving" appear in articles, representing what "SADD" stands for.  Usually the reporter is at fault for this mistake, not the chapter.  That's why we encourage chapters whenever being interviewed by the media to reinforce to reporters that the name should be listed as "SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions)" to avoid this problem.

We also encourage chapters to use the official name - we ask that you don't change what "SADD" stands for to something else or use a different name entirely.  We're working hard to increase the value of the SADD name, which will benefit all of us.

One final note - we use the term "Advisor" to describe the adult helping the SADD chapter.  This term best describes the role - helping support the chapter officers and offering guidance and help as needed.  Your school may call teachers or school staff who run afterschool programs "sponsors" or some other term.  If you're interacting with the press, however, we ask that you use the title "Advisor" for clarity.

Hey, everybody!  I'm Kelsea Larsen, from Shelton, Washington, and I'm on the 2007-2008 SADD National Student Leadership Council (SLC).

From October 18-21, the current SLC headed to Boston for our annual fall planning meeting.  In a jam-packed, fun-filled weekend, we worked hard, toured Boston, and got to see the SADD national staff in action in Marlborough!

At the national office, we chose some new items for the SADD Store, so keep your eyes peeled for those to appear! They're awesome!  Back at the camp we were staying at, we participated in some team-bonding and leadership-developing activities, including a high ropes course.  Jessica Smith, Arizona's State Coordinator, was there with the SLC to start the planning of the SADD National Conference.  It is looking to be another great conference, so make sure to meet us in Phoenix this summer!

We're all having a great time on the SLC, and maybe you could, too!  Applications are now available for the 2008-2009 SLC.  You must be a junior or senior in high school this year to apply.  In states with SADD State Coordinators, you have to contact the coordinator to apply.  Every state is different in how they select their nominee, so talk to your State Coordinator today!  If you're in a state without one, you can apply directly to the SADD National office - a maximum of one applicant per chapter.  To get an application if you don't have a State Coordinator, contact Ashley Conners at 1-877-SADD-INC or aconners@sadd.org. 

 
On behalf of the SLC (some of whom are pictured below on our Boston trip), I can tell you that if you're chosen for the SLC, you'll have a great time and a chance to make a real difference at the national level!

Help SADD save lives with just one extra click. How? Every time you shop online, simply make one extra click to the SADD eMall first and then click to the store of your choice.

When you do, online retailers like Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Staples, Macy's, Amazon, Best Buy, and hundreds of other popular retailers automatically send an average of 3% - and up to 25% - of the purchase to SADD. This is a new, easy way to support SADD - with just one click of your mouse to the SADD eMall before all your holiday and everyday shopping.

Visit the sadd.org homepage before you shop, click on the SADD eMall button on the top right of the screen or just go to www.sadd-emall.com directly. We hope you'll help us spread the word. Send the eMall link to everyone you know and ask them to help support a cause that you care deeply about! Have fun shopping and know that you are helping others at the same time.

In the Spotlight this month are the elementary school SADD chapters in the North Bellmore School District in New York.  SADD has many high school chapters and growing numbers of middle-school chapters, but only a handful of elementary school chapters, which is why we thought we'd highlight North Bellmore SADD this month.

Two elementary schools - Gunther and Dinkelmeyer - have SADD chapters in North Bellmore.  These students (mostly sixth graders, who would be middle-schoolers in some towns) are very active in a number of SADD and community-service projects.  Their SADD advisor, Jo Ann Signorelli, reports that they have participated in a wide variety of activities, including a food drive that resulted in front-page coverage in their local paper!

The two chapters worked together on a Great Strides Walkathon for Cystic Fibrosis research, because they have a student in one of their schools with CF.  The SADD students (pictured above) created their own T-shirts for the event, calling themselves the "Starfish Throwers" after the well-known inspirational poem, and raised hundreds of dollars for research towards a cure!

These students gain a knowledge and excitement about SADD and are ready to become an active part of the middle school SADD chapter once they move on from their elementary schools.  Congrats to everyone at North Bellmore SADD!

If you'd like to see YOUR chapter featured in The SADDvocate or our print newsletter, Decisions, be sure to let us know about what you're doing!  Include a picture or two if you can.  Send news to Chris Egan, SADD National Director of Field Services, at cegan@sadd.org or the address at the bottom of this e-mail.

The SADD Store has lots of great items, including some brand-new, can't-miss SADD-branded gear!  Don't forget to get a special code from your State Coordinator to help your state benefit from your order.

 

 

If your community has suffered through a tragedy, make a YOUTH-Turn!  Click here to visit the YOUTH-Turn website.

 

 
A "Save the Date" postcard will go out to all chapters shortly, and pricing and registration details for the conference will be posted on the SADD website in mid-November.  We hope to see many of you at this can't-miss event!

For your future planning, SADD's national conference will be in Washington, D.C., in 2009 and Orlando, Florida, in 2010.

Don't forget that next week is the first Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, and SADD is proud to be working with the National Sleep Foundation on this important project.

 

We first told you about this week in the September issue of The SADDvocate, although not all the materials were ready at that time.  Now there are lots of great resources online for this event, including a toolkit that contains posters, quizzes, videos, and other tools you can use!  Please consider running an event next week focusing on this important and often overlooked danger.  Click here to go to the website.