The ‘Face’ Of

Underage Drinking

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and National Presenting Sponsor DaimlerChrysler’s Road Ready Teens together unveiled FACE recently, a celebrity-filled 35-minute multimedia assembly show. FACE focuses on teaching secondary school students about the importance of making healthy choices, avoiding alcohol and drug use, facing their mistakes and learning from them, and understanding the risks and responsibilities they face as new teen drivers.

“We’re launching FACE to talk directly to America’s teens not only about the dangers of underage drinking and the challenges they face as new teen drivers, but also about the importance of making the healthy decision not to use alcohol or other drugs,” said Wendy J. Hamilton, MADD’s national president. “We believe the combination of music video, film, and television clips with real-life stories will be highly effective with students.”

Each year, underage drinking kills 6.5 million more youths than all illicit drugs combined. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences recommended it become one of America’s top priorities, calling for a series of initiatives to combat the problem, including more effective ways of communicating with teens.

Narrated by 17-year-old singer Solange Knowles, sister of Beyonce Knowles, the program captures students’ attention with clips from current videos including those by Michelle Branch and Cold Play, films including Freaky Friday, Legally Blonde 2, and The Hulk and television shows including The Practice and Watching Ellie.

Also featured are presentations by teens including 18-year-old Emily Vinyard, a student at Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass., and recovering alcoholic. MADD National Youth Board member Justin Saint Cyr, 18, a student at Tufts University, also discusses the importance of making sure parents, teachers, and community leaders bring FACE to their schools.

For more information about FACE or other MADD programs, call 800-GET-MADD or visit www.schoolassembly.org.