December Calendar Resources

Tree of Life Campaign (December 1-31)

Because the tree is a symbol of life, the Tree of Life activity focuses on the positive message of living a life free of the hazards and heartache of involvement with alcohol and other drugs. The activity can also be combined with a candlelight vigil to remember those who have died or have been injured in an alcohol-related crash and to remember others you wish to have a safe holiday season.

Ideally, a live tree, strung with white lights, would be used to signify life. A local florist or garden center may allow your SADD chapter to borrow one for this activity. If a live tree is not available, you could create a paper maché tree, a wall tree, or one of your own designs.

Choose a prominent place to display your tree. The school foyer, library or cafeteria are good locations. A live tree outside on your school grounds would also work well. Many SADD chapters have done their Tree of Life and Candlelight Vigil in an outside area in their community or a more public place like the local mall.

Be sure to display a large sign identifying yourself and your activity. To decorate your tree, you may choose to use the card shown here; there is space to include a message. You could also choose to use a candle or a star which may also be personalized. The gift of a lifetime activity may be used as a fund-raiser by charging a small donation for each card or item to be hung on the tree.

Do lots of publicity for your event. Invite the local media to visit the activity and to take pictures. Invite the mayor, selectmen, school board members and other local officials to participate. Ask local elementary school students to make cards to bring to hang on the tree.

The Tree of Life and Candlelight Vigil are great ways to bring the issue of impaired driving to the forefront during one of the most dangerous times of the year.

Remember: Every 33 minutes someone in this country dies in an alcohol-related crash. We must do everything possible to stop these senseless tragedies.

Gift of a Lifetime

Holidays are a time for giving and a time to tell the people close to us how much they mean to us. SADD encourages everyone to give the greatest gift of all - a commitment to be safe and drug-free during the holidays. With the SADD Gift of a Lifetime card, shown here, individuals can make promises to each other to celebrate safely and avoid tragedy during the holidays. Through the message of the Gift of a Lifetime card, teenagers promise to party substance-free during the winter and New Year’s holidays. They also make a commitment to their friends and loved ones that they will not endanger their lives by riding with impaired drivers.

Parents and family members who are of legal drinking age promise not to drive while under the influence and not to ride with impaired drivers.

SADD strongly suggests that your chapter create visible symbols of this commitment – pins decorated with gold braid or other holiday colored cord. Whoever gives the gift also promises to wear the matching pin. In this way, each demonstrates a pledge to keep the season happy by using the power of caring and good judgment during holiday celebrations.

To make your own cards, feel free to use the Gift of a Lifetime card below. If you decide to design your own card, please do not change the message. This card reflects SADD’s commitment to a "no use" message to teens regarding alcohol and other drugs.

Dear _______ , 

This gift is a symbol of my respect for you and
represents our promise to each other.

I will wear my pin to show my commitment to
you that I will not endanger my life during this
holiday season by drinking or doing drugs or by
riding with anyone who is under the influence of
alcohol or drugs.

Please wear yours as a promise that you will not
endanger your life during this holiday season by
drinking or doing drugs or by riding with anyone
who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Let's keep our promise alive...

SADD - Working to end death and injury due to
impaired driving, underage drinking or drug use.

Suicide Awareness (December 1-31)

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 15 and 24. In response to this alarming statistic Screening for Mental Health developed a program of suicide prevention for high school students that was introduced to high schools across the country in 2000. Please go to their web site for information and ideas for your club. http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/sos_highschool/index.htm

Remember, December is a very dangerous month for suicide! Use this time to bring awareness to your school.

National 3D Prevention Month

The National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) coalition web site has a free planner that you can download, and has lots of information and data for you to use in your club activities.

World AIDS Day (December 1)

There are more than 42 million people currently living with HIV worldwide, with 5 million new cases being reported each year. Half of the new infections occur in young people with a majority of transmissions -- more than 70 percent -- occurring through heterosexual sex.
AIDS, which has already claimed more than 28 million lives, is set to reverse a half-century of efforts in the developing world, where the epidemic is hitting hardest. In these countries, which account for 95 percent of the global total, poverty, conflict, poor health systems and limited resources for prevention and care fuel the spread of the virus.
Source: UNAIDS http://www.unaids.org/
Here are some web sites that may be of help:
http://www.worldaidsday.org/   
http://www.nat.org.uk/  
http://www.nat.org.uk/natint/index.html  http://www.worldaidscampaign.info/index.php/wac/wac

International Volunteer Day (December 5)

The United Nations General Assembly designates December 5 as an annual celebration of voluntary action by people, communities and governments of the world.
http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/int-l-volunteer-day.html

SADD chapters can do all sorts of volunteer activities around this time of year. Here are just a few ideas:

Raise money or toys for a Toys for Tots campaign to give to a local charity
Work at a local food bank sorting and packing food
Raise money or food to give to your local food bank
Work with a local environmental organization helping pick up trash in your community
Raise money to give to a needy family around the holiday season

Have your students come up with other ideas to help benefit your school or community

National Holiday Lifesavers Weekend (December 19-21)

Lights on for Life Day (December 19)

Lights on for Life Day is a symbolic headlight observance designed to focus attention on the impaired driving issue. It is also the kickoff for National Holiday Lifesavers Weekend.

As a nation we have made record decreases in impaired driving in each of the past three years. Yet, tragically, impaired driving continues to kill thousands of Americans. More than 16,000 people die every year in alcohol and drug-related crashes: one person dead every 33 minutes and one person injured every two minutes. These are not accidents – they are violent crimes.

To save more lives and reach the goal of reducing impaired driving-related deaths, we must continue to generate a greater national urgency to stop death and injury on our nation’s highways and byways. To accomplish this we need to change the way American people view impaired driving. We need everyone’s help. Impaired driving is not just a problem for law enforcement, courts or victims. It affects the entire community. When impaired drivers take to the road, they not only put themselves at risk, they also put the public’s safety in jeopardy. In addition to the physical and emotional damage they inflict as a result of their careless behavior, they place a huge financial burden on the community.

December 19-21 is National Holiday Lifesavers Weekend. During this weekend, law enforcement agencies will stage a three day crackdown on impaired drivers through the use of sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols.

We’re asking SADD chapters to join with others across the country in this effort on Friday, December 19th, and encourage drivers to drive with their headlights on throughout the day. This effort will recognize those who have been killed or injured by impaired drivers and remind the public that alcohol and drug-related crashes are preventable.

How can SADD chapters participate in National Holiday Lifesavers Weekend?

  • Ask the mayor or governing board to proclaim December 19-21 National Holiday Lifesavers Weekend.
  • Develop a flyer about the weekend, highlighting Lights on for Life Day, and ask delivery services such as pizza shops, restaurants, florists, etc., to distribute these flyers with their deliveries.
  • Ask bus companies, subways, cab companies and others to hang posters in their vehicles and office areas about Lights on for Life Day.
  • Contact local businesses and corporations and ask them to invite their employees to participate. It is an easy, no cost way for them to support traffic safety initiatives.
  • Contact all city and town employees, such as the police department, the fire department and others, and urge them to participate.
  • Place notices in the mailboxes of all the staff at your local schools requesting that they also participate.
  • Work with your local media outlets to raise the awareness of the general populace about the deadly consequences of impaired driving. And don’t forget the financial consequences.
  • Ask your local school bus company to turn their lights on to and from school.
  • Also ask to hang posters in each bus so that students will know the significance of Lights on for Life Day.
  • Before school ends on Thursday and again on Friday remind everyone of the day and request that they turn on their headlights.
  • Contact your local law enforcement agency and offer to work with them on the sobriety checkpoints.
  • Ask residents to turn on their porch lights, holiday lights and floodlights to send messages throughout the neighborhood against impaired driving.

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