November 2001 Newsletter

7th Annual Red Ribbon Run
This year's 7th Annual Red Ribbon Run is looking like it will be the most successful ever. Every year we get more and more repeat runners as well as first time participants. We are also seeing a large number of walkers.

The Red Ribbon Run is held in Alexandria at 4:00 pm on New Year's Eve. All participants also receive reduced admission to First Night Alexandria. There is no better way for families to celebrate the holiday. Because this event emphasizes healthy and fun physical activity, we hope that it encourages many people in our area to have a safe and sane holiday.

As always, we could not do any special events without the generous support of our corporate sponsors. This year's Red Ribbon Run sponsors are Nissan North America, Connection Newspapers, Holiday Inn Eisenhower Metro Center, Acumen Heart Rate Monitors, Virginia Paving, Odwalla Water, & Bagel Place.

The flyer that is enclosed is suitable for copying (as well as for your use to register for the race) and we hope that you will be willing to make copies and to put them up at your work or at your place of worship. If you have kids or grandchildren in school in the area, we ask that you send a copy to school for the bulletin board.

Also, we need volunteers to help with registration and to be course monitors. No experience is necessary. If you can spare a few hours on Monday afternoon, December 31st, please call the office to volunteer.

We've Moved!
The MADD NoVA office is now located in Suite 500 at 5881 Leesburg Pike (on Route 7, just North of Columbia Pike), Falls Church. Please stop by for a visit.

Have You Seen Our Website?
One of the best ways to keep up with what is happening in Northern Virginia MADD is to visit our website. The site is maintained by one of our volunteer board members, Jessica Wexler, and has some fancy new features. In addition to having copies of our newsletters, the site has facts and information that is more current than you will ever get in the mail.

We are very fortunate to have our web presence donated by SoloServer, our Internet service provider. For the past year, SoloServer has very generously waived its fee for our account. We very much appreciate their continuing support.

To see our website, go to our web address at www.maddnova.org. Please stop by our site and then let us know what you think.

The State of Our Youth
Underage drinking and impaired driving among people under 21 years old continues to be a major problem for our community. The Fairfax County Falls Church Community Services Board released a report detailing youth drug abuse in Fairfax County. The results were compiled from a survey of Fairfax County Public Schools 8th, 10th and 12th grades. The results are amazing, but not shocking. Forty-two percent of 8th graders, 61% of 10th graders and 77% of 12th graders have tried alcohol in the past year.

Millie Webb, National President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, states that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Household Survey on Drug Abuse shows disappointing results in the fight against youth alcohol use, reporting an estimated 9.7 million youth (27.5 %) aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to the survey. Of these, 6.6 million (18.7%) were binge drinkers and 2.1 million (6 percent) were heavy drinkers.

Our society needs to realize that underage alcohol use is a significant threat to the safety of our youth. It is time for us to come to grips with this widespread, devastating public health problem. In order to reduce youth alcohol consumption and alcohol-related fatalities, we have got to convince our young adults that underage drinking is uncool, unsafe, unlawful and socially unacceptable.

Our chapter has the ability to talk with the youth in our area and we have the ability to make a difference. Going into our local school systems and speaking with our youth will help deter these young adults from making poor choices. If you are interested in speaking or having a guest speaker visit, please call 703-352-3944 for further details.

Please --Use A Designated Driver -- Every time!

President's Letter
As this is my first contribution to the newsletter, I want to again express my sincere appreciation to past-President David Kelly for all of his tireless efforts in the fight against drunk driving. He is a wonderful friend and mentor, and he is an inspiration to many.

Throughout the spring and summer, we have been improving our programs and developing some new, outstanding programs right here in Northern Virginia. Kerry Kirk, our program director, is coordinating our Victim Advocates and the ongoing Victim Support Group. Kerry and Mike Green, our Executive Director, have been working hard on Operation ID Checker, and we are seeing some immediate results in the fight against underage drinking at local establishments. MADD speakers are visiting local schools and reaching out to the youth in Northern Virginia. We now have a Designated Driver Program at The Daily Grill, and we hope to expand this program during the next year. Mike and Kerry are looking to bring some exciting MADD National programs to Northern Virginia, and we are always searching for innovative approaches to working with youth.

These programs are about saving lives. The fight against drunk driving across the United States and in Northern Virginia is far from over. Last year, we experienced the largest percentage increase in alcohol-related traffic deaths on record for our nation. This is devastating news for all of us - each of these 16,653 deaths was preventable, and we must make every effort to prevent these senseless tragedies.

As we enter into the holiday season, many of us will be celebrating with friends and family. Unfortunately, we are also entering the deadliest time of the year for drunk driving fatalities. During the holidays, we will continue to partner with local law enforcement to crack down on drunk driving. We will work with the media, in our schools, and in the community to deliver our message. And we will continue to support our victims during this difficult time of the year.

Your support has never been more important! You can make a difference in so many ways, including volunteering for events, renewing your membership, donating your car through our car donation program, calling your legislator, or simply running in our annual Red Ribbon Run on New Year's Eve - I look forward to seeing everyone there!

Dan Ingram

Operation ID Checker
Thanks to a grant from the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, we have joined together with the Arlington Police and Sheriff, Marymount University, local restaurants, and Intelli-Check, Inc., in an effort to reduce underage drinking by deploying plain-clothed law enforcement officers using sophisticated technology to check IDs at area drinking establishments. The officers, who look like regular "bouncers," will arrest anyone found with a fake ID. Since this program is aimed at deterrence, not punishment, please spread the word that using a fake ID carries big risks.

Designated Driver Restaurant Program Now Operating
The Chapter has started a Designated Driver Program in area restaurants. The first restaurant on board is The Daily Grill at Tyson's Corner. We hope to have more restaurants involved in the near future. The Designated Driver Program Guidelines include: the designated driver shall be provided with complimentary non-alcoholic beverages; designated driver program materials shall be displayed in the restaurant; all groups of two or more persons who order alcoholic beverages shall be offered the opportunity of having one member of the group be a designated driver (who will not consume any alcoholic beverages); and a designated driver sticker and brochure shall be given to the person electing to be the designated driver.

If you know of a restaurant that might agree to participate, please call Kerry Kirk at 703-352-3944 and she will take it from there.

PosterESSAY Contest Coming Soon
The flyers announcing the 2002 PosterESSAY Contest will be mailed to area schools this month. This year's topic will be "Booze Drains Kids' Brains." In the past, the prizes have included savings accounts, movie tickets, and other fabulous awards. If your school has not announced the contest by the middle of January, call the MADD office at 703-352-3944 and we will send you a flyer to take to the principal. Last year, many students did not have the opportunity to enter the contest because their schools did not get the word out in time. Don't let this happen at your school!

Special Ways to Give to MADD
Many companies in this area have matching gifts programs. In these programs, the company will match, sometimes even more than match, any donation that you make to a charity like MADD. These matching gifts are an excellent way to make the most of your philanthropic dollar. To find out if your company has a matching gifts program, just contact your administrative or personnel office to get the form and send it with your check to us at: MADD; P.O. Box 1066; Fairfax, VA 22030. We will then take care of the paperwork and your gift will go even farther to provide services right here in Northern Virginia.

Another easy way to make a gift to MADD is to donate appreciated securities. Although the stock market is not sailing along like it has for the past several years, many MADD supporters have achieved considerable long-term gains with their stocks and mutual funds. These gains provide a great opportunity to help MADD and get a special tax break.

Under ordinary circumstances, these gains would be taxed when the stock or mutual fund is sold. However, a special section of the Internal Revenue Code allows a donor to give the stock or mutual fund to MADD and not only deduct its full fair market value but also to completely avoid paying tax on the gain. If you would like to take advantage of this special opportunity to both avoid capital gains taxes and get a charitable deduction, just call the chapter's executive director, Mike Green, at 703-352-3944.

MADD Can Help You
Some say that time heals all wounds....MADD is here in the meantime. Do you or does someone you know need help from MADD? If so, help is just a telephone call away. When you call, we will address your concerns the best we can and then, if you desire, we will refer you to a MADD Northern Virginia victim advocate. Many of our trained advocates have been crash victims themselves. In addition to immediate telephone help, MADD has a wide selection of publications for crash victims. While MADD does not provide financial assistance, your victim advocate can help you apply for Crime Victims compensation funds. Also, MADD and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) have prepared a series of brochures, Picking Up the Financial Pieces. We are proud to be able to provide these services free of charge.

Your victim advocate can inform you about criminal justice procedures in Northern Virginia and, in many cases, is able to go to court with you. Your victim advocate will be able to provide a list of professional counselors and civil attorneys in the community who are skilled at working with crash victims. We also offer a victim support group where you can meet other families who share your experience.

The MADD Northern Virginia Victim Support Group meets monthly. This group, led by a Licensed Professional Counselor, has proven to be very valuable to many families who have been victimized by drunk drivers. The group is quite informal and is provided at no cost to the group members. For more information, just call the chapter office or the group's facilitator, Sherry Platt, at 703-978-3025.

Until we are able to stop drunk driving, we know that we must do all that we can for the victims of this violent crime. The Northern Virginia Chapter of MADD is the place to go to get the help that drunk driving victims need. We are here to help. Call us at 703-352-3944 if we can help you.

Red Ribbons Are Available
Red Ribbons are available for individuals or groups who will put them on their cars this holiday season. By tying a MADD Red Ribbon on a visible part of your car, you help to remind yourself and others to have a safe holiday. The ribbon is a constant reminder that we must all be ever vigilant for the alcohol-impaired driver.

There are several ways to get your ribbons this year. You can get yours by calling the office at 703-352-3944, by asking for one when you send in your dues or donation, or by joining us at the Red Ribbon Run. Also, if your place of employment is willing to hand out ribbons at your holiday party or to put ribbons in employee pay envelopes, please let us know and we will get them a supply.

Vehicle Donations Program Needs You
You have probably heard on the radio a number of ads by charities asking for tax-deductible automobile donations. MADD also has a vehicle donations program and we think that we have the best program in the area.

If you have an old car, truck, van, etc., that you might consider donating, call us at 703-779-7534 and we will answer all of your questions. Our program takes all of the hassle out of the process.

Even if you do not have a car to donate, you can be a big help. Please let others know about the program by posting the enclosed flyer at your place of employment or worship.

Executive Director's Letter
By the time you receive this newsletter, the Virginia election results will be in and we will know what kind of governance our state will have for the next few years. But, just because the election is over, it is not time for us to sit back and let our legislators and the new governor run the state without input from the people who elected them. We must also be alert to the fact that there will be many special interest groups, including those who want softer laws against drunk driving, trying to push their agendas.

While there are many issues that the legislators must deal with, and many of them will catch the public eye, there are also issues that appear to be small but can have devastating consequences if they are not carefully considered from all angles. In Richmond, our Virginia legislators, every session, have the opportunity to take the most dangerous drunk driving offenders off the roads. Let's hope that they do a better job this year than they did last session.

Last year, several laws were passed that made it easier for drunk drivers to escape appropriate punishment. For example, under prior law, when a person was convicted of a DUI, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) would administratively impose the drivers license sanctions required by law. Unfortunately the legislature passed and the governor signed a new law that prohibits the DMV from doing this. The result is that there are now individuals whose drivers licenses should have been revoked or suspended that are legally driving - and could be driving drunk right now.

As another example, it is ironic that while our laws provide for enhanced penalties for repeat drunk drivers, some other laws allow a person's second or third or higher drunk driving violation to be considered a first offense or to be plea bargained down to reckless driving. While this is intolerable, it is even more intolerable that the Virginia Supreme Court and DMV statistical databases are now designed such that the public cannot even get the data to determine the extent of this problem.

As a nation, we should not be compelled to live in fear of being killed by those who choose to put us in danger whenever we drive our automobiles. As thinking citizens, we must mobilize to protect ourselves from killers who ignore the law and who make the conscious decision to put us all at risk - those who elect to drive while drunk.

It is impossible to understand the reasoning of a legislator who refuses to do all that is possible to keep drunk drivers from killing and maiming the citizens of Virginia. Now is the time to call your legislator and ask what steps he or she will take to make us safe from drunk drivers. Do we really want legislators who pay lip service to safety and then vote for laws that allow drunk drivers to operate on our highways with impunity?

Mike Green

We Need Your Help!!!
As part of our moving into new offices, we have consolidated our computer systems. Thanks to the efforts of our chapter president, Dan Ingram, and our web guru, Jessica Wexler, we have updated and improved our office network, our Internet web site, our membership list and our mailing list.

But, as with any progress, there will undoubtedly be some regression. We may have overlooked that your membership was due for renewal. We may have inadvertently pulled up an old address that you thought we had fixed long ago. You may have asked us to take you off our list and you would rather that we had not sent you this newsletter. We may have your name spelled wrong. You may have received two copies of this newsletter when one would do just fine.

If any of these errors - or any others - have occurred, please let us know. We, of course, want everyone who is interested in us to get our mailings. But at the same time, we do not want to waste your time or our postage if you do not want to hear from us. So please call us at 703-352-3944, e-mail us at office@maddnova.org, or write us at P.O. Box 1066; Fairfax, VA 22030, to let us know of any mistakes.

While we are correcting things, please let us know your e-mail address. We are very anxious to be able to get you important information in a timely manner and e-mail is how we do it. To get on our e-mail interest list, just send us an e-mail at <office@maddnova.org> and we will be able to keep you better informed. Remember, we never sell or rent your personal information to any other organization.

Bumper Stickers Available
Several people have called the MADD Office recently asking if we have bumper stickers. Since MADD bumper stickers are often used as stocking stuffers, we have purchased a supply of the most often requested and they are available now. Click here to see more stickers.

The newest ones are red with white lettering and look like the one pictured here. In addition to referring to the death of a "Friend" we have them referring to Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, Son, Daughter, Grandchild, and Someone I Love. We also have one of this style that ends "...Injured Someone I Love."

Finally, we have several of the older bumper stickers. Many of them are one or two of a kind but we have several each of the ones shown below. We also have the small silver style with the MADD name and logo.

If you want one, please put a note in the membership and donations envelope and let us know your choice.