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HEALTH -
Alcohol Awareness
by Dan Perkins
Source: U.S.
Newswire
Release dated April 5, 2005
The
Philadelphia Phillies is the first
Major League Baseball team
to adopt the HERO Campaign for
Designated Drivers. The campaign was
inspired by the untimely death of a
young Navy Ensign from southern New
Jersey who was killed in a collision
caused by a
drunken driver. The
Boston Red Sox are expected to adopt
the campaign later this season at Fenway
Park, becoming the first American League
team to do so.
While the campaign
may to new to Baseball, it has been in operation
at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands for
the past two years.
HERO
Campaign booths will operate
during Phillies games, inside Citizen's
Bank Park, the Phillies' newly completed
stadium home. The ballpark
will be filled with banners and posters
that read, "Be a HERO." Fans can sign up
to serve as a sober designated driver at
the HERO Campaign booths. Anyone
who signs up will receive free soft drinks
or bottled water.
The Phillies are
implementing this program in partnership with
ARAMARK, the global food service
company, which operates many of the
concessions at Citizen's Bank Park.
In
addition to the booths, HERO Campaign
public service announcements will be
broadcast on the new Phanavision
screen during each game.
Registered designated drivers will also be
eligible for a drawing to receive Phillies and HERO Campaign logowear.
The HERO
Campaign is the fastest growing drunk
driving prevention program in the
nation. In addition to the Phillies, Red
Sox and NFL teams, the NBA
has encouraged its teams to participate.
The U.S. Navy Drug and Alcohol
Prevention Program, numerous colleges,
and cities from Boston to Key West have
adopted the campaign, which received the
2004 Citizen Activist Award by the
National Commission Against Drunk
Driving.
The HERO
Campaign was created by the family of
Navy Ensign John R. Elliott, a
graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who
was killed in July 2000. He was
preparing to enter naval flight officer
school, and was driving home from
Annapolis to Egg Harbor Township, New
Jersey for his mother's birthday
celebration at the time of his death.
Elliott's
father hopes that his efforts to promote
The HERO Campaign will not only draw
attention to needless tragedies, but
will motivate more people to drink
responsibly and to drive soberly,
especially for those who are not in a
condition to drive.
The End
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