A letter to rising SADD leaders

To the rising leaders of SADD Nation,

As a history buff, it is incredibly inspiring that many of the most important movements in history were started or amplified by the voices of society’s youth. Whether it be the civil rights movement, protesting the Vietnam War, advocating for democracy in Tiananmen Square, or fighting for water rights for the Indigenous people in the Dakotas, youth voices were not just elevated but heard by those who needed to hear them and, in many instances, changed the course of history because of them. The youth of these movements and others demonstrated that leadership, in and of itself, is not an age thing but rather a passionate commitment to impact lives. As the nation’s premier student health and safety organization, SADD embodies the importance of instilling and advancing leadership in the youth of today; in you!

The peer-led, youth-driven work that is SADD requires your passionate commitment to impact lives. Plain and simple: your leadership makes the work happen; your leadership makes the impact. While SADD may have started as Students Against Driving Drunk, it has been because of SADD’s passionate, committed youth over the years that moved the organization and its mission and vision to include not just traffic and mobility safety but topics and issues around health, mental health, and substance abuse. Over the years, the leadership displayed by the youth of the time pushed SADD in a way that has made it what it is today.

That being said, the question is, what is SADD tomorrow? I will venture to say that because of the vastness of our current pillars of work, that being traffic and mobility safety, health and mental health, substance abuse prevention, and leadership development, I don’t foresee SADD pivoting our current focus; however, how we empower, engage, and mobilize youth to change lives is something that adapts… …adapts in response to the leadership of our youth. You.

I am incredibly inspired by the work of SADD’s students. It is because of your leadership that I feel obligated to provide a culture here at SADD that listens first and acts second, because if we listen to the youth voices of today, I am confident that traffic and mobility safety, health and mental health, substance abuse prevention, and leadership development will be the next important movements in history alongside the likes of climate change and racial and gender equality.

You can count on us here at SADD to continue to elevate your voices and invest in your leadership to influence positive change and positively impact lives, including yours.

In partnership,

Scott Myers

Executive Director