BEREA, Ohio — Local high school students have developed a unique social media campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving, with car accidents being the leading cause of death for teens.
To channel an Addams Family vibe, students participating in Polaris Career Center’s Broadcasting and Video Production satellite program and Marketing and Entrepreneurship satellite program joined forces in hopes of winning the NJM Insurance Group’s Just Drive contest. to win. Both programs are located in Berea-Midpark High School.
Impact Teen Drivers, a national organization that promotes smart decision-making, is also a sponsor. High school students from Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania are participating.
Contest elements include a school presentation, posters, infographics, flyers, signs, multiple 30-second public announcements, a press release, various social media content, and a highlight video that summarizes the project from start to finish.
In addition, a school-wide Distracted Driving Fair will take place on 29 March where students can participate during lunch.
While the social media campaign may be creepy, goofy, or totally creepy, participants enjoyed the camaraderie as they helped spread the potentially life-saving message.
“Distracted driving is a huge problem for younger people,” said Hailey Fuller, senior broadcaster at Broadcasting and Video Production. “You look away while you’re driving, and you’re already swerving.”
Madison Mattila, a senior in the Marketing and Entrepreneurship program, acted and danced Wednesday’s role in the videos. She told cleveland.com that distracted driving is “a big problem that we need to address.”
“You could hesitate for a second and your world is gone,” Mattila said.
Polaris students developed the slogan for their Distracted Driving Social Media Campaign project with an Addams Family theme. (Beth Mlady/specially for cleveland.com)
Instructor Katie Street said the campaign slogan was “Distracted driving – don’t make a thing of it.” A 3D printer generated Thing, the creepy disembodied hand seen in the films.
“We create everything ourselves,” Street said. “We are using a lot (equipment) from both of our programs in this project. It’s a huge collaboration.
“I learn so much from my students. They’ve done a great job.”
Students willingly extended their school day to work on the campaign, instructor Melissa Burchett added.
“I was really impressed with that and how well they worked together,” said Burchett. “These kids came up with all these great ideas and just made it happen. I am inspired by them.”
The community is encouraged to check out the campaign on social media from March 27-31. Go to TikTok, Instagram or Twitter at @polarissignpro or @titans_studio_. On YouTube, go to @Titans_Studio_.
For more information or to donate items for the March 29 Distracted Driving Fair, contact Katie Street at [email protected] or Melissa Burchett at [email protected] They can also be reached at BMHS by calling 216-898-8900.
The winners of the Just Drive competition will be announced in May. The prize for first place is $10,000.
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