Ways to Help MADD This Holiday Season
By MADD | December 2, 2011 | Filed in: General

We are very fortunate to have such wonderful supporters who choose to give so generously, especially during the holidays when drunk driving is even more prevalent.  Between Thanksgiving and New Years in 2009, more than 1,000 people were killed in alcohol related crashes in the U.S.  Click here to help MADD in all of our 2012 endeavors to save lives and support victims.

While donations are very important and much appreciated, there are other ways you can get involved and help MADD this holiday season.  This year, we’ve worked with our corporate supporters to provide you with simple ways to show your loved ones you care while at the same time, making a difference.

• Magazines. When you order a magazine through DialAmerica, they will donate 12.5% of the purchase price to support the fight against drunk driving. Learn more.
• Auto insurance. Nationwide has partnered with MADD to offer exclusive friend and supporter-only discounts to you. Learn more about these program benefits.
• Key tags. Hunter Interactive Inc. has created an exclusive MADD Tag for your key chain.  The MADD Tag allows you to register your keys and have them returned to you in the mail if they are lost.  Hunter Interactive has committed a minimum of 20% of the proceeds to MADD and our campaign against drunk driving. Learn more.  

Happy Halloween!
By Jan Withers | October 31, 2011 | Filed in: General , National President

I love Halloween.  In our household, before it was officially late enough to go “trick-or-treating” the antsy energy of my kids was off the charts - getting dressed in costumes, making sure the bags were sturdy enough, Alisa and her sister, Jenni, coaching their little brother on how to say “trick or treat” and when to say “thank you.”   I truly loved watching their glee as they dressed up in their make-believe outfits and prepared to knock on our neighbors’ doors.  It was a magical time.

Of course my job was to insure their safety.  I walked along side of them, and even when they were a little older and they were feeling it was “uncool” for mom to be with them, I still did so.  When we came home I thought I was being a careful parent by sorting through the goodies, making certain they only consumed commercially wrapped sweets, to protect them from anything slipped into their bags with sinister intent.   But I took quiet happiness watching them sort and divide their treats equally between them, with no prompting from me.  I loved how they cared for one another.

To me Halloween is dedicated to celebrating children and their delight in make-believe.  It can also be an evening for other celebrations so I encourage you to take extra care to be safe.  I wish you a safe and magical Halloween.

Warmly, Jan

Alisa and Jenni, Halloween 1980

Ghosts and goblins are not the scariest part of Halloween
By MADD | October 28, 2011 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , General

Halloween night is one of the deadliest nights of the year because of those driving under the influence.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on Halloween night in 2009, 48 percent of all highway fatalities across the nation involved a driver or a motorcycle rider with a BAC of .08 or higher.
MADD urges both partygoers and trick-or-treaters to plan ahead to keep everyone safe.

Hosting a Halloween party:

• Never serve alcohol to those under the age of 21
• Plan safe parties, including providing non-alcoholic drink options to guests and not serving alcohol during the last hour of the party
• Be prepared to get everyone home safe in case your plans change

Going trick-or-treating:

• Be extra alert when crossing the street
• Wear bright, reflective clothing or add reflective tape to costume and treat bucket
• Bring a flashlight (with extra batteries) so you can see and be seen at night

Do your part to help keep this Halloween merry, not scary, by planning ahead and designating a sober driver.  

Drugged Driving: A Growing Threat on Our Roadways
By Jan Withers | October 13, 2011 | Filed in: Drugged Driving , General , National President , Victim Services

For more than 30 years, MADD has worked hard to put a face to the statistics.  Study after study shows what happens when alcohol and driving are mixed — tragedy.  But while drunk driving remains one of the primary threats on America’s roadways, alcohol isn’t the only drug that causes heartbreak on our roadways.  We are also seeing a growing trend of poly-abuse (both alcohol and other drugs) and drugged driving crashes.  Although the substances are different, the consequences are the same — needless deaths and injuries. 

Just ask Hollywood Ruch and Stephanie Call.  Both are speaking at today’s event after personally being impacted by drivers under the influence of drugs. 

Here’s what we’re up against according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• Roughly one in eight weekend, nighttime drivers tested positive for illicit drugs.
• In 2009, of the drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes (and were subsequently tested and had results reported), one in three tested positive for drugs.
• One in ten high school seniors self-reported that in the last two weeks they had driven a car after using marijuana.

The ripple effects after a crash are as deep as they are wide.  At MADD, we like to say: first there is the crash … then there is the impact.  That is why since our founding, MADD has provided support to victims and survivors of drunk driving crashes.  After my daughter Alisa died, I turned to MADD for help.  And what I found was that not only did I get help, I got hope too. 

For the past 17 years, I’ve personally served as a victim advocate and have worked with hundreds of families, some of which lost their loved ones to a drugged driver.   Each case is as heartbreaking as the next. 

While MADD has been providing support for those victims and survivors of drugged driving crashes who have been referred to or have reached out to MADD, until now, MADD has not made specific national efforts to reach these underserved victims. Today, in recognition of the growing problem of poly-abuse and drugged driving, we are announcing alongside the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy the launch of a national coordinated effort to reach out to the underserved and growing number of drugged driving victims in the country.

Corporal David Andracsik

In addition to victim services, MADD will also begin honoring those law enforcement officers who are pioneers in discovering effective strategies for recognizing drugged driving. At MADD, we believe that recognizing officers who make significant contributions to ending drugged driving is key to raising awareness about this growing threat to American families.

Starting this year, an award, known as the ‘MADD Hero Award for Drugged Driving Enforcement,’ will be awarded biannually to a law enforcement agency, individual or group that has made significant contributions toward getting drugged drivers off of the nation’s roadways.  I am proud today to share that the first winner of the MADD Hero Award for Drugged Driving Enforcement is Corporal David Andracsik of the Pennsylvania State Police Department Bureau of Patrol.  We thank Corporal Andracsik for all he has done to help protect people and prevent injuries.

You can help support this exciting new aspect to our organization’s ongoing efforts to save lives and serve people.  Make a donation or find out how you can become a trained victim advocate.  MADD needs people like you to push our lifesaving mission forward.

MADD Hawaii’s Roaring Rendition of Fashionable Flapper Fun(d)raiser
By Jan Withers | October 10, 2011 | Filed in: General , National President

Magical weather, Magical flowers, Magical friends, Magical MADD Cab Affair

Aloha.  Travelling to Hawaii to share in a creative, festive, and fruitful affair was worth every hour on the plane. 

To be met at the airport by MADD Hawaii’s ED, Jennifer Dotson, to be greeted at the MADD Cab Affair the next evening by delightful volunteers all decked out in 1920’s flapper outfits, to enjoy an evening of dining, entertainment and bidding competition on silent auction items, and to have cabs escort all the guests to and from the event in style was an evening that I will always cherish.  The evening was a roaring success.  

Then the following evening to gather with MADD Hawaii Council members at the home of Sara and Peter Dudgeon, overlooking the waves off Diamond Head, was as relaxing as the company was enjoyable.   What a weekend!

The volunteers in MADD Hawaii are amazing.   Many have been with MADD since they formed the chapter in 1983.   Their dedication and skills are inspirational.  Others have joined more recently, bringing new talent and expertise to MADD’s mission of saving lives and supporting victims.  I left wanting more.   That says everything.