MADD’s Tie One On For Safety campaign is the organization’s largest public awareness program. The campaign runs in the holiday seasons, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, in which we encourage drivers to tie a MADD red ribbon to a visible location on their vehicles. The red ribbon is a symbol of the motorist’s pledge to drive sober and serves as a reminder to other motorists to do the same. In 2002 from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, a total of 1,561 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes.

     MADD’s Candlelight Vigil of Remembrance and Hope are conducted in December of every year to remember the victims of drunk driving crashes, to support their families, to alert the public about the reality of drunk driving, and to express hope for a less violent future for us all.

The most poignant of all MADD’s special events, it is no coincidence that Candlelight Vigils are scheduled near Christmas and Hanukkah.  Candlelight Vigils are a special opportunity for families of those killed and injured to remember and honor their loved one at the time of the year traditionally involving family and friends.  Vigils offer families a special setting in which to say, “We love you. We miss you- and even as we celebrate the holidays, you are in our thoughts and in our hearts.

     Victim Impact Panels is also a program that is conducted on a weekly basis, for more information, please visit our events page.

     An Education Scholarship Program is available through Texans for Equal Justice.  The scholarship is called Maybelle Bonin Mother-Child Survivors' Educational Scholarship Program.  Eligible applicants must be either:  1) Surviving mothers with one or more minor children whose father lost his life to an act of violence such as homicide, DWI crash, manslaughter, etc. and the mother is in need of further education to better support the family; 2) A child/children wishing to attend college or vocational school who have lost one or both parents to an act of violence.  Please contact Texans for Equal Justice at (936) 788-2273 for an application.

     Operation Prom and Graduation - It is that time of year when high school students attend proms and graduation parties.  Learn how you can help organize a sober prom or graduation celebration for your school.  Contact us, west.tx@madd.org to get started.