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The SADDvocate

   
APRIL 2009

In This Issue
SADD Conference
Act Out Loud
SADD Store
Contests and Awards
Chapter Spotlight
Programs and Resources
Chapter Toolbox
Join Us Online!
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Don't Forget to Register!
We ask ALL chapters to register/update their information once each school year.

Please update your information now by clicking here.  You'll receive a membership certificate for the year and a free gift! 

If you don't have a 2008-2009 Chapter Certificate on your wall, you haven't updated your information!  Many chapters have updated their information already - please join them now! 

Thanks for helping us keep our database current - we want to make sure you get all our important SADD information.
Upcoming Events
 
April
All Month - Alcohol Awareness Month, STD Awareness Month
April 19-25 - National
Volunteer Week
April 22 - Earth Day
April 24-26 - Global Youth
Service Day

May
All Month - National Youth Traffic Safety Month
May 1 - Keep Kids Alive/
Drive 25 Day
May 6 - National Day to
Prevent Teen Pregnancy
May 18-31 - Click It or Ticket Seat Belt Enforcement Period

June
All Month - National Safety Month, Internet Safety Month
June 1-7 - Sun Safety Week

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Greetings!

Welcome to another issue of The SADDvocate!  It's a busy time - SADD chapters are planning activities for National Youth Traffic Safety Month and completing prom plans, and here at SADD National we're working on the national conference, for which the registration deadline has just been extended!  We hope you'll take a look at all the valuable resources and program ideas you'll find in this month's issue.

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

Forward this issue to a FriendIf they want to see what it's all about before signing up, you can forward this newsletter to them by clicking this graphic.

Sometimes school computer filters prevent students and advisors from seeing The SADDvocate with graphics and colors or from reading it at all.  Remember that you can read all issues of The SADDvocate at any time by visiting our online archive.  This issue will be posted to the archive later today.

We also want all advisors and students to join our social networks - click the links on the left bar to friend us on MySpace or become a fan of SADD National on Facebook as part of Operation 2542 (see below!)
Registration Deadline Extended!
2009 conference logo
The registration deadline for the 2009 SADD National Conference has been extended!  The new deadline is May 29, which is also the final payment deadline for the conference.  Don't wait too long to register, as we're running ahead of last year's registration pace, and the hotel will only hold so many conference attendees.  Anytime before May 29, you can register and hold your spot with a $100 deposit.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to connect with SADD youth and adult leaders from across the country.  Here are key highlights of the conference:
  • Nationally recognized keynote speakers and presenters including Leon Quan and Ty Sells
  • Workshops focused on a variety of issues such as:
    • Underage drinking prevention
    • Traffic safety
    • Leadership development
    • Fundraising ideas for chapters
    • Suicide prevention
    • Healthy relationships
  • Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe followed by a nighttime tour of Washington, D.C. landmarks
  • Semiformal banquet and dance
  • Rally on Capitol Hill and legislative visits with congressional leaders
  • And much, much more!
Click here to register for the conference.  Make your plans to join us today!
Act Out Loud Finalists Announced!
Act Out Loud logoThe 20 finalists for the Act Out Loud competition have been announced, and seven of them are SADD chapters!  Congratulations to these SADD chapters:
  • Anoka High School SADD from Anoka, Minnesota
  • Cactus Shadows High School SADD from Scottsdale, Arizona
  • Community Alliance for a Safer Tomorrow Youth/Upper Merion Area High School SADD from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
  • Coral Springs Charter School SADD from Coral Springs, Florida
  • Henry Sibley High School SADD from Mendota Heights, Minnesota
  • Hillsboro SADD from Hillsboro, North Dakota
  • Madison Central High School SADD from Madison, Mississippi
As finalists, these chapters received $1,000 to implement their traffic safety project, along with a Flip video camera to record their efforts.  Teams will be documenting their preparation and projects on blogs, complete with text and video entries.  To see the blogs of the teams, visit actoutloud.org

Beginning May 11, you can vote for your favorite project on the actoutloud.org website.  Internet voting will determine the winner, who will receive $10,000.  Good luck to all our SADD chapters - we'll be voting for you!
NYTSM ribbon logo






May is National Youth Traffic Safety Month (NYTSM), and we hope your SADD chapter will join countless others and hold a traffic safety activity.  Besides the Act Out Loud competition, there's the annual "50 Best" awards.  All you need to do is register your NYTSM project on the noys.org website by filling out a simple form, and then you're eligible to win one of 50 $1,000 awards recognizing the 50 best NYTSM projects.  Two years ago, 15 of the 50 awards went to SADD chapters, and last year SADD captured 18 of the 50 awards.  Let's try for even more this year! 

Need some ideas for NYTSM?  You can still get a FREE tool kit from NOYS.  The kit includes an 18-month wall calendar with important traffic safety information, a poster with lesson plans and activity ideas, and a CD-ROM packed with useful NYTSM info and materials.  Just send your name, SADD chapter name, and mailing address to [email protected] for your free tool kit.
March SADDness at the SADD Store!
SADD Store screenshotNorth Carolina may have emerged the victor from March Madness, but March SADDness is still underway at the SADD Store!

Now through April 30, the SADD Store is holding the biggest sale ever!  Nearly everything in the store is on sale - marked down 20% to 60%.  After the sale, many items will be permanently discontinued, so don't miss your chance for a terrific bargain on quality SADD merchandise.
 
For more information or to order, visit saddstore.org, call 1-800-394-0090, or e-mail [email protected]
Contests, Awards, and Grants
trophyIt's your last chance to apply for a SADD National Award!  Each year, SADD National presents awards for Activity of the Year, Advisor of the Year, and Chapter of the Year.  Did your chapter hold a spectacular event?  Do you have an incredible advisor?  Or do you think your chapter is one of the best?  You have until April 17 to fill out the nomination forms for a chance to be honored at the SADD National Conference this summer.  More information can be found by clicking here.

Here are two grant opportunities we wanted to alert you to.  First, MADD is offering $1,000 grants for projects involving underage drinking prevention or traffic safety.  For more information, click here.

Channing Bete is offering their annual Community Services Grant program.  Four submissions will be chosen to receive $750 worth of Channing Bete program materials.  They offer plenty of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention programs and materials, so this could be useful in your school or community.  Click here for more information.

safety scholars logoBridgestone is holding a video contest.  Make a 25- or 55-second video about traffic safety, and you could win a $5,000 college scholarship!  Ten finalists will win a new set of tires.  The contest will begin soon, so for more information visit safetyscholars.com

Finally, the deadline is approaching for the SADD National Scholarships.  SADD will award seven $500 scholarships to college-bound students with funds raised at last year's national conference.  To be eligible, you must be currently:
  • A senior in high school and headed to college as a freshman in the fall;
  • A member of a registered SADD chapter (check to see if you have a 2008-2009 SADD Chapter Certificate - if not, update your chapter's information here);
  • Committed to living the SADD lifestyle (safe and substance-free) in college; and
  • A resident of the United States.
Scholarship applications must be postmarked by Friday, April 24.  For more information and the application, click here.
Chapter Spotlight: Oneonta SADD
Oneonta SADD
In the Spotlight this month is Oneonta High School SADD from Oneonta, New York.

Oneonta SADD recently hosted the 11th annual SADD Strides for Safety 5K Run/Walk and Health Fair.  This event began as a collaboration between Oneonta High School SADD, Otsego County STOP-DWI, and Otsego County Representative Cathy Rothenberger.  The idea was to raise funds for local SADD chapters to help with events such as substance-free, after-prom parties and speakers.

Oneonta High School SADD students are pictured above at the event.  In addition to the 5K run/walk, Strides for Safety also includes a health fair, with an assortment of booths promoting everything from child seat safety to healthy eating and more, with fun activities for the entire family.

SADD chapters from across the county and beyond participated in the event, including sending SADD students into elementary schools beforehand to promote the event and holding poster contests for the younger students.

With the support of local businesses, the event has grown over the years.  Oneonta High School SADD Advisor Cathy Lynch reports that there were nearly 500 participants, with 19 schools and 3 counties represented.  The proceeds of the event (approximately $15,000!) will be divided among the SADD chapters participating. 

Congratulations to Oneonta High School SADD (and all the SADD chapters participating in Strides for Safety) for their hard work and creativity in pulling off such an impressive event!

If you'd like to see YOUR chapter featured in the Spotlight, be sure to let us know what you're doing!  Send news and pictures to Chris Egan, SADD National Director of Field Services, at [email protected] or the mailing address at the bottom of this newsletter.
Programs and Resources
Decisions Spring 09Check out the Spring 2009 issue of Decisions, which is on the sadd.org website now.  This latest edition of SADD's newsletter contains valuable information about activities that could earn your chapter recognition and cash prizes, communicating with the media, keeping SADD energy going in the spring and summer, and more!  Don't miss this exciting issue, available only on the sadd.org website.

GYSD logoApril 24-26 is Global Youth Service Day (GYSD).  The largest service event in the world, GYSD brings millions of young people all over the world together to do service projects.  Is your SADD chapter conducting a service project on GYSD?  If so, we encourage you to post your event so your effort is tallied up with all the other projects all across the world.  To post your event, click here.

RONTI logoApril is Alcohol Awareness Month, and each year the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers the Reach Out Now National Teach-In to Prevent Underage Alcohol Use.  This program targets 5th and 6th graders, and there are free lesson plans and activities for those students.  In the past, teachers taught the lessons, and this year SAMHSA is encouraging community coalitions to get involved.  Perhaps your SADD chapter might get involved in teaching the lessons to younger children.  Talk to your school administrators to see if this is a possibility!  Materials will be sent to schools by mid-April, or you can download them by clicking here.

ICE logoYou may know that, as a precaution, many people enter numbers of family and/or friends on their cell phones as "ICE" for "In Case of Emergency" to help emergency workers contact loved ones.  You may not know that a new international standard has been developed by the United Nations using a numbering system.  Some SADD chapters are taking on public service projects by holding events to publicize the ICE campaign.  To learn more, visit ice4safety.com

SADD logo tinyHere's 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.  Please use the SADD logo!
Chapter Toolbox
toolboxEach month, a member of the SADD National Student Leadership Council (SLC) writes a column designed to help SADD chapters - activity ideas, meeting tips, and other useful topics.  This month's article is from SLC member Bridget Rekow from Ellendale, North Dakota.

bridget
As I'm sure you all know, Facebook is a wonderful tool for connecting with friends.  Now SADD National's Facebook page has become a terrific way to connect with SADD students all across the country.

I can openly admit I am a little Facebook-illiterate - I know the basics, but with the changes Facebook keeps making, it's hard to keep up!  In this column I'm going to share my first exploration of the SADD National Facebook page and all the resources I found.

find us on facebook logoOnce I got to the page (search for SADD National, or click the button at left), I read some of the Wall posts - you would not believe some of the people SADD has reached!  There were posts from keynote speakers at SADD conferences, SADD alumni, students, advisors, and more.

Then I started exploring some of the different tabs you can find at the top of the page.  The Discussions section was one of my favorites.  A member of the SLC posts a "Question of the Week" and students from all over the country respond with their opinions.  The latest question was about legalizing marijuana, and the comments helped me learn a few things as well as see the varying thoughts. 

The pictures and videos are really fun to see, too!  The videos are little advertisements for the SADD National Conference made by members of the SLC - they're more like something you'd see on America's Funniest Videos.  You can see pictures from SADD conferences, too.  Take a look and see if you can find any of your friends - I found some of mine!  You can upload your own favorite SADD-related photos and videos to share, too.

One of the best tools is the Notes section - there are links for different contests, grant opportunities, and other opportunities for your chapter to get involved with SADD National projects.  Of course, there is a wonderful link under Events for the SADD National Conference this summer in Washington, D.C.  You can even R.S.V.P. to tell others that you'll be there!

The SLC has created a challenge for SADD students - Operation 2542!  We want to get 2,542 fans by the summer, and we only need 642 more to meet our goal.  We want to connect with even more SADD supporters from all across the country.  So the last thing I did on my first SADD National Facebook page exploration was click under the logo at
top left, where it says "Suggest to Friends."  Here you can invite your friends to become fans of SADD National.

I hope you'll explore the page, become a fan, and suggest it to all your friends, too.  Happy Facebooking!
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] for service.

Please spread the word about this newsletter!  You can sign up
on the sadd.org website to receive it, 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 no issues in July or August. 

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 or bottom left of this newsletter.
  If it's easier, you can simply encourage them to read it online.  A link to the archive of past issues of The SADDvocate is available here.

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