HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), formerly Students Against Driving Drunk, is an organization whose aim is to prevent incidents from students making 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
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
in 1981 by hockey coach
Robert Anastas Robert Anastas (born 1934) is an American former hockey coach and teacher at Wayland High School from Hudson, Massachusetts. Anastas was an All American Football and Ice Hockey player for American International College. He was drafted by the ...
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 is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, New York,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
,
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
, and
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
. 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 Pau ...
and
Ann Landers Ann Landers was a pen name created by ''Chicago Sun-Times'' advice columnist Ruth Crowley in 1943 and taken over by Esther Pauline "Eppie" Lederer in 1955. For 56 years, the ''Ask Ann Landers'' syndicated advice column was a regular featur ...
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 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. 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 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) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
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