MADD Victim Services
By MADD | November 9, 2012 | Filed in: Victim Services

Contributing to Lives Saved, Injuries Prevented and Victims Served
By MADD | November 9, 2012 | Filed in: General

Thanks to your support and the support of people like you, MADD has been successful in our mission, helping to save and positively affect the lives of people across the country.  We have:

• Served 63,000 victims and survivors of drunk driving last year, one every eight minutes
• Helped reduce drunk driving by 24 percent since the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® launched in 2006
• Helped pass all-offender ignition interlock laws in 17 states
• Set the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving up for success with the MAP-21 highway bill, which includes funding for the advanced technology that will eliminate drunk driving and incentives for states that pass interlock laws
• Reached a parent every half hour, on average, with our research-based Power of Parents® underage drinking prevention program, and helped reduce underage drinking significantly among high school students

Our focus on drunk driving prevention, victim services and underage drinking prevention is steadfast, and that shows in our financial stewardship as well.  This was stronger than ever in the 2011 fiscal year.  We increased our program efforts significantly and were able to decrease the proportion of our expenses we spend on fundraising by 28 percent.  Among nonprofits, it’s considered exemplary to have less than 15 percent of expenses going to administration of the organization; at MADD, only eight percent goes to administration.  As a result, over 78 cents out of every dollar at MADD goes into community awareness programs and services to stop drunk driving, serve the victims of this violent crime and reduce underage drinking.

So when we say your donation makes a difference, we mean it.  We are putting your support to work to equip our more than 7,000 volunteers with the resources to save lives, provide victim services to families in need, and help parents have the conversation with their children about alcohol, while also continuing to recruit and train new volunteers.  Your donations make that possible.

Your support also saves lives.  Since the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving started, we’ve helped reduce drunk driving fatalities by more than 3,000 per year.  That’s more than three thousand families each year who don’t get that life-changing call or visit that tells them their loved one isn’t coming home—families who remain whole.

Your investment in MADD has helped us save almost 300,000 lives and serve more than 300,000 victims and survivors… and counting.  You help us make an impact in your community, state and the nation as a whole, and we greatly appreciate your support and continued partnership.  Together, we are making a difference.

MADD Remembers Beckie Brown
By MADD | November 7, 2012 | Filed in: General

It is with great sadness that we must announce that former MADD National President Rebecca “Beckie” Brown passed away on November 6, 2012.  Rebecca was elected to MADD’s national board in 1986 and founded and served as chair of the Public Policy Committee from 1987 until 1990.  She served as National President from 1993 to 1995.

Marcus Brown

Like so many, she came to MADD due to tragedy.  On December 8, 1979, Beckie and her husband, Charlie, were driving home from a party when police cars raced past them. As they came upon the scene of the crash, they realized that someone had been killed. An instant later, they were devastated to discover that the victim was their 18-year-old son, Marcus. He was killed by a 19-year-old drunk driver.

After that tragedy, Beckie channeled her grief into the fight against drunk driving.  She founded MADD's chapter in Pasco County, Fla., and helped to form Florida's state organization. 

Soon, Beckie realized that legislative work was her passion. She worked tirelessly to help pass the 21 drinking age law in Florida, realizing that Marcus might have been alive had such a law been in place in 1979.  She also worked hard on the national 21 Minimum Drinking Age Law and was in Washington, D.C., on July 17, 1984, when President Reagan signed it into law. 

Known for continually asking what MADD can do to save more lives, Beckie became the catalyst behind the development of a series of Impaired Driving Workshops. In her pursuit of solutions, Beckie served in a key role in the development of National Sobriety Checkpoint Week and spearheaded the creation of MADD’s Rating the States program, which rates individual state’s efforts in the fight to prevent drunk driving.

Perhaps her greatest accomplishment was laying the foundation for MADD’s “20 x 2000,” a five-point plan to reduce alcohol-related deaths by an additional 20 percent by the year 2000—a goal that was accomplished three years ahead of schedule.

Her presence will be missed; however, her legacy lives on as we work hard every day to pass tougher laws and implement sound public policy.

Why We're Here: Ken Watson
By MADD | November 5, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , Underage Drinking , Victim Services , Victim Stories

Ken Watson was a bright, intelligent boy who made a bad choice when he accepted a ride from someone he barely knew.  As a result, he was killed on October 16, 1981—just days after his 14th birthday.

The young man who was driving the car Ken got into that night had been drinking, even though he was underage.  He was speeding and ran a stop sign. The car crested a hill and went airborne for 76 feet, and when it landed, it burst into flames. The driver escaped, but Ken was trapped in the car and was burned alive.  He was burned over 99 percent of his body.  He suffered no other injuries other than the burns. 

At MADD’s National Conference this year, Andie Rehkamp, Ken’s mother and now a MADD Victim Advocate, shared her experience with the criminal justice system in support of the Victims Rights’ Constitutional Amendment.  She described how she and her husband were instructed to not speak, or they could be held in contempt of court. The driver’s family was allowed to speak at length about what “a great guy” her son’s killer was and how devastating a strict sentence would be to them, but Ken’s name was not mentioned at all.  They were not allowed to give a victim impact statement.
 
Andie said, “I have assisted thousands of victims and their families in the last 31 years and although there have been many changes and improvements, today there are still victims that do not receive notifications of court proceedings, are not consulted before a plea bargain is offered or given the opportunity to give an oral victim impact statement at sentencing. Now is the time to enact the Victim Rights’ Constitutional Amendment.”

Watch the video of Andie’s emotional speech from conference to hear her tragic story in her own words:

Click here to contact your legislator in support of the Victim Rights’ Constitutional Amendment, that would allow victims, like Andie, to be notified and attend court proceedings, to give an oral victim impact statement at sentencing and to seek restitution.

2012 Golden Achievement Award Winners
By MADD | November 2, 2012 | Filed in: General

Every year we honor a volunteer who has given their heart and soul to the organization with the Golden Achievement Award.  This year’s winner of this prestigious award is a husband and wife team that have been volunteering with MADD for more than 20 years. Congratulations George and Marilyn Murphy!

Watch their nomination video:

Watch George and Marilyn accept their award: