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Greetings!
Welcome to the first issue of The SADDvocate for the 2013-14 school year! We know chapters are very busy all across the country kicking off the year by recruiting members, planning activities for the months ahead, and working hard to make a difference!  Hutto High School SADD from Hutto, Texas, got the year off to a running start - bursting out of their school's giant inflatable football helmet to be introduced along with their football team and other athletic and extracurricular groups at a school rally. Go SADD!Our goal is to ensure that every SADD chapter has the latest news, so we're counting on you to help spread the word about The SADDvocate. Please encourage all of your SADD chapter members to sign up on sadd.org, or send a list (spreadsheets preferred, with columns for first name, last name, and email address) to Chris Egan, SADD's Director of Field Services, at cegan@sadd.org. Sometimes school computer filters prevent students and advisors from seeing The SADDvocate properly, in full color with graphics. You can view every issue in our online archive. This issue will be posted to the archive later today.A good source of regular SADD news is our Facebook page. Please "like" our page today, and encourage your friends to do so as well! Links to all our social networking pages are on the bar at left. |
 | Register/Update Your Chapter NOW!
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 Every fall, we have new SADD advisors call us to check in and ask whether their chapter is registered in our database. The truth is, it doesn't matter whether a chapter has been registered in the past. We ask ALL chapters to register/update their information once EVERY school year. That's the only way for us to know if your chapter is running this school year and to make sure we have the correct contact information for the advisor. Remember, SADD charges no dues or membership fees, and most of our programming is available to download for free from our website as well. In exchange, we ask that you take just two minutes once each school year to fill out the registration form, which can be done quickly and easily online. Gathering current chapter information is critically important - not just for us to communicate programs and resources that will benefit your chapter, but also for us to apply for grants and other funding that help keep SADD going. As a thank-you bonus, when you register, we'll send you a free poster and a chapter certificate suitable for framing. Special thanks to those of you who have already registered! Certificates are mailed monthly, and our first mailing of the school year will go out tomorrow - so look for your packet soon. Registrations are pouring into our office, but we want one from EVERY SADD chapter out there. So please, if you haven't registered your chapter, don't do anything else - don't even finish reading this newsletter. Click here and take two minutes to register right now! |
| SADD National Conference - 2013/2014
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 We're thrilled to announce that the 2014 SADD National Conference, Life is a Jungle: Join the Expedition will be held at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner just outside Washington, DC, June 22-25, 2014! Besides the tremendous conference speakers, skill-building workshops, and fun activities, you'll also participate in a special rally on Capitol Hill and visit your legislators to press for SADD's legislative priorities.
For the first time, we're offering an early-bird discount for those who register by March 15, 2014. The student rate (quad occupancy) will be $729 and the adult rate (double occupancy) will be $829 if you register by that date - and that rate covers the conference registration fee, hotel accommodations, and most meals. The only thing you need to do to get this discounted rate is fill out the group registration form and pay a nonrefundable $100 deposit per person. You don't need to provide individual attendee names or pay the full balance - so there's no reason to wait and pay more later! We hope you'll join us next year in Washington, DC, for this valuable experience that will help you build life skills and improve the effectiveness of your SADD chapter.
 The 2014 conference has, for the first time, been added to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Approved List of Contests and Activities. This recognition may help your chapter more easily raise funds or obtain permission to attend the conference if snow days pile up this winter and school is still going when it's time to go to Washington. Let us know if you have questions about this.
 The 2013 SADD National Conference, Decades of Change, received rave reviews from attendees. Held in Orlando, Florida just across from Downtown Disney, the conference featured a new Speaker Showcase. Click here to check out the conference slideshow and get a taste of what conference was all about! |
| SADD SPEAKs 2013
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 SADD SPEAKs (Students for Policy, Education, Advocacy, & Knowledge) is SADD's advocacy training program. For the first time, we held SPEAKs unconnected to our national conference.We carefully selected 22 outstanding student leaders from SADD chapters in 16 states. They began work last May, participating in dozens of hours of online training on teen traffic safety issues and a backgrounder in legislative tactics. We then brought these students together in Washington, DC, in July for a four-day training. The highlight of the week was a well-attended Congressional briefing with prominent speakers, including David Strickland, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). You can view highlights from the briefing by clicking here. Or check out the full week of highlights told through a "Storify" of social media here. SPEAKs delegates returned home and went right to work. Many of them joined their SADD State Coordinator in a meeting with their highway safety offices to talk about teen traffic safety, and some have been asked to speak at various state events, gathered press coverage, and more. This event would not have been possible without generous support of forward-thinking sponsors: Ally Financial, Bridgestone Americas' Teens Drive Smart, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and The National Road Safety Foundation. We thank these sponsors for making this incredible program happen!
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| Programs and Resources
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September 19 is the AT&T It Can Wait Drive 4 Pledges Day. This is a day to get students in your school to take the pledge not to text while driving, which can be found at itcanwait.com. There are a number of steps your chapter can take to promote this day:
We hope your chapter will collect pledges and spread the word on September 19!  September 23 is CASA Family Day. Research shows that families that eat dinner together have children who are less likely to use drugs or alcohol. So families are encouraged to have dinner together, especially on Family Day - and if you don't feel like cooking, go out to dinner as many restaurants will offer specials or discounts on Family Day! Your chapter can work with local restaurants to hold a fundraiser or other event to help promote the day. Learn more at casafamilyday.org.  Mark Wednesday, February 5, 2014, on your calendars - that will be our second annual SADD Shines Day! Be SADDtastic and show off your SADD spirit on this special day. You're part of the largest youth health and safety empowerment movement in the country, and we want everyone to know it! We're working on some cool messaging templates and tools, and will share more next month - so stay tuned! It's not too soon to start planning for October activities - see the Calendar above on the left and click the event names to go to websites with more information and tools to help you plan.
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| Contests, Grants, and Awards
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We often hear two questions from SADD chapters: "What can we do?" and "How can we raise money?" There could be a single answer to both questions - enter some contests and apply for grants! You're probably already conducting activities that qualify for grants or fit the criteria for a contest - so why not take a few minutes to enter and have a chance at some significant cash prizes? Or even better, if you're unsure about your next activity, a contest or program grant gives you brainstorming inspiration and a task to take on! Check back every month in The SADDvocate to learn about new contests and grants your chapter can enter or apply for - and remember, your chances are better than you think! Here are just a few ideas.
Hold on to your keyboards, because we have an incredible contest for you! SADD National is proud to announce, in partnership with The National Road Safety Foundation, our latest joint initiative: #drivingskills101 @UrTurn!  This new contest starts as a mini-grant program where EVERYBODY wins! It's simple: submit a proposal by October 16 for a campaign that reinforces driving skills - we'll even give you some ideas to get started in the application packet. The first 50 chapters to register get $100 and a supply kit with cool items like bandanas, a banner, and project tools and tips. Next, conduct your campaign by late February and document what you did - send us pictures, videos, copies of press coverage, and a written activity report. You'll have a chance at big prizes - up to $2,500 for your chapter! When teens drive irresponsibly, it's YOUR life on the line, YOUR community that's impacted, and now it's UrTurn to make a difference! Click here for the application packet.
 The Create Real Impact contest is sponsored by our friends at Impact Teen Drivers. What would you do to reduce distracted driving? Explain your solution in a video, song, poster/t-shirt design, or written essay, and enter it into the contest by November 1. Then from November 2-8, get as many people to vote for your entry online. Entrants with the most votes become finalists, and judges pick the winners from this pool, with prizes of up to $1,500! Visit createrealimpact.com for more information.
 The National Youth Leadership Council is once again offering $2,000 Project Ignition grants to chapters to address teen driver safety through service learning. Apply for Project Ignition, and if your chapter is accepted, you'll work this spring to put on your event. Do a great job, and you could be selected to be a National Leader School and receive even MORE funding to increase your impact! To learn more, visit nylc.org/project_ignition.
 Remember to check with our friends at YSA, who each year give away more than $1 million in service-learning grants. Visit ysa.org/grants to see what's available now - new grants are posted throughout the year. Enter "SADD" in the "Partner Code" field on the application, and you'll get a priority review! |
| SADD Store - Great Giveaway Items!
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As your chapter gears up to get back to work, think about utilizing giveaways to spread your message. The SADD Store has plenty of great options, including a number of giveaways for less than $1 apiece. Our most popular item is the anti-texting thumb ring, which would be a perfect giveaway to help promote the AT&T It Can Wait Drive 4 Pledges Day on September 19 - hand one out to every student who takes the pledge. Or choose from bracelets, carabiner key chains, pens or pencils, lip balm, and more. The choice is yours!
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Remember 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, ext. 223 or email fieldservices@sadd.org for help! Thanks for reading this issue of The SADDvocate, and thanks for all the work you do in your SADD chapters!
Sincerely,
Christopher Egan, Director of Field Services
SADD National |
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