Dear Friend,

On July 4, 2002 God picked up my only brother, Don Polanski, on the side of the road where a drunk driver killed him. He was my only sibling. I trusted Don with thoughts, secrets, stories, and dreams of mine that only he knew. Some of my dreams died with him and my soul was shattered. My only comfort in this is that if God gave my brother a choice of how he had to die, Viet Nam , illness or on his Harley, my brother would have picked the Harley. The hardest thing I ever had to do was to tell my 82 year old Mom that a drunk killed her son.

MADD was right there to help me. Don lived in Texas , and I in Chicago . MADD intervened and carried me through a situation I had no idea how to handle.   From emotional strength and support to thorough and basic explanations of the law and legal process: What to expect, what to react to and what not to freak out about, as some things are just part of the process.

MADD kept in touch with the District Attorney’s office and saved me several trips to Texas when the drunk would have a court appearance prior to his trial. The drunk was released on bail right after he killed Don, but was picked up within six months for drunk driving, drugs, and weapons. MADD helped me keep him in jail this time.

Everyone is at risk when drunk drivers are on the road, and all families suffer. I am a single mom and my children were only 17, 15, and 12 when they were devastated by this intoxication manslaughter of their uncle.  But at the trial, the teen age kids of the drunk were there too. My heart was confused about the loss they would experience with their father being taken away from them, yet I pray the drunk serves every day of the 10 years sentence.

The services of MADD are a necessity in our society. Both private and public funding needs to be available for the continuation of their “gift” to those of us in need. 

Please support MADD financially, publicly, through advocacy or in prayer. The wounds of those of us, who have experienced this loss, reopen every time we know another family as been stabbed by the pain of a drunk driving loss.

Drive Safely and Drink Responsibly,

Thank you,

Cindy Polanski-Copenhaver

Cindy Polanski-Copenhaver