SADD logo red reverse
 
The SADDvocate

   
JANUARY 2008

In This Issue
SADD National Conference
Make Roads Safe Petition
SADD Speaker Series
SADD National Awards
Chapter Fund-Raising
SADD eMall
Chapter Spotlight
Program Corner
NOYS Safe and Sober Event Planning
Don't Forget to Register!
We ask ALL chapters to register/update their information once each school year.

Registration takes just a few minutes and can be done online by clicking here.  At that link, you'll also find a downloadable registration form you can print out and mail or fax if you prefer to register that way.

Register now and you'll receive a chapter certificate and a free gift - a SADD poster! 

Every chapter who registered or updated their information this fall has a 2007-2008 Chapter Certificate (and a SADD poster).  Don't have yours?  Then you haven't updated your information this year - please do so today!

Thanks for helping us keep our database current - we want to make sure you get all our important SADD information.
Did you receive this newsletter from a friend?  Click below to get your own copy!
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Greetings!

The holidays are over and it's back to work and school.  In important SADD news, you can now register for the 2008 SADD National Conference!  See below for additional details.

Here's a reminder to encourage all members of your chapter to sign up to receive The SADDvocate.  Just have them visit the sadd.org homepage to join!  If it's easier, you can even send a list of e-mail addresses for your chapter to Chris Egan, SADD's Director of Field Services, at [email protected]

If they want to see what it's all about before signing up, you can forward this newsletter to them by clicking the link below.


Registration Now Open!
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SADD's 2008 National Conference "Passion ~ Power ~ Identity... Soaring to New Heights" will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, at The Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa.  The conference will be held June 22-25, 2008.
 
We're happy to announce that pricing and registration details for the conference are now posted on the SADD website, and registration is now open.  You can see detailed information about the conference by downloading the information packet.  When you're ready to register, visit worldstrides.com/sadd.

We do have a maximum capacity for the conference, so don't wait too long to register.  We hope to see many of you at this can't-miss event!

We're also looking for workshops for the conference.  If you or your chapter is interested in applying to present a workshop, click here to download the call for programs, including the application form.
Make Roads Safe Petition
Make Roads Safe logoSADD has been working with Make Roads Safe to draw attention to the enormous  global toll of road crash injuries and fatalities.  Every six seconds someone is killed or injured in a crash on the world's roads.

Make Roads Safe is trying to collect one million signatures on their petition to the United Nations, which will be presented in March. 

Make Roads Safe still needs more than 400,000 signatures to meet their goal.  They are especially interested in signatures from SADD students.  By signing the petition, you'll help in the effort to reduce global road crash deaths and injuries, and you're not committed to anything beyond signing with your name and e-mail address.  To sign the petition, visit Make Roads Safe today.
Bring familyfocus to Your School!
familyfocusAt a time when parents and teens rarely even sit down for dinner together, finding a time to discuss important issues may seem impossible.

SADD's familyfocus program, part of the SADD Speaker Series, provides opportunities for family communication to help bridge the "reality gap" that often exists between parents and teens - and highlights the role that effective parent-child communication can play in keeping teens safe.

Wallace headshotA speaker who is anything but "typical," SADD Chairman and CEO Stephen Wallace brings his audience years of experience as a school psychologist and adolescent counselor during this one-hour candid and constructive forum.  By mixing stories and humor with audience participation and sound research, he sheds new light on the most difficult issues facing teens today: underage drinking, impaired and dangerous driving, drug use, and teen violence and suicide.

How can you bring familyfocus and Stephen Wallace to your school?  Just call 877-SADD-INC or e-mail [email protected] to request an information packet, learn about the fees, or book a speaking engagement.  We are currently booking events for the spring and fall.
Apply for SADD National Awards!
At the 2008 SADD National Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, SADD will recognize outstanding chapters and advisors with this year's SADD National Awards: Activity of the Year, Advisor of the Year, and Chapter of the Year.

Nominations must be related to work supporting the SADD mission between April 1, 2007 and April 1, 2008.  Cash prizes of $500, $250, and $100 will be awarded to first-, second-, and third-place winners, respectively, in each category.  In addition, SADD National will cover the cost of a SADD National Ground Package to the conference for one student and one adult for the first-place winners of each award, to ensure that they can accept their awards in person (winners are responsible for their own travel to Phoenix).

Nominations may be submitted by a SADD student or advisor; self-nominations are accepted.  Nomination forms are available on the sadd.org website now.  Completed forms and supporting materials must be received at the SADD National office by Friday, April 11, 2008.  For the nomination forms, click here.
Chapter Fund-Raising Opportunities
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Fund-raising is an issue for every SADD chapter.  Whether raising money to attend SADD conferences, bring in speakers, produce educational events, or perform community service, every chapter needs financial support.  Here are some grant opportunities this month.

The first is a grant opportunity for school systems.  The Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education is offering discretionary grants to reduce alcohol abuse in secondary schools.  Up to 70 school systems will be chosen, and the average award amount is $350,000.  SADD can be an important part of any such application!  This grant application is made on the school superintendent level, so you may want to encourage yours to apply.  The notice in the Federal Register can be found here.

project ignition b&wEach year, the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) offers a grant program called Project Ignition.  Students submit proposals for teen driving safety awareness programs.  Twenty-five proposals are funded with $2,000 to turn the plans into action.  The completed project reports are judged, and the top 10 programs are awarded $5,000 to attend the National Service-Learning Conference, where the best overall program is awarded $10,000.  Proposals for this year are due May 16.  Click here for more information.

YSA logoYouth Service America is promoting several opportunities this month.  Disney Minnie grants of $500 are awarded for service-learning projects on Global Youth Service Day in April.  Click here for more information.  Hurry - the deadline to apply is January 21.

The American Young Ambassadors Program is now accepting applications.  We're including it here even though it is not a fund-raising opportunity because the program recognizes teen leaders ages 15-18 who have significant accomplishments in athletics, academics, and public service (including SADD!).  The 30 winners will represent the United States at this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, China.  Click here for more information.
Keep Shopping at SADD's eMall!
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The holidays are over, and we're into a brand-new year.  The season of giving doesn't have to end - the SADD eMall is still open 24 hours a day for all your shopping needs.

Shopping at SADD's eMall brings SADD National an average of 3% of your purchase.  You get the same prices as you would shopping on your own, but instead of the retailer keeping all your money, some of it goes to SADD to support our mission and work.  Be sure to check out this month's sales and promotions - there are always great coupons at www.sadd-emall.com!

To save yourself time, you can put a shortcut link on your desktop by clicking here.  Then just click the link to start shopping - it's an easy way to remember to visit the eMall before doing your shopping.

Your support will help us provide new programming and activities.  Let's ring in the new year with our collective purchasing power and shop for a great cause - SADD!  To begin shopping, visit sadd-emall.com.

Chapter Spotlight: Putnam Valley
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In the Spotlight this month is Putnam Valley High SADD from Putnam Valley, New York.  Pictured above is their "Fashion Show for All" that they held as part of a focus on eating disorders.

As you may know, SADD National gives SADD chapters a lot of freedom to identify the critical issues in their communities and to craft programs to address these issues.  Putnam Valley High SADD members saw increasing problems with eating disorders - specifically, anorexia and bulimia.

Putnam Valley High SADD addressed this important problem by first bringing in speakers to talk about body image and self-esteem, including well-known plus-size fashion model Emme.  An eating disorders specialist prepared guidelines for identifying someone struggling with an eating disorder and how to begin to help.  These guidelines were posted around the school to enable students and teachers to provide support to those in need.

The culminating event was a "Fashion Show for All."  This special fashion show featured students and teachers modeling casual clothes, sportswear, and formal evening dress.  Models were of all shapes, sizes, and ages.  During the show, important information was communicated to the audience about eating disorders.  The nominal admission fee and a raffle raised $1,000 for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).

SADD Advisor Graciela Greenberg reports that the evening (and the entire eating disorder campaign) was a huge success.  Students solicited local stores to lend the clothes for the fashion show, and the event garnered lots of media attention.  Congrats to everyone at Putnam Valley High School for this creative campaign!

NEDA logoFor more information about the important issue of eating disorders, please visit NEDA by clicking here.

If you'd like to see YOUR chapter featured in The SADDvocate or in 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 [email protected] or at the mailing address at the bottom of this e-mail.
SADD Program Corner
Each month, SADD's Programming Department - Director Matt Lowe and Assistant Director Ashley Conners - bring you quick and easy ideas for activities to enliven chapter meetings, brighten your school, or reach out to recruit new members.

This month, here's a fun icebreaker that combines a quick problem-solving game with a way to get to know others better.  You'll need an open space and a lot of hula-hoops - as many as half the number of people in the group.  You might check with the school's athletic department for these.

Put the hoops on the floor, and ask people to distribute themselves evenly among the hoops.  If you have enough hoops, there will be two people per hoop; otherwise you might have as many as three or four.  Tell people to start with both feet in the hoop.  Once everyone has both feet in the hoop, they must find something they have in common with the others in the hoop.  Tell them to find something unique that they share - not something obvious.  For example, it might be a favorite book or movie, the same number of siblings, etc.

Once this is done, tell the group that they must find another hoop.  As participants scramble to find another hoop, take one hoop away, so that more people will have to be in a single hoop, making it more of a challenge to find commonality.  Keep repeating this process until there is one hoop for every 15 people, which is about the maximum that can get both feet inside the hoop (the solution to doing this - spoiler alert! - is to have everyone sit outside the hoop and rest their feet inside the hoop). 

At this point, you'll have to stretch to find commonality.  Of course, it could be something simple such as everyone is in SADD, but what if you all have an Aunt Sally?  Or you all like anchovies on your pizza?  Have fun!

Did you know there are lots of free activity ideas at sadd.org?  Click here to see a list of some of the great ideas for activities your chapter can do!

And don't forget about the SADD Manual, which is filled with important information and helpful activity plans.  Click here to learn more about the new SADD Manual.
NOYS Safe and Sober Event Planning
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SADD is a proud member of NOYS, the National Organizations for Youth Safety.  The NOYS website has useful tools that your chapter can use.  We've highlighted some of these in past issues. 

This month we're featuring a tool that NOYS developed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), called "A Guide to Safe and Sober Event Planning."  This useful guide contains ideas for party themes and settings, tips for promotion of your event, task lists and planning advice, and lists of resources available from NHTSA.
 
Check out this useful resource today!  Click here to read the Guide to Safe and Sober Event Planning.
Don't forget that the SADD National Field Services Department is here to provide help and support to chapters, especially those in states without State Coordinators.  Just call 1-877-SADD-INC or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] for service.

Please spread the word about this newsletter!  You can sign up to receive it on the sadd.org
website, and we'd like as many students and advisors as possible to sign up.  The SADDvocate will be published every month during the school year, with the next issue scheduled for February 2008.

We'll send this newsletter to any new subscribers at the end of each month, so encourage people to sign up, and they'll soon get their own copy of it.  If you'd like to forward the newsletter to others, please DON'T forward it within your e-mail program, which distorts the formatting, links, and graphics.  Instead, use the "Forward This Issue to a Friend" link at the top of this newsletter.

The SADDvocate is designed to be visually appealing and colorful, with graphics and photos throughout.  Make sure you are enabling images in your e-mail program to see it properly.  If you receive only a text version of the newsletter, ask your IT person at school how you can receive HTML messages to get the full benefit of this newsletter.

Thanks again for all you do for SADD!
 
Sincerely,
 

Christopher Egan, Director of Field Services

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Kristin French, Assistant Director of Field Services