MADD and Nationwide Kick Off THINK.Prom Program with Nationa

Teens Encouraged to Pledge to Safe and Sober Partying During PromIt's prom season and time to THINK about that special date. Mothers Against Drunk Driving's (MADD) THINK.Prom program, which is nationally sponsored by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (Nationwide), asks students to pledge to be alcohol and drug free during prom.THINK.Prom is part of the THINK. year-round, alcohol-use prevention program launched last fall by MADD and Nationwide to empower students to pledge to be alcohol and drug free all year. The peer-to-peer, accountability program provides consistent, positive and lifesaving messages to young people who receive many inconsistent messages about alcohol from friends, siblings and even parents.For the first time this year, high school students can enter the THINK.Prom Video Scrapbook Contest. Keeping the Party Safe. Party Sober theme in mind, students can submit a video up to two minutes in length starting February 22 through April 2. The winning student will receive a $500 award and the student's school will receive a $1,000 award from Nationwide. "The THINK.Prom video contest is a creative way students can share lifesaving messages and encourage their peers to think about their choices," said Bill Windsor, Nationwide associate vice president of Safety. "Teens use technology as a way of communicating with one another and listening to one another. We view this as an opportunity to showcase their work while promoting a fun prom without alcohol. Everyone wins when students have a safe, sober and memorable prom." Statistics show that traffic deaths among teens during typical prom season weekends (March 1-May 31) are higher than any other time of year. In 2005, 290 young people ages 15-20 were killed in alcohol-related crashes—of those 198 deaths involved a 15-20 year old impaired driver."We can't stress enough that the choices students make today affect their world tomorrow," said Glynn Birch, MADD national president. "We want to encourage teens to make a pledge to party safe and sober at prom so they can remember every detail of one of the biggest nights of the year. We're asking students to make a promise to each other leave alcohol out of prom, never ride with someone who's been drinking and to buckle up. We are proud to work with Nationwide to provide the THINK.Prom program because young lives shouldn't be cut short due to alcohol."Students can receive a number of rewards for making good choices including free Napster downloads, text messaging, screensavers and cell phone wallpaper. Schools participating in the THINK.Prom program receive a pledge pack that includes a giant pledge signing banner, individual pledge sheets, a powerful DVD to show in the classroom or to an entire assembly, artful awareness posters, ID cards, event hand stamp and giveaways such as penny stickers, party mints and rear-view mirror tags. Schools also receive safety posters for spring break and graduation.Alcohol is the No. 1 drug problem among youth killing more young people than all other illicit drugs combined. More than 6,000 young people die each year due to alcohol-related causes including traffic crashes. In 2005, 2,035 15-20 year olds were killed in alcohol-related traffic crashes. Of those, 1,387 youth aged 15-20 died in crashes involving a 15-20 year old alcohol-impaired driver.For more information, please visit www.madd.org or call (800) GET MADD.

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