The IMPACT 6/21 Foundation was formed in 2011 to honour the memories of Jazmine Houle (15), Steven Philippe (16) and Caitlin Jelley (15), who lost their lives when they were struck by an impaired driver on Father’s Day, June 21, 2009. The parents of the children along with their families, friends and volunteers wanted to find a way to prevent this type of tragedy from ever happening again and so they formed the IMPACT 6/21 Foundation which functions as a not-for-profit corporate charity, registered under established laws of both the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, mandated to advocate and promote positive and on-going community initiatives and awareness programs designed toward communicating and supporting the eradication of impaired driving.
The members of the IMPACT 6/21 Foundation have concluded that simply reasoning with adults to “think before you leave” after drinking is not working. The number of people who are involved in a crash while impaired or who are charged with impaired driving is still at a level that is totally unacceptable. Studies have also shown that up to 85% of all impaired drivers were with family or friends before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. This means that someone could have done something to prevent 85% of all impaired drivers from placing themselves and others in danger.
Therefore, on May 31, 2016, the Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury, Brian Bigger, will proclaim the Month of June as IMPACT 6/21 MEMORIAL MONTH in the City of Greater Sudbury. He will urge all children and adults to put an end to impaired driving by doing everything in their power to prevent family and friends from getting behind the wheel if they are impaired in any way.
The IMPACT 6/21 Foundation will also be taking part in a special live-streamed presentation from Room C-11 at Tom Davies Square on June 3, 2016 at 10:30 a.m.. This presentation will outline a new strategic plan designed to help teachers empower all elementary and secondary school students in Greater Sudbury to do their part to prevent their parents and older siblings from driving while impaired in any way. During the presentation, members of the IMPACT 6/21 Foundation will be providing the details of a special Pledge of Commitment that they are urging all parents to sign with their children. This commitment will be a request from parents to their children, asking that the children do everything in their power to prevent them from driving while impaired. The Foundation is asking for the help of classroom teachers to encourage their students to ask their parents/guardians to sign the Pledge of Commitment.
The live-streamed presentation by the IMPACT 6/21 Foundation can be found at https://livestream.com/greatersudbury
The downloadable Commitment Form and archived presentation can be found at www.impact621.org
The Pledge of Commitment Form will be a way for parents to empower their children to do the thinking for them. It will be a way for children to make their parents think about how their children will be affected if they have to go on living without a parent who was involved in a crash while impaired. It will also make parents think about what they are risking if they get involved in a crash while impaired and take the lives of other innocent people. There is no reason for anyone getting behind the wheel while impaired when 85% of the time there is someone around to prevent them from making such a horrible mistake.
The mission of the IMPACT 6/21 Foundation is to advocate and promote positive and on-going community initiatives and awareness programs designed towards communicating and supporting the eradication of impaired driving. Please support this new strategy of empowering children to do what they can to prevent their parents from making the mistake of their life. Encourage as many people as possible to watch the special presentation on June 3, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. and sign the Commitment Pledge Form with their children. Together we can make a difference and we can prevent the tragic loss of life on our highways.