Attorney Michael A. DeMayo Continues Successful Arrive Alive® Initiative
Arrive Alive®, one of the main community service programs presented by the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo, just concluded after another successful week. Launched in 2003, the initiative presents the dangers of teenage drinking and driving in a powerful way that teens can really hear. This program has been presented around 100 times in over 50 high schools, to great acclaim.
After many years as a personal injury attorney, Michael A. DeMayo has seen his share of lives shattered by drinking and driving. He and his attorneys deal with this problem on a daily basis. Obviously, it’s an occupational hazard of their profession. But instead of turning off, shutting down and becoming resigned or cynical about the problem, DeMayo took his law firm in a different direction entirely.
They developed the Arrive Alive® — Don’t Drink and Drive program as an attempt to nip this all too pervasive problem in the bud – with raising the awareness of teenagers. The belief behind this program is that if kids can really get the danger of drinking and driving when they are first starting out as drivers, and make a commitment never to do so, many lives will be saved.
This year Michael A. DeMayo personally presented this program to ten high schools within a 75 mile radius of his main offices in Charlotte, NC. The one hour presentation is free, offered first come first serve to schools in that area who can promise at least 200 students in attendance. It’s targeted to juniors and seniors, basically kids who are new drivers and face a lot of peer pressure to drink or do drugs.
DeMayo shares the stage every year with someone the teens can really relate to. This year that someone was 27 year old Karl Kakadelis. At 19, Kakadelis was in an accident after consuming a few beers, during which his friend was thrown from the vehicle he was driving and killed. He frankly and movingly shares his own personal tragedy during the presentation, telling not just the events of that fateful night but how this tragedy has affected his life in the ensuing years.
Teens are, of course, famous for rejecting adult authority and opinions. Frequently at that age, they feel invulnerable and it’s difficult to get a safety message across. The ongoing positive feedback this program has received, not just from teachers and principals, but from the students as well, is a testament to its power and effectiveness. Many students report being moved to tears, and principals report that the kids are still talking about the power of the presentation weeks afterward.
Students who attend the presentations are able to make a pledge that they will never drive intoxicated, or allow a friend or family member to do so. They can do this online on Michael A. DeMayo’s website, via his Facebook page, or with the Arrive Alive® App in the iTunes store.
For more information on this valuable program, please contact the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo.
