Popular L.A. Based Singer/Songwriter Turns Her Personal Tragedy to Triumph
LOS ANGELES, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- As impaired drivers continue to kill
more than 17,000 people in the U.S. each year, AWAKE Community (Artists
Working for Awareness Knowledge and Education) is joining with the more than
30 congressional members of the Stop DUI Caucus to honor, unify and energize
the many organizations and individuals who work everyday to prevent these
needless deaths.
AWAKE Community was founded by popular indie singer/songwriter Emily
Richards (http://www.emilyrichardsmusic.com) in honor of her 19-year-old sister Annie
who was killed by a drunk driver in July 2000. Emily is a member of the Los
Angeles Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and a volunteer for
Recording Artists Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving.
Emily has dedicated her music career to her sister's memory and has spoken
and performed at many high schools, universities and charitable events to
educate the public about drunk driving. During last year's presidential
election, Emily attended the Democratic and Republican National Conventions,
where she met several senators and representatives on the Congressional Stop
DUI Caucus to discuss AWAKE's commitment to help reduce impaired driving in
the United States.
"AWAKE's aim with this event is to use the arts and the artistic community
to build a bridge from Capitol Hill to local communities. Synergizing the
collective missions of the many groups working to reduce impaired driving is
our goal," said Richards, who in addition to founding the AWAKE Community is
the newly appointed President of MP3tunes (http://www.mp3tunes.com), a company formed
by MP3.com founder Michael Robertson. "After my sister's tragic death in 2000
I made a conscious decision to dedicate my career and my life to fighting
impaired driving so other families can avoid the terrible pain my family has
suffered."
The Congressional Stop DUI Caucus was launched last May in conjunction
with a nationwide anti-DUI media campaign with the National Association of
Broadcasters and is chaired by U.S. Representatives Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and
Jon Porter (R-NV). The Caucus is a bi-partisan group of Members of Congress
committed to reducing drunk driving through increased public awareness and
education efforts. The Caucus provides Members of Congress with information
on effective programs and countermeasures to reduce drunk driving.
"Events to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving are a
critical part of DUI prevention efforts, especially those aimed at young
people. By bringing together artists and entertainers, AWAKE Community is
helping to deliver a message that we all hope will save lives and make our
streets and communities safer," said Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Co-Chair of
the Congressional STOP DUI Caucus.
Drunk driving is the most prevalent violent crime in our country. During
the last 10 years, alcohol-related crashes killed more than 155,000 people and
injured nearly 5 million at a cost to taxpayers and our economy in the tens of
billions of dollars. Unfortunately, alcohol-related highway deaths are on the
rise.
"As a nation, we can never do enough to prevent the unnecessary loss of
lives caused by a drunk driver," said U.S. Representative Jon Porter. "As we
have too often seen, drunk driving cuts short the lives of our loved ones.
Every 30 minutes, nearly 50 times a day, someone in America dies in an
alcohol-related crash. We must do more to educate our young people about the
dangers of drunk driving. I appreciate very much the efforts of Emily
Richards and the AWAKE Community. They, among many others, help us all to
better educate and inform our nation of the serious consequences caused by
drunk driving."
The event is being sponsored by generous contributions from:
Anheuser-Busch, Easterns Automotive Group, State Farm Insurance, the Beer
Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Miller Brewing
Company, the REEF Foundation, MP3tunes, PAS International and numerous
individuals dedicated to the fight against drunk driving.
"The AWAKE Community is a welcome organization in the fight against
impaired driving," said U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), a member of the
Caucus. "They are bringing together all the parties involved in the fight
against drunk driving. This one evening will re-energize efforts to fight this
deadly epidemic."
For additional information please visit http://www.awakecommunity.org.
Contact:
Cathy Gillen
(410) 547-1602 office
(443) 463-4449 cell
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