Hola, SADD Students!  I'm Jessica Roscoe, your SADD Student of the Year.  I'm originally from New Rockford, North Dakota, but I am currently in my freshman year at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, majoring in Communication and Global Studies.

I looked at my calendar this morning and realized that it has been September for more than a week now.  For a split second, I mourned the tragic loss of my summer vacation, but I won't lie - I didn't mourn long.  Why not?  School is back!

My excitement wasn't necessarily geared towards enduring late nights of homework.  Instead, more inspired by the national conference than ever before, I found myself thinking of SADD chapters all across the nation reaching out and making a difference.  Hundreds of thousands of young people are ready to stand up for SADD's mission!

We must remember that part of SADD's power lies in numbers.  The more young people who step up and make their voices heard, the greater our impact will be.  So my challenge to you is to increase your membership.  Hold a pizza party, meet up at a bowling alley, or find a sweet hangout spot and play games together.  Reach out to younger students, personally inviting them to your meetings.  Create a positive, upbeat environment, and they'll want to stay involved!  You can find more information about recruitment on the SADD website.

Also, remember to stay connected to SADD National.  Be sure to use (and like!) our Facebook and other social media pages, visit the website regularly, and read The SADDvocate!

If you start the year off right, success will be sure to follow.  My best to all of you, and I'm hoping for a great year ahead for all of us!

Since SADD SPEAKs (Students for Policy, Education, Awareness, and Knowledge) at the SADD National Conference in 2009, SADD National has been busy working with legislators in Washington, D.C., using many of the connections conference attendees made in their Capitol Hill visits to legislators.

 

We're excited to announce that a new bill has been introduced in Congress, and we'd love your support in advocating for it!  The STARS (Students Taking Action for Road Safety) Act would support student peer-to-peer efforts in traffic safety, around such issues as reckless, distracted, or impaired driving (you can read the text of the bill by clicking here).  If this bill passes, SADD and similar organizations would receive added support and resources to continue the critically important work you're all doing.

We thank Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) for introducing the STARS Act in the Senate and Senator Byron Dorgan (ND) for co-sponsoring the bill.  In the House, thanks go to Representative Michael Capuano (MA) for introducing the STARS Act there.

What's the next step?  We want to encourage other Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor the bill (which essentially means they are showing their support in a formal way).  This is where we need your help!

SADD has partnered with SparkAction, an innovative youth advocacy website, to create a special online tool for you to use.  Just visit sparkaction.org/content/support-stars-act-3 and enter your ZIP code.  You'll then see an editable message to your two Senators and your Representative in Congress.  Feel free to edit the message or add a personal story and even a picture of you at a SADD event.  Then click "Send Message" and your legislators will receive a message from you asking them to co-sponsor the STARS Act!  We hope you'll help us keep students safe on the roads by advocating for this bill.

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is holding the national "Take-Back" initiative to collect and properly dispose of unused or expired prescription medication on Saturday, September 25.  It's not too late for your chapter to spread the word in your school and community about this effort.  Local police and boards of health are often hosting drop-off locations, so contact them to see if they're planning to host something in your area.  Click here for more information.

You can also find valuable prescription drug resources, including fliers, brochures, videos, and more from the theantidrug.com website.

Research by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University has shown that the more often families eat dinner together, the less likely the children are to smoke, drink, or use drugs.  As a result of this research, CASA created Family Day, on which families are encouraged to eat dinner together.  This year, Family Day is Monday, September 27.  Your chapter can promote this day - materials are available at casafamilyday.org. 

Some upcoming November events that your chapter may wish to start planning for include the first Drug Facts Week from November 8-14.  Sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the former Drug Facts Day has been expanded into an entire week, and there are extensive planning materials to help your chapter host an event - click here to learn more!

Also in November is the annual Mix It Up at Lunch Day, sponsored by Teaching Tolerance.  On this day, scheduled this year for November 9, students are "mixed up" by sitting with other students at lunch whom they might not usually interact with.  The idea is to break down social boundaries and cliques and improve the school climate and reduce bullying.  We encourage all SADD chapters to bring Mix It Up at Lunch Day to your school.  Click here to learn more - and make sure to register your school on the map!

Did you notice?  The SADD Calendar on the left bar contains events your chapter might want to participate in.  Each event name is actually a clickable link to the best source of information we've found about the event.  Check it out!

SADD has partnered with We-Care.com on a special shopping plug-in for your Web browser.  This simple download automatically gives a donation to SADD National at no cost to you when you shop online at any one of the more than 1,000 participating websites.

This is so easy - just a single download, and then forget about it!  The We-Care Reminder works automatically (you'll see a bar at the top of the screen appear for 15 seconds showing that a donation will be made to SADD when you visit a participating merchant).  Again, there's no cost to you - the price you pay remains the same, but now a percentage of your purchase will be donated to SADD National.

 

We could really use your support and just 30 seconds of your time, so before closing this e-mail, visit sadd.we-care.com/start and download the reminder - it works with both Internet Explorer and Firefox.  Please take this simple, painless step to help support SADD now, and spread the word to family and friends!

Thanks to all who joined us in Orlando, Florida, at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress this past June for the 2010 SADD National Conference.  More than 600 students and adults attended, representing 32 states as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

 

The conference provided an opportunity for collaboration, education, and the development of lifelong friendships.  More than forty educational workshops were presented by youth and adults, and several dynamic and inspiring keynote addresses made a large impact on those present.  Be sure to visit sadd.org to see the 2010 conference slideshow and check out conference highlights.

Stay tuned for details regarding the 2011 SADD National Conference - information will be posted soon at sadd.org. 

SADD National has been working over the summer to move the SADD Store to a new provider.  You can expect a cutting-edge new saddstore.org website, exciting new products, and some of your favorite standbys when the new store launches this fall.

 

In the meantime, we're offering great deals on the last of our existing SADD Store merchandise, such as our Red Ribbon Week items (sold individually or in a complete kit).  If you're interested in purchasing any of these items, please contact Nicole Cheschi at the SADD National office.  She can be reached at 877-SADD-INC (723-3462) ext. 222 or by e-mail at ncheschi@sadd.org.