Liberty High School Receives Top Honor in Contest to Prevent Teen Traffic Deaths
Hillsboro, OR 5/2/2018 Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon has received a $500. educational grant as one of three schools nationwide with the most entries in the
Spring 2018 Create Real Impact contest.
The Create Real Impact contest challenges students to address the dangers of distracted driving, the number one killer of teens, using creative messages that will resonate with young drivers.
The contest is a component of Impact Teen Drivers, a nonprofit that continues to spread the safe driving message to millions of students across the country utilizing evidence-based materials and curricula. Prizes ranging from $500 to $1,500 were awarded to individuals for video, music, art and creative writing, and for schools with the highest number of submissions.
California Casualty’s Oregon Senior Field Marketing Manager Sherry Hanacek and HEA President Jill Golay are presenting the $500 Grant in teacher Laurie Jenkins Health Classes. “Ms. Jenkins has been instrumental in bringing a risk preventative curriculum to the health program at Liberty High School. She and her teaching colleagues have been teaching the life saving strategies from the Impact Teen Drivers program. They are making a difference in the lives of their students” Hanacek said. The Impact Teen Drivers curriculum is free and available at: www.impactteendrivers.org
Efforts like the Create Real Impact contest are needed now more than ever; the National Safety Council has issued a call to action to combat a sudden and dramatic rise in traffic deaths the past two years, many caused by reckless actions or drivers not paying attention to the road.
The NHTSA reports that the largest proportion of drivers involved in fatal distracted driving crashes were teens.
“The fact that car crashes are the leading cause of death for young people in this country, and 75% of these do not involve drugs and alcohol, means that the majority of crashes occur due to everyday distractions that become lethal behind the wheel. It’s not about blaming one behavior and leaving it at that; we need to change the culture of driving to one that is distraction-free, and we need young people to help achieve this goal through creative peer-to-peer messaging,” said Kelly Browning, Ph.D., Executive Director, Impact Teen Drivers.
Impact Teen Drivers has reached more than two million teens since 2007 and the Create Real Impact contest began in 2009. California Casualty is a founding partner of the nonprofit and continues to provide support for the awards. California Casualty representatives helped present checks to the winning schools and awardees.
“The importance of this contest can’t be overstated,” said California Casualty CEO Beau Brown. “While insurance can replace a mangled vehicle, we can’t replace a teenager’s life. In a split second, everything for that family changes forever; it’s a terrible tragedy that no one should endure.”.
See all the winning entries and learn more about the Create Real Impact contest at www.createrealimpact.org. Entries for the next contest will be taken in the fall of 2018.
Founded in 1914, California Casualty has proudly partnered with the Oregon Education Association to provide auto and home insurance tailored to their professional needs since 1974. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, with Service Centers in Arizona, Colorado and Kansas, California Casualty has been led by four generations of the Brown family. To learn more about California Casualty, or to request an auto insurance quote, please visit or www.calcas.com/OEA or call 1.877.626.2871.
PRESS RELEASE
Contacts:
California Casualty Impact Teen Drivers
Sherry Hanacek Kelly Browning, PHD
971.226.8966 916.733.7432
shanacek@calcas.com kbrowning@impactteendrivers.org