Congratulations to Anoka High School SADD in Anoka, Minnesota!  They recently won second place in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rural youth traffic safety messaging contest.  Anoka SADD created a project called "Teen Driver 411" that used a website, videos, giveaways, and presentations to promote awareness of Minnesota laws applying to teen drivers.  Visit their teendriver411.com website to check out their efforts, which will be highlighted in National Youth Traffic Safety Month (NYTSM), held each May.

For finishing second, Anoka SADD received $2,000 and a trip to Washington to receive their award.  Pictured above are Anoka SADD co-presidents Ashley Curley and Natalie Hayford receiving the award from Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters.  Anoka SADD has won a number of awards with sizable cash prizes in recent years - providing a great example of how SADD chapters can gain recognition and funding by participating in the many opportunities we highlight each month in The SADDvocate.

One such opportunity is also part of NYTSM.  Act Out Loud returns in expanded form for 2009!  This competition challenges SADD chapters and others to develop teen traffic safety activism projects to save lives! 

Here's how it works: apply by February 17 with a project idea.  Twenty schools will be chosen by February 27 as finalists and will receive $1,000 each to implement their project and a Flip video camera to document their efforts.  Starting March 9, they will document their project in blog and video entries, posting a final report on May 8.  Then, from May 11-22, the public is invited to vote online for their favorite project.  Internet voting will determine the winner, who will receive $10,000!  The second- and third-place winners also receive cash prizes of $5,000 and $3,000, respectively.

Last year Notre Dame Prep SADD in Scottsdale, Arizona, won second place, and two other SADD chapters were among the finalists.  We're hoping for even more SADD participation this year!  Visit actoutloud.org to learn more and fill out the application.  Remember that the deadline to apply is February 17, so start thinking about your project today! 

 

One last NYTSM item: free NYTSM materials are now available from the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), which puts on NYTSM.  These materials include an 18-month NYTSM calendar, a poster with lesson plans and reproducible handouts, and a NYTSM tool kit CD.  To request your free copy of these materials, email info@noys.org with your name, school/SADD chapter name, and mailing address.

SADD National announces a new partnership with Enjoy the City Promotions to bring a new fund-raising program to SADD chapters, called The Ultimate Fundraiser.

All SADD chapters may participate in this no-cost, risk-free fund-raiser.  The concept is simple: SADD students sell valuable coupon books loaded with up to 600 coupons worth nearly $4,000. 

There is no cost for this fund-raiser, as the books are provided to you on consignment.  There's no risk, either, as you simply return unsold books after your selling period.  The books sell for $25 - a great value, since redeeming just a few coupons from the book more than pays for the cost.  The coupons are from a variety of family-friendly stores and restaurants, such as McDonald's, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Dick's Sporting Goods, and many more.

With this fund-raiser, your chapter could raise hundreds of dollars (or more!) in just a few weeks.  Of the $25 price per book, your chapter keeps $12.50 - and there are great prizes, too!  To learn more, click here and get started raising funds today! 

Our friends at the Marin Institute are having a video contest to help free the Super Bowl from beer ads!  Did you know that beer is the most advertised product during the Super Bowl?  Thirty million underage youth will see beer commercials during the game. 

The Marin Institute challenges you to come up with a 30- or 60- second commercial with facts about alcohol advertising.  There are great prizes, including a MacBook laptop with video editing software as the grand prize!  To learn more, visit freethebowl.com.  Hurry - the deadline is January 25th! 

Dates are still available this spring to book a SADD Speaker Series event.  Don't hesitate and miss your chance to bring SADD Chairman and CEO Stephen Wallace, author of the compelling new book Reality Gap: Alcohol, Drugs, and Sex--What Parents Don't Know and Teens Aren't Telling, to your school or community! 

When speaking to teens, parents, educators, or other adults who influence young people, Stephen shares SADD's groundbreaking, original research about the real world of today's teenagers to empower students, improve family communication, and explore the role adults have in helping keep teens safe.

For more information about the six presentations available in the SADD Speaker Series and to book an event, contact Stacey Hart at 1-877-SADD-INC or shart@sadd.org. 

A reminder that the SADD logo is now freely available on the SADD website for registered chapters to download and use on posters, websites, yearbooks, t-shirts, and other items.  You no longer need to obtain advance permission to use the logo!  Click here to download the SADD logo, and make sure to check out SADD's Graphic Standards Manual, which explains the rules for using the logo properly.

Our friends at Do Something are once again holding their Teens for Jeans drive to provide jeans to homeless teens.  From January 26 through February 22, bring your gently worn jeans to any Aeropostale store.  They'll be given to a homeless teen, and you'll receive 25% off a new pair of jeans!  Do Something is hoping to collect 250,000 pairs of jeans.  For more information, visit teensforjeans.com. 

Register now!  Plan to join us for the 2009 SADD National Conference, Climbing the Hill.  We have an exciting lineup of programs and activities for July 12-15 in Washington, D.C.! 

The SADD National Conference is a fantastic opportunity to network with more than 500 youth and adults, all committed to promoting safe, positive teen decision-making in their schools and communities.  This year, we have the unique opportunity to focus on advocacy efforts and prevention education, to participate in a rally on Capitol Hill, to conduct legislative visits with congressional leaders, and to explore the historic sites of our nation's capital!  In addition to the formal conference programming, pre-conference training opportunities and sightseeing tours are available. 

Conference details, registration information, fund-raising tips, and information about exciting pre-conference opportunities are available at the sadd.org website.  Check it out, and make your plans to join us in July! 

KH SADD recently participated in a "Holiday Lights" parade in their hometown.  Their float was a culmination of their holiday activities, which were designed to promote positive and healthy decision-making over the holiday season.  SADD advisor Renee Scott reports that 40 of the 70 students in the SADD chapter participated in the parade.

Participating in parades with a float can be an effective and highly visible way to promote your SADD chapter in your community.  You might consider passing out giveaways or information along the route to spread the SADD message.

Congratulations to Kenneth Henderson Middle School SADD for their efforts to promote SADD! 

If you'd like to see YOUR chapter featured in the Spotlight, be sure to let us know what you're doing!  Send news to Chris Egan, SADD National Director of Field Services, at cegan@sadd.org or the mailing address at the bottom of this newsletter.