‘Survivor 101’ Is Lesson Well Learned At Penncrest
Penncrest High School students in grades 9-11 participated in a “Survivor 101” driver safety course last spring as a follow-up to a “Mock Crash” event. The purpose of both activities was to increase awareness about the number of deaths and injuries caused by car accidents and to prevent them from occurring through education.
The Mock Crash, coordinated by Healthy Communities Initiative (HCI), Riddle Memorial Hospital/MLHS and Penncrest High School, involved actual crushed cars, ambulances, fire trucks, emergency personnel, body bags and actors portraying “victims.” It was targeted towards older students, as those most likely to be driving. However, younger students need to hear the message as passengers and future drivers, and that’s where Survivor 101 entered the picture.
PA State Trooper Jon Sunderlin presented the program, which focused on high-risk behaviors including the consequences of driving while impaired, being the passenger of a driver who’s under the influence, and not wearing a seatbelt. The powerful message Sunderlin delivered wasn’t lost on the students, as Penncrest Health Education teacher Michele Doyle found out when she asked students to write about the program to earn extra credit. Students responded by writing essays that showed that they are more aware of how lives can be permanently altered by one bad decision made behind the wheel.
Both the Mock Crash and Survivor 101 programs are examples of the powerful impact adults can have on youth in changing and saving lives, and the commitment of the Rose Tree Media School District and the Penncrest administration and staff in hosting and helping to coordinate these activities.
The Mock Crash was made possible through HCI and The Riddle Healthcare Foundation, with Riddle Memorial Hospital Community Outreach Liaison Martha Grieco leading the coordination effort. Penncrest staff members and students provided site support, actors, film crews, sound and lights technicians, and videographers who created a dynamic film. Students from the Penncrest HCI-Optimist Club and SADD chapter, coordinated by SADD coordinator Michele Woodward, volunteered to play the role of accident victims.
Survivor 101 was made possible through a grant from Dave Phillips of State Farm Insurance Company and through the efforts of Penncrest Health teacher Theresa Long in coordinating the health class schedules to allow for student participation.
Other community partners who helped make the events possible included Holcomb Behavioral Systems, Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital, Riddle Memorial Hospital EMTs and paramedics, area police and fire departments, Media Theatre actors, the Delaware County Coroner’s Office and Emergency Helicopter services.
Plans are now being made to present these programs during the upcoming school year. HCI is seeking community volunteers to help with this effort, in keeping with the organization’s purpose of changing and saving the lives of young people. For more information, visit the website at www.hcicares.org, or call 484-442-8532.
Penncrest students who attended the powerful “Survivor 101” driving safety presentation, along with HCI Executive Director Dana Riker Jackson, thanked PA State Trooper Jon Sunderlin for his time and efforts in bringing this message to the school.