‘I don’t want someone to kill someone to realize it’s not OK’: SADD

“It had a huge impact to really bring to reality that it can happen to people and how hard it is to deal with after,” she said. “Knowing that it happened to someone this close, it just brings it to reality.”

At the school, five students are involved in SADD, and they have a facilitator. To try and combat the problem, the group raised money to buy a sign. The message reads: “Friends don’t let friends drink and drive.”

The sign is located near Candle Lake.

“It’s a really ‘big’ place that teenagers go during the summer to have a good time,” she said. “We thought it would be a great place to put it because it’s one of the places that didn’t have a sign and it was one of the places we thought it would be the best for students to see and for people to be reminded.”

“Putting it at the lake it catches everyone, not just teenagers, but everyone who’s out there to have fun.”

In order to make the purchase, they put on several fundraisers within the school including food sales, raffles, movie nights, and dances. They paired this year’s earnings with funds from previous years. In total, they came up with $650.

Taylor Corriveau, also in Grade 11, said she’s been involved since Grade 8 as well when she became president of their chapter.

“It’s close to my heart because although no one close to me has died of this, kids my age are dying of drinking and driving; well, people everywhere [are],” she said. “I just think that if I can prevent the loss of life that I want to act on that.”

“I don’t want someone to kill someone to realize it’s not OK.”

By spreading awareness through these signs and fundraisers she said she hopes to drive home the message that drinking and driving is not OK.

Julie Vacca, the group’s facilitator, said she’s excited to see the results of the kid’s hard work.

“Just seeing young kids take this on is really inspiring for me, just to see them take interest in something so important, because there are so many kids these days that have died from drinking and driving, or distracted driving even,” she said. “With texts being so popular, people just aren’t paying attention when they drive.”

Vacca said the group’s goal of spreading awareness is something she is happy to stand by.

“Kids usually listen to kids more than they do from adults,” she said. “I think it’s great.”

“I love seeing kids take the initiative to stand up and say hey, we need to teach other kids about this stuff because it’s not OK.”

The sign is now located up at Candle Lake by the Family Pizza. She said they chose a prominent place where people can see it, which just so happens to be by the bar “So when people leave they can’t miss it.”

asoloducha@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha

by Alex Soloducha

‘I don’t want someone to kill someone to realize it’s not OK’: SADD

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