PA High School Receives a Project Ignition Grant: Students to Make Local Impact on Teen Driver Safety

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) February 13, 2012 -- FORT WASHINGTON, PA (FEBRUARY 13, 2012)– Coordinated by the National Youth Leadership Council® and funded by State Farm®, Project Ignition has selected Upper Dublin High School as one of 25 high schools from throughout the United States and Canada to receive a $2,000 service-learning teen driver safety grant in 2012.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crashes are the number one cause of death for teens in this country. Project Ignition is a youth- and schools-led response that connects academic goals to address the issue of teen driver safety through service-learning. Project Ignition knows that youth leadership is a critical component to effectively addressing this staggering statistic, changing teen driving behaviors, and saving lives.

School and youth commitment to address this issue is on the rise as a record number of applications were developed and submitted this year. Upper Dublin High School’s plan was evaluated during a rigorous judging process and was selected, in part, based on a commitment to service-learning and the use of proven-effective strategies in changing teen driver behavior.

The grant will support a local campaign, designed and led by students, aimed at preventing car crashes. Here in Fort Washington, students will make posters and develop a public service announcement to warn other teens. Through the generosity of Lehigh Valley Hospital, students in grades nine through twelve will also participate in a special school-wide assembly on Thursday, February 16 from 9:00a.m. to 10:45a.m. presented by Dr. Bryan Kane, Emergency Trauma Physician who will deliver a powerful message about the risks of distracted driving. On February 23, Joel Feldman of Springfield, Pennsylvania will conduct a dialog with all sophomores about the many forms of distracted driving and the very real consequences of those actions. Feldman’s daughter Casey was killed by a distracted driver in 2009.

“In partnership with State Farm, we are continually amazed by the students who lead Project Ignition campaigns. These youth are well informed and uniquely positioned to offer a critical voice to help influence their peers’ risky driving behaviors. The fact that youth work with teachers to link the campaigns to their academic coursework, gives us confidence that this program strengthens schools as it also helps to save young lives,” said Kelita Svoboda Bak, NYLC CEO.

“Distracted driving has become a major concern for us,” commented Bret Stover, Driver Education Instructor at Upper Dublin High School and advisor of the Project Ignition campaign. “We want to take a proactive approach to prevent accidents by teaching students about the dangers of this behavior, rather than a reactive approach after a tragedy. Cell phones have become such an important part of our lives, but they are not compatible with driving.” Stover added that he hoped this grant and campaign will cause a change in attitude and driving behavior making the community a safer place.

The 10 most effective campaigns that emerge from the 25 grants recently awarded will be given the opportunity to receive additional funding (up to $7,500), joining the ranks of Project Ignition’s 22 current National Leader Schools as they implement longer-term teen driver safety campaigns.

For more information about Project Ignition, visit www.sfprojectignition.com.
For more information about NYLC and service-learning go to www.nylc.org.
For more information about State Farm go to statefarm.com® or, in Canada, statefarm.ca®.

###

Source: Upper Dublin High School

assembly     distracted Driving     grant     high school students     NYLC     public service announcement     safe driving     STATE FARM