Six Schools Selected to Lead the Nation in Saving Teen Lives
October 23, 2014
The National Youth Leadership Council® has selected six schools for its National Teen Driver Safety Program, Project Ignition.
Now in its eleventh year, Project Ignition empowers young people to educate other teens about the importance of seatbelt usage through service-learning. The schools will receive a two year grant to work with students around the country to identify best practices to increase seatbelt usage in their community. Project Ignition is operated in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to effectively and specifically work to increase seatbelt usage among teens. Proper seatbelt usage is a safety precaution that is proven to save lives in motor vehicle crashes, which are the leading cause of death for all 15 to 20 year olds according to the most recent data available from the National Center for Health Statistics.
“Students are too often overlooked as true stakeholders in their education, and as creators of positive change in their schools, their communities, and the world,” said Kelita Svoboda Bak, NYLC CEO. “Through Project Ignition, these young people are saving the lives of their peers, and are in the best position to influence their behaviors and decision making at critical moments — especially before they operate a moving vehicle. With the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, we are honored to support these schools in their fight to save teen lives.”
Top 6 Project Ignition Grant Winners:
Har-Ber High School, Springdale, Ark.
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School, Gibson City, Ill.
Owen Valley High School, Spencer, Ind.
New Foundations Charter School, Philadelphia, Pa.
Belton High School, Belton, Mo.
New Castle High School, New Castle, Pa.
The schools will be honored in Washington D.C. during the National Service-Learning Conference, April 8-11, 2015. The students will also present their projects to the more than 1,400 youth and adults who attend the event from across the nation around and the world.
Since its inception in 1983, NYLC has worked with young people and educators to provide meaningful opportunities to work in partnership to serve communities across the U.S. To learn more about Project Ignition schools and resources, visit www.nylc.org/projectignition.