SAFE RIDES FALLNEWSLETTER2013

50,000RIDES!
SafeRides ofcially gave its 50,000th ride! Since SafeRides began operating in 2007, 50,000 JMU students have made the choice to call us making 50,000 students and the surrounding Harrisonburg community that much safer. The number of accidents related to drunk driving in Harrisonburg has decreased by 30% since 2007, the same year that SafeRides began driving. Clearly SafeRides successfully has become a signicant part of keeping the Harrisonburg community that much safer. Currently, SafeRides runs ve cars every Friday and Saturday night, averaging 400 rides per weekend. A very special thank you to SafeRides sponsors, donors, parents, and friends as well as the current and former members of SafeRides Without all of you, SafeRides could have never reached this momentous landmark!

K E E W S E D I R SAFE
October 21st-25th was SafeRides Week at JMU! During this week we promoted SafeRides and educated students on the dangers of drunk driving and substance abuse through commons times, advertising on Starbucks cups, and of course, O.N.O.R.O.L! One Night One Ride One Life (also known as O.N.O.R.O.L) is an event put on by SafeRides each semester to educate JMU students on the dangers of drinking and driving, as well as an opportunity to promote SafeRides. The format of O.N.O.R.O.L. differed from previous years and was set up in the form of stations. We were very excited to work with other JMU groups for this program as we had stations facilitated not only by SafeRiders, but also REACH peer educators, Greeks Advocating for the Mature Management of Alcohol (G.A.M.M.A), and even a representative from judicial affairs, and our very own faculty advisor, Chris Ehrhart. The stations included activities such as a SafeRides Jeopardy, a BAC calculator, a pledge to not drink and drive, and a bartender activity in which students were able to pour what they believed to be a standard drink and then were shown what an actual standard drink would be. SafeRides week combined with O.N.O.R.O.L. proved to be yet another successful opportunity to educate JMU students on the dangers of drinking and driving, while spreading our positive attitudes, missions, and fun! Special thanks to Lara Sullenberger, the Community Outreach Director, for her dedication to making SafeRides Week and O.N.O.R.O.L. a huge success!

MALEDATEAUCTION
On Tuesday, November 12, SafeRides hosted the 11th Annual Male Date Auction. The Male Date Auction is a fun way for a wide variety of organizations to come together, show-off their most talented men, and raise money to support SafeRides mission. Performances at this years auction included guitar strumming and singing duos, dancing groups, and acappella serenades. SafeRides own Flirty Girl Fitness showed audience members the true meaning of dance tness while rocking their homemade jorts (jean shorts). Special thanks to Carolyn Girondo, Fundraising Director, Maggie Hoolehan and Molly Dunlap, Project Managers, and the entire Fundraising Committee.

ALUMNIDINNER
On Friday, November 1, JMU SafeRides alumni and current members came together to celebrate JMU's homecoming weekend! SafeRides current and former members enjoyed food catered by Q'doba, Dominos, and Jimmy Johns while catching up with old friends and getting excited about the homecoming game against Villanova. The Alumni Dinner is an important tradition for SafeRides in order to reconnect with alumni and celebrate our amazing school and organization on homecoming weekend! Thank you to Q'doba, Dominos, and Jimmy Johns for their generous food donations and continued support of JMU SafeRides! Special thanks to Emily Morgan, Director of Special Events, and the entire special events committee for hosting the dinner.

JMULTRA
What do you get when you combine awesome music, talented DJs, and SafeRides? JMUltra: Battle of the DJs! JMUltra is a brand new fundraiser for SafeRides that showcased four of JMUs hottest DJs battling it out for a spot in JMU Party Cartel, an elite group of DJs at JMU. JMUltra was held on October 19, 2013 in order to bring together different organizations and talented DJs in hope of selecting the next big DJ at JMU! There were exciting giveaways and SafeRides gear available to concert-goers at the event as well as plenty of Redbull to keep energy high. Special guest Dougie Kent, an up and coming rap artist found on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube, performed at intermission for an energetic crowd. Students at JMUltra loved jamming out to the different mixes each DJ had, from old school favorites to new hits. JMUltra was a great combination of music, dancing, SafeRides, and lots of fun! Thanks to Southview Apartments for their generous sponsorship of the event. Special thanks to Carolyn Girondo, Fundraising Director, Caitlin Viccora, JMUltra Project Manager, and the fantastic Fundraising Committee for putting together a fun, successful fundraising event!

MEMBERSHIPDRIVE
For our fall membership drive, the SafeRides Membership Committee chose the theme What Drives You? in order to learn how future members will impact the JMU community and SafeRides. With 85 potential members to choose from, the Membership Committee chose 39 JMU students to be the newest additions to SafeRides. These 39 new members demonstrated their passion and enthusiasm throughout the entire application process. All SafeRides members continue to exemplify what it means to be a driving force at JMU. Through the membership drive, SafeRides will be able to continue our mission of providing a safe ride home to our fellow JMU students every Friday and Saturday night. Special thanks to Nick Zurlo, the Membership Director, and the entire Membership Committee for their hard work and dedication throughout the membership drive process.

FAMILYBRUNCH
SafeRides hosted its Second Annual Family Weekend Brunch on Sunday, October 6 for SafeRides parents, family, and friends to enjoy delicious food while supporting the SafeRides mission. Several presentations were given at the event to include a brief history of SafeRides in honor of our tenth anniversary as an organization at JMU, our nancial responsibilities to run ve cars every weekend, and a fun trivia game to quiz our parents on just how much they knew about SafeRides and JMU. Special thanks to Emily Morgan, Director of Special Events, Julie Vetal, Internal Director, Jenny Scanlon, Financial Director, and Liz Ramirez, Executive Director, and to the Special Events Committee for hosting the brunch! All of the generous donations received will go to providing safe and free rides home to JMU students every weekend.

SPONSORSHIP
This year has been an exciting one for JMU SafeRides. As always, SafeRides is sponsored largely by local businesses in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area. So far, in the 2013-2014 year, three major sponsors have stepped up to support our mission: Southview Apartments, Stone Gate, and The Commons. SafeRides is also sponsored in part by Dominos Pizza, Qdoba, Jimmy Johns, Starbucks Coffee and Redbull. Our sponsors enable us to offer free and safe rides home every Friday and Saturday night. These sponsors receive inclusion in our marketing campaigns for major fundraisers, access to advertisement space with over 300 students per weekend, and inclusion in our social media campaign. If you or your organization would like to be a part of the SafeRides sponsorship program, please contact David Arbus at sponsorship@jmusaferides.org.

Special thanks to our photographers: Nicole Gervais and Meredith Parker

www.jmusaferides.com