Red ribbons raise awareness
MADD advocate looks forward to upcoming programming
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, October 15, 2015
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
In October 2014, a handful of volunteers huddled outside the recreation centre in the freezing cold to pin red ribbons onto passing vehicles that pulled over.
Sharon Allen obtained this billboard in November 2014 and is planning to erect it on the side of the highway soon. - photo courtesy of Sharon Allen
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They stopped around 50 drivers for the event, many of whom eventually continued on their way a little wiser about the impact of impaired driving.
Project Red Ribbon is coming back this year. Sharon Allen, community leader for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), has a message for the Deh Cho: drinking and driving is never OK.
"This is just a reminder for people about drunk driving," Allen said.
"Last year, we went through a lot of ribbons - it's constant traffic (through that area), so we just stop people as they come."
This year is the second year Allen will be running Project Red Ribbon in Fort Simpson.
Aside from trying to get the word out about impaired driving, Allen is on the hunt for volunteers to help out with her work.
As the only MADD community leader in the NWT, her ambitions involve eventually starting a MADD chapter in Fort Simpson, which would give her a wider reach.
"We're like the lone wolf," she said.
In between MADD programming and her local role as a full-time language instructor for youth, Allen is also getting ready to erect a MADD billboard on the highway.
"It's going to be the first one in the Northwest Territories," she said.
"We've located a place to put it and we just have to put the poles in."
"I'm like a one-woman show. But MADD is really supportive in providing us with materials. Banners, posters, anything we need."
Project Red Ribbon, which is going into its 28th year, is a campaign that traditionally runs from the beginning of November through to the following January, targeting the holiday season and encouraging drivers to support sober driving.
Annually, more than one million red ribbons are distributed country-wide to support these efforts.
This year's event will take place in front of the recreation centre from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 30.
