SADD grant awarded to Towns County High School

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – For the fifth consecutive year, Towns County High School was awarded a grant by the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) to fund SADD, Students against Destructive Decisions. The $6500 grant, which runs through June 30, will provide a guest speaker who will encourage students to make good decisions while behind the wheel of a vehicle, send students to the GOHS Young Adults Conference at Calloway Gardens, and obtain supplies for the local SADD Club.

Towns County Schools received a 2016 SADD grant in excess of $20,000 to purchase a vehicle for the Driver’s Education program. In 2019, the high school was awarded over $6,000. “Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers,” Roy Perren said. “This grant will help provide students with the education and decision-making skills needed to avoid tragedy. Along with our Driver’s Education Program, this grant will help prepare young drivers in Towns County to be safer when they get behind the wheel.”

According to the National  Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately two-thirds of the people killed in fatal young-driver crashes are the young drivers themselves or the passengers (of all ages) of the young drivers. Of the passengers killed riding in vehicles with young drivers, 67 percent are in the same 15-to-20-year-old age group as the drivers. Fifty-six percent of the fatal crashes and 57 percent of the fatalities involving young drivers occur on rural roadways.

Founded in 1981, SADD works to empower teens, engage parents, mobilize communities, and change lives related to the issues of teen traffic safety, substance abuse, and personal health and safety. “One thing that has always remained a constant is SADD’s unique and effective approach that involves young people delivering education and prevention messages to their peers through school and community-wide activities and campaigns responsive to the needs of their particular locations,” the national organization explains. “Projects may include peer-led classes and theme-focused forums, teen workshops, conferences and rallies,  prevention education and leadership training, awareness-raising activities, and legislative work. Independent studies have shown that students in schools with an established SADD chapter are more aware of and informed about the risks of underage drinking, other drug use, and impaired driving. Students in schools with a SADD chapter are also more likely to hold attitudes reflecting positive reasons not to use alcohol.”

For additional information on the SADD Club at Towns County High School, email Maureen McClure at mmclure@townscountyschools.org

For more information on Towns County Schools Driver’s Education program, contact Jeff Stowers at jstowers@townscountyschools.org