A community’s commitment to ending impaired driving should involve a wide array of community and civic groups for both immediate and long-term success. Just about any group active in the community, from Kiwanis, Junior League and other service groups, to religious groups, to Toastmasters, to the PTA, can make a difference. Every organization is somehow touched by the tragedy caused by impaired driving.
These groups speak with credibility to their members and can engage their members in supporting and dedicating time and resources to 3D Prevention Month activities.
Bring in these organizations early when planning your 3D campaign. Do you have a Safe Communities coalition? If these organizations are not already part of it, invite them to join. (For more information on becoming a Safe Community, see Program Publications for Planner 20).
Educate them about the scope of the impaired driving problem in the community and engage them in identifying the challenge and setting the goals for 3D activities. Learn about their mission and activities and collaborate with them in identifying their best contribution to the effort. Work with them to understand how to best build on their existing activities, structure, network, and visibility in the community to support 3D Prevention Month.
Public organizational endorsements of 3D efforts will increase the visibility and support for 3D activities; a group’s president can write a letter of support to local newspapers and attend news conferences that announce 3D activities.
Groups can provide volunteers to support 3D efforts. For example, groups could schedule times at which their members would distribute red ribbons at gathering places such as town centers and malls. Find out if your local law enforcement agency needs volunteers to support its 3D activities.
Organizations can inform and educate their own members. For example, an organization’s newsletter can include facts about the burden of impaired driving in the community as well as provide recipes for non-alcoholic party drinks and offer safe hosting tips. In their communications with members, – banners, bulletin boards, e-mail or other methods – they can remind them to participate in community activities, such as "Lights On for Life." Speakers at meetings can include experts on the effects of drinking and driving, such as law enforcement officers, medical professionals, or individuals who have been hurt by this violent crime.
Organizations that are seeking expert speakers may find success through the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) or Emergency Nurses CARE (Cancel Alcohol-Related Emergencies). Under programs developed by these organizations, emergency physicians and nurses in communities around the nation have volunteered to speak to civic groups on highway safety issues. ACEP’s members are prepared to speak to audiences on impaired driving, aggressive driving and speed, inexperienced drivers and other topics. Emergency Nurses CARE has developed a presentation on impaired driving for teens and young adults, a presentation on medications and highway safety for audiences age 55 and older, and a presentation on alcohol, drugs and peer pressure for third to fifth graders. For potential speakers in your area, contact:
| American College of Emergency Physicians | |
| Ken King P.O. Box 619911 Dallas, TX 75261-9911 |
Phone: 800-798-1822, ext. 3236 E-mail: kking@acep.org |
| Emergency Nurses CARE | |
| 205 S. Whiting Street, Suite 403 Alexandria, VA 22304 |
Phone: 703-370-4050 E-mail: encare@aol.com |
Also, check out resources available from members of the National 3D Prevention Month Coalition (page 34).
| SUCCESS STORY! |
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FANNING THE FLAMES OF UNITY: MADD CHAPTER REACHES HISPANICS IN DALLAS Since 1996, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has included a full-time bilingual victim advocate on its staff to support Spanish-speaking victims. Adelita Avila provides grief support by phone and home visits, accompanies victims to court, facilitates support groups and helps victims access the crime victims’ fund. "Our board believes our mission cannot be accomplished unless we make the commitment to serve our entire community," explains Mary Lavender, MADD Metroplex board president, about the chapter’s commitment to staff and resources for Hispanic outreach. "Our message must reach the growing Hispanic community if we are in the business of saving lives." Avila and other bilingual chapter volunteers regularly attend block parties, churches, schools and other events where they might have a forum to talk about MADD’s victim services, ways to stop drunk driving and Texas laws on drinking and driving. Because requests for Spanish speakers sometimes outnumber available bilingual volunteers, the Metroplex chapter has worked with physician-assistant students at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. As part of a class project, these students created a slide show to emphasize the dangers of drinking and driving to area Hispanics. Allstate Latino Employees Reaching for Tomorrow (ALERT) has provided other bilingual volunteers. ALERT members have staffed health fair booths and fundraising projects for MADD including the Kmart Kids Race Against Drugs. Other Metroplex chapter projects include "La Promesa Roja" – which means "the red oath" – which compliments MADD’s holiday "Tie One on for Safety" campaign. The Metroplex chapter distributes the ribbons with cards in Spanish that include statistics and general impaired-driving information. NOTE: This success story was adapted from an article by Bobby Heard in the spring 1999 issue of Driven, a MADD publication. For additional information, contact:
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