Get Involved - SADD
Description | History | How
to Start | Register | Conference
Students
Against Destructive Decisions |
SADD (Students Against Destructive
Decisions) 
was originally founded as Students Against
Driving Drunk, and is a school-based organization dedicated to addressing
the issues of underage drinking, impaired driving, drug use, and
other destructive decisions and killers of young people.
SADD's mission is to provide students with the best prevention and
intervention tools possible to deal with the serious issues young
adults are facing today. Empowerment is the foundation of SADD. The
idea of empowerment is to build students' confidence and ability
to create changes and manage behavior in a way that results in healthy
choices.
SADD promotes a "no use" message of alcohol and other
drugs and encourages students not to participate in activities with
destructive consequences.
SADD offers life lessons that will lead young people well into the
21st century.
[back to
top]
SADD was founded in 1981 as "Students Against Driving Drunk" by
Robert Anastas and his Wayland High School students in Wayland, Massachusetts.
Two Wayland High School hockey players were killed in separate crashes
that July, which led Mr. Anastas to work together with his students
to found the SADD organization. At that time, impaired driving
was the number one killer of teens, accounting for over 6,000 teen
deaths each year. In 1997, in response to requests from SADD
students themselves, SADD expanded its mission and adopted a new
name, "Students Against Destructive Decisions."
The core of SADD is still the SADD
Contract for Life that was formulated by Mr. Anastas and his
students. SADD is the only national student-based organization
that highlights prevention of all destructive behaviors and attitudes
that are harmful to young people, including underage drinking,
substance abuse, impaired driving, violence, suicide, and other
issues which affect teenagers' lives.
[back to
top]
How
to Start a SADD Chapter |
To form a SADD Chapter in your school or community, use these 10
easy steps get started:
1. REGISTER! It's easy to register a new SADD Chapter. Go to www.saddonline.com and fill out the online form. Then contact the Kansas SADD Director, Maria
Torrez Anderson via e-mail or call her at 1-800-206-7231.
2. Put up posters, hand out flyers and make announcements at your
school telling when and where a SADD meeting will be held.
3. Set a meeting time that will fit a majority of the students’ schedules.
4. Consider providing refreshments to encourage students to attend
(snacks, pizza, soft drinks, etc.).
5. At the first meeting, be sure to discuss SADD’s “No
Use Policy” and discuss how the Chapter can address the destructive
decisions that face students today.
6. Decide how the Chapter should be run--either with elected officers
or by a team without designated titles.
7. Nominate and elect your officers or team. These individuals should
represent the SADD philosophy of a drug-free lifestyle.
8. Plan your first event or activity. You can start out with a “SADD
Week,” and plan a different activity for each day of the week.
You can close your week with an all-school assembly. This is a good
way to let other students know there is a SADD Chapter in their school
and it helps get the entire school involved.
9. After your first event, schedule monthly SADD activities. Log
on to www.saddonline.com to view the SADD National Calendar to get
ideas and learn about the different activities your chapter can do.
You can also order a SADD Chapter Starter Kit from SADD Custom Products
at 1-800-886-2972.
10. Download a SADD Membership Form by clicking here.
Complete and mail the form to SADD National. Once they receive this
form, they will process it and send out a SADD Certificate of Membership,
along with a newsletter, SADD Custom Products catalog, and activities & fundraiser
ideas.
For more information, e-mail Maria Torrez
Anderson at
mtanderson@kansasfamily.com.
[back to
top]
Calling
all SADD Chapters... |
Register with the national SADD organization to receive special
campaigns, notices and offers! Only registered chapters will receive
timely information on SADD National annual conference and the annual
Kansas statewide leadership conference, fund raising promotions,
chapter contests and brand-new campaign kits. All the more incentive to register! It takes just a minute
to register and you can do it by going to www.saddonline.org. You
are responsible for registering your chapter with SADD National every
year! Please remember to re-register, so SADD National has current
information about your chapter on file.
[back to
top]
2008 SADD National Conference
The Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa - (Litchfield Park) Phoenix, Arizona
June 22 - 25, 2008
To obtain more information about the National SADD Conference, please click this link.
KANSAS YOUTH MAKING HISTORY!
2006 - 2007 National Student Leadership Council Representative
The first Kansan to apply for and be chosen for the National Student Leadership Council for the 2006-2007 school year, Tawny Decker from Burlington High School represented the state! Way to go Tawny!
2007 - 2008 National Student Leadership Council Representative
Kansas is on a roll! Stephen Winkler, from Nemaha Valley High School was chosen to be a representative for the National Student Leadership Council and also serves on the newly formed Kansas Student Leadership Council. Thanks Stephen! See this link for more information on Stephen.
Students Against Destructive Decisions Chooses Kansas
Teenager to Represent Organization Nationally
 |
| Stephen Winkler poses with Governor Kathleen Sebelius at a recent ceremony recognizing his being named as the 2008-09 SADD National Student of the Year. |
SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), the national school-based peer-to-peer education and prevention organization, today announced that Stephen Winkler of Seneca, Kan., has been named 2008-2009 SADD National Student of the Year. Winkler will be the national student spokesperson for the organization, which has more than 10,000 chapters and hundreds of thousands of active participants in schools nationwide.
“I’m excited about the chance to make a difference and influence teens across the nation to make better life choices,” Winkler said. “I believe in SADD’s mission, and I hope to accomplish as much as possible within the next year.”
A senior at Nemaha Valley High School, Winkler has been a dedicated SADD student for the last four years and has been very involved with the organization at the local, state, and national levels. He currently serves as a member of the 2007-2008 SADD National Student Leadership Council.
“Stephen has been an exceptional spokesperson for SADD, working tirelessly to ensure that teens are fully aware of the perils of underage drinking and other drug use,” said Penny Wells, president and executive director of SADD. “Being chosen SADD National Student of the Year is a great honor and a natural progression for him. We are sure he will thrive as a leader, an educator, and an important voice and advocate for teens nationwide.”
Student of the Year responsibilities include publicly addressing issues affecting teens, serving a one-year term on the SADD National Board of Directors, and leading 12 extraordinary youth leaders who comprise the SADD National Student Leadership Council (SLC). The SLC advises the SADD National Board of Directors on policies and programs, plans and implements the SADD annual national conference, and serves as a national and regional student representation network. Winkler will begin his term as the SADD National Student of the Year during SADD’s annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona, in June. An event will be held in Seneca this spring to introduce Winkler as the new SADD National Student of the Year. Details of the event will be announced at a later date.
Winkler is the vice president of his SADD chapter, an active member of the Kansas SADD Student Leadership Council. He has served on the Kansas Youth Leadership Summit Training and Kansas Red Ribbon Training. In 2007, Winkler received the esteemed Nemaha Valley High School Leadership Award for his involvement with SADD at the local, state and national levels. He also works on his school’s yearbook, is a member of the National Honor Society, on the Superior Honor Role, and is involved in forensics as a state competitor. Way to go, Stephen!
[back to top]
BIG AWARDS AT 2007 NATIONAL
National Advisor of the Year - 3rd Place: Sharon Henry, Burlington High School
Spirit Stick - The Kansas delegation won the spirit stick award this year!
See this link for more info.
For more information about the SADD National
Conference, click here to
visit the SADD web site.
[back to
top]
Kansas SADD Wins 2007 National Spirit Stick Award |
|