Welcome to the Real World

Middle School Fall Campaign Guide Campaign Guide

SADD chapters are based on the idea of peer-to-peer education because we believe that students working together toward a common goal can have a positive influence on each other and others in their communities. Our 2009 Back-to-School Campaign is Welcome to the Real World. This campaign illustrates that the “real world” offers many challenges for young people. Life isn’t always fair and making positive choices can be tough. Young people often believe they are invulnerable and that nothing bad will ever happen to them. FLORIDA SADD hopes you will use this campaign to give students at your school a reality check and encourage them to make the choices they can live with by avoiding alcohol and other drugs, never riding with an impaired driver, and always buckling up.

Included in this campaign kit are:

• 1 2009 Fall/Winter Activity Guide*
• 1 Spring Newsletter
• 10 Welcome to the Real World Fall Campaign posters
• 50 SADD Pens
• 50 Computer calendar strips
• 50 Window Clings (High School SADD chapters only)
• 1 Traffic Safety DVD

*The Fall/Winter Activity Guide includes specific dates and activities for each month (August-December). It includes a month-at-a-glance page as well as a detailed list of ideas for chapter activities.

Here are some ideas to get started:

• At the beginning of the school year, hold a membership drive to educate the students at your school about SADD and let them know what the chapter does. You could set up a table during school registration. Offer juice, water, cookies, etc. Invite students to sign up early. Visit classes that have an interest in health and safety issues, such as driver’s education or health classes. Tell them about SADD and encourage the students to sign up. During lunch, set up a membership booth and offer a “Contract for Life” as students sign up for the chapter.
• Set up a SADD booth at your school's Open House. Provide information on the issues that your chapter addresses. Send a "Contract for Life" home with the parents. Meet with the freshman students at your school and get them involved.
• Use this campaign to team up with other organizations to create a joint activity to raise awareness about impaired driving. Explain the Welcome to the Real World campaign and how it will help SADD keep impaired drivers off our roads.
• Write an article for your school and local newspapers explaining that SADD is a peer-to-peer organization that works toward preventing impaired driving; offer suggestions on how they can make a difference too.

This campaign was created by the FLORIDA SADD Student Advisory Board. The enclosed materials are made possible through a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation.

Although we do not service elementary school SADD chapters, we are happy to send education and awareness materials if we have them available. Elementary and middle school SADD chapters are sent age-appropriate materials.