Rockland MADD Offers Program for New Mothers (VIDEO)

• 1 in 3 people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime
• Almost every 90 seconds, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash
• Every 52 minutes, someone is killed by a drunk driver, which means another 28 people die as a result of drunk driving crashes
• Drunk driving costs this country $132 billion a year—that’s $500 per year for every legal adult

Those are some of the statistics Sally Borgman read off last Thursday.

As the head of the Rockland Chapter of MADD, Borgman was joined by several others to announce the new Parent Project. Through this program, cards and car magnets were created for new mothers. The card reads “Congratulations on your bundle of joy, please place this gift from us on your car to remind drivers to drive safely.” The attached magnet reads “Precious cargo on board. Drive Safely, madd, drive safe and sober.”

“MADD is not against legal drinking, just in support of keeping our roads safe,” said Borgman.

 The local MADD chapter donated a total of 3,000 cards to Nyack and Good Samaritan Hospital. Marie Bogdanowich, Nanuet HS SAAD advisor and RCADD counselor, had her Nanuet SAAD students assemble the cards and magnets

“All of these students are amazing and I cannot thank them enough for their hard work. One student, Griffin, also helped for community service hours for his confirmation,” she said.  “I was honored when Sally asked if our organization could assist with this important project.”

Lauren Gia Levine, a local graphic designer, donated her time and skills to design the card and magnet.

After Nyack Hospital President David Freed gave a few words, two people were recognized by MADD: Isabel Lopez-Weiner and Lauren Levine, who could not attend, but her plaque was accepted by her mother.

“Unfortunately, once patients reach the emergency department, the damage has already been done,” said Mark Papish, of the Nyack Hospital Emergency Department.

Sharon Hittman, of MADD Rockland, also announced another project they had completed.

“We brainstormed with the Town of Orangetown and created an alcohol poisoning wallet card,” said Hittman. 26,000 were created for Rockland high schools, including Albertus Magnus HS and a couple thousand more were donated to Nyack Hospital.

On one side of the card, it has the signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning and on the other, it has a list of things to do if someone does have alcohol poisoning.

Hittman added at the end that those looking to support the local MADD chapter should donate to MADD-Rockland Chapter so that the money stays local.