As part of National Youth Traffic Safety Month, National Organizations for
Youth Safety and The Allstate Foundation announce Bloomingdale High School
as the first place winner in the Act Out Loud: Raising Voices for Safe Teen
Driving contest
VALRICO, Fla., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of teens from
Bloomingdale High School have been named grand prize winners of the 2008
"Act Out Loud: Raising Voices for Safe Teen Driving" contest. The online
teen safe driving contest, sponsored by National Organizations for Youth
Safety (NOYS) and funded by The Allstate Foundation, featured 10 teams of
teen driving activists from across the country who competed to raise
awareness for teen safe driving in support of National Youth Traffic Safety
Month in May. The Bloomingdale team will receive a $10,000 grand prize for
their project, "Buckle Up," and will designate a $5,000 grant in their
honor to the Katie Marchetti Memorial Foundation, which was created to
honor the memory of Katie Marchetti, a Bloomingdale teen, who lost her life
in a car crash in 2006.
In April 2008, Bloomingdale High School encouraged safe teen driving by
promoting its "Buckle Up" program through the student government and by
documenting their project through blogs, photos and a video posting at
http://www.ActOutLoud.org. The team also filmed a daily segment for their
school's television station, which promoted seat-belt use and defensive
driving, and incorporated teen driving statistics and interviews from
students about the importance of wearing seatbelts.
The winners were determined by the number of online votes they received
on the contest Web site. The teens at Bloomingdale worked tirelessly to
encourage people to check out their project on http://www.ActOutLoud.org,
and as a result, they received thousands of votes.
"We're excited we won because everyone on the team has worked so hard
to spread the word to our peers about being safe and responsible drivers,"
said Claire Chipman, captain of Bloomingdale's team. "There are so many
ways to use this money to save lives. We're really happy to have the
opportunity to keep our efforts moving forward."
"This is all about saving teen lives," said Lucas Grabeel, star of
"High School Musical" and spokesperson for Act Out Loud. "It's cool to see
people who are so creative and dedicated use their talents to have a
positive impact on the world around them. We have the power to help reverse
these stats and help prevent our friends from becoming one of the
statistics."
The top 10 Act Out Loud teams across the country educated their peers
right before summer, which is the deadliest season for teens on the road.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seven of
the top 10 deadliest days for teen drivers fall between Memorial Day and
Labor Day. National Youth Traffic Safety Month activities encourage teens
to conduct safe driving projects in May -- during prom, graduation and the
launch of the summer driving season -- in hopes that teens and communities
will be positively impacted by safe driving messages.
To view Bloomingdale's winning video and team page, and for additional
information on "Act Out Loud," please log on to http://www.ActOutLoud.org.
About National Organizations for Youth Safety
National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) is a non-profit
coalition of national organizations that focus on youth safety and health.
Through the coalition, NOYS influences more than 80 million young people
and their adult advisors. The mission of NOYS is to promote youth
empowerment and leadership, and build partnerships that enhance safe and
healthy lifestyles among all youth. National Youth Traffic Safety Month is
the signature campaign of NOYS. For more information, log onto
http://www.noys.org.
About The Allstate Foundation
Established in 1952, The Allstate Foundation is an independent,
charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate
Corporation. The Allstate Foundation partners with non-profit organizations
on community initiatives that promote "safe and vital communities,"
"tolerance, inclusion, and diversity" and "economic empowerment." Teen
driving and empowering victims of domestic violence have been major
initiatives for the Foundation since 2005. For more information, visit
http://www.ProtectTeenDrivers.com.
SOURCE National Organizations for Youth Safety
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Related links:
http://www.ActOutLoud.org
http://www.noys.org http://www.ProtectTeenDrivers.com
CONTACT:
Brianna Gallett of Weber Shandwick,
+1-952-346-6028, bgallett@webershandwick.com, for National
Organizations for Youth Safety; or Sandy Spavone, of NOYS,
+1-703-981-0264, sspavone@noys.org; or Joanna Augustynski of The
Allstate Foundation, +1-847-402-5604, jauge@allstate.com
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