Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), formerly Students Against Driving Drunk, is an organization whose aim is to prevent accidents from students taking potentially destructive decisions.
Mission
"SADD empowers and mobilizes students and adult allies to engage in positive change through leadership and smart decision-making."
Profile
SADD's approach involves young people presenting education and prevention messages to their peers through school and community activities. Projects include peer-led classes and forums, teen workshops, conferences and rallies, prevention education and leadership training, awareness-raising activities and legislative work.
History
SADD was founded by at
Wayland High School in
in 1981 by hockey coach Robert Anastas after a drunk driving incident took the lives of two of the school's hockey players. He and a group of 15 students developed the SADD concept and the Contract for Life. In 1982, SADD went national with offices founded throughout Massachusetts,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, and
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
. In 1984,
Dear Abby
Dear Abby is an American advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Phillips under the pen name "Abigail Van Buren" and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name.
History
According to Pauline ...
and
Ann Landers printed the Contract for Life, suggesting to all readers that they request a copy from SADD. The SADD National office was inundated with 8,000 requests per week for six weeks. Also that year, "Contract for Life: The SADD Story" aired on
CBS as a CBS Schoolbreak Special, and Carl Olson, the first SADD president at Wayland High School, was appointed by the Director of Health and Human Services as the only student to a three-year panel studying the alcoholism in America.
The following year, SADD offices were established in Germany and Guam. Also in 1985, SADD had its first presidential moment when
President Reagan met with SADD students of
River Dell High School
River Dell High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school, part of the River Dell Regional School District, which is shared with the neighboring communities of Oradell and River Edge in Bergen County, in the U.S. state ...
in New Jersey.
In 1989, SADD offices were established in schools in the Soviet Union. Also that year, the SADD National Board of Directors voted to cease accepting contributions from the alcohol industry.
In 1990, The American College of Physicians awarded the Edward G. Loveland Memorial Award to SADD for its contributions to the health field.
In 1992, William Cullinane became Executive Director of SADD.
The following year, the SADD Board of Directors voted not to accept funds from the alcohol industry.
In 1995, SADD received a letter of commendation from
President Bill Clinton. The next year,
Margaret Altstaetter, SADD Student of the Year 1995-1996, was invited to participate in the White House Leadership Conference on Youth, Drug Use and Violence.
In 2018, First Lady Melania Trump addressed the SADD National Conference. As part of her Be Best campaign, Mrs. Trump spoke on the importance of kindness, compassion, and positivity.
In 2019, SADD received a grant from the
California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) for $311,000. The grant was awarded to focus on educating the community on the dangers of impaired driving.
Chapters
A new name, Students Against Destructive Decisions, was adopted in 1997.
In 1999, three Student Leadership Council members, Lynsey Ross, Jereme McBride, and Carrie LeBlanc, were appointed to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Leadership Team.
SADD's Board of Directors appointed Penny Wells as its new President and Executive Director in 2000.
SADD launched its National Scholarship Program in 2002, awarding its first two scholarships the following year.
In 2004, Jacqueline Hackett, Executive Committee member of the 2003-2004 SADD National SLC, testified before the Congressional Subcommittee on Education Reform at the hearing "Preventing Underage Drinking: What Works?".
In 2007, SADD attended a special White House event during which
President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
highlighted a decline in youth drug use from 2001 to 2007.
In 2008, SADD partnered with the White House's
National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign to raise awareness about the link between stress and drug use among teens and about prescription drug use.
By 2009, the SADDvocate, SADD's monthly e-newsletter for students and advisors, had reached more than 11,000 subscribers.
In 2010 SADD successfully lobbied for the introduction of the STARS (Students Taking Action for Road Safety) Act. In October, SADD received an international drug abuse prevention award from the Queen of Sweden. Also,
The Mentor International Foundation presented SADD with the 2010 Youth Initiative Award for "Mobilizing the Community: Youth Taking the Lead". SADD also took part in the
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
led "No phone zone day".
References
External links
*
*
*
PEACE Guam: Underage Drinking and Alcohol Abuse
* {{cite web, url=http://dontdriveandtext.org/Statistics, title=Don't drive and text, access-date=2012-02-05, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228174757/http://dontdriveandtext.org/Statistics, archive-date=2012-02-28
Driving under the influence
Student organizations established in 1981
Temperance organizations in the United States
1981 establishments in Massachusetts