Youth and school programming have been a key component of MADD Canada’s youth services, education and awareness initiatives since 1994. The programs are designed to communicate directly with young people on their level and in their language and encourage them to take a closer look at their values and perceptions.
MADD Canada’s School Presentation is a powerful dramatization about the tragic consequences of impaired driving. The video ends with testimonials from real-life victims who share their heartbreaking stories with the audience. MADD Canada’s School Presentation targets students in grades 7 through 12.
We are now booking the 2024-2025 School Program Presentation.
To book your presentations, please refer to the information at the very bottom of this page.
Aren’t Students in Grades 7 and 8 Too Young?
Although grade 7 and 8 students are not yet driving or may not yet be experimenting with alcohol or drugs, we know that educating students at a young age helps them develop the necessary skills required to make important decisions when the time comes. Some students may already be exposed to being a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone who is impaired or have been in situations where they were around drugs and alcohol.
We want these students to know their options before they are faced with actually making the choice to drive impaired or get in the car with someone who is impaired. We want them to know that being a passenger with an impaired driver is equally as dangerous as driving impaired. This is a critical point in students’ lives where they are becoming more independent and are at a stage where they can be easily influenced, impressionable and vulnerable. Our program guides them ad gives them the tools that will prepare them for making smart and responsible choices before they enter high school.
(Cross Canada Report on Student Alcohol and Drug Use, Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, 2011)
Summaries of reports and surveys on youth drug and alcohol use across Canada (PDF)
For more information about cost, availability or to book an in class or online presentation please call MADD Canada at:
1-800-665-6233 / Toronto area: 905-829-8805
(please see below for the representative for your Region):
Ontario and Western Provinces
Annie LeBel ext. 234 or email alebel@madd.ca
Atlantic provinces and Quebec
Gisèle Franck ext. 244, or email gfranck@madd.ca
If your school would like to make a donation to MADD Canada to help support programs such as the School Program, Victim Services, and Public Awareness Campaigns, please click here. Thank you for your support, together we will empower Canadians and save lives!
MADD Canada’s School Program is an all Canadian production shown on a large HD screen that we bring to you! The School Program is an on-screen fictional re-enactment of the trauma that can result when someone makes the choice to take drugs or alcohol and get behind the wheel. A LIVE quiz for MORE INTERACTION with the facilitator was added this year.
The presentation also includes interviews with people who have been injured and/or lost a loved one(s) as a result of impaired driving. Innocent people are injured and killed every day. Friends and family will forever feel the pain of losing a loved one.
It presents a message your students won’t soon forget, all delivered with a state-of the art sound system, HD projector and screen.
The key messages are:
• Peer pressure
• Dangers of binge drinking
• Realities about impairment caused by smoking marijuana
• Mixing marijuana and alcohol
• Accepting rides from alcohol or drug impaired drivers
• Importance of planning ahead
• The real life changing consequences of one wrong decision
• Student empowerment
We’re glad you asked! MADD Canada’s School Program is unique in that it shows students the very real consequences of impaired driving. We bring the all Canadian presentation right to you and when we leave, we have resources to help you further the message. When you book MADD Canada’s School Assembly Program for your school, the education and awareness doesn’t end when the presentation does. It is our goal to bring awareness about the dangers of impaired driving to students year round. For this reason we have developed a comprehensive Educators’ Guide and other resources that can assist teachers to keep the education going throughout the school year, before and after the presentation.
Along with the follow up resources provided to you, we encourage you to get in contact with your local MADD Canada Chapter to discuss the possibility of working together to continue MADD Canada’s message in your school.
A live quiz, true or false questions, provides a full interaction with the facilitator. The quiz takes place between the film and the real testimonies. At the end of the presentation our field representative will wrap up the presentation and leave the students with a positive message. To prepare the school we provide a Educators’ Guide that will help your teachers facilitate conversation after the presentation.
Yes, in order to ensure that the content is current and relevant to the students we produce a new program every year. Research shows that consistent and continual messaging has the greatest impact. Approximately 95% of the schools that we visit have us back every single year.
The presentation has been specifically designed for grade 7-12 students.
We can present it to as many students as you can fit comfortably in your space (i.e. gym, cafeteria, theatre, etc.). We have shown it to more than 2000 students at one time. For schools that cannot fit all students in a single presentation please ask your school outreach coordinator if a second or third presentation at your school is possible.
It may be true that your students are not yet driving or experimenting with drugs or alcohol, however we know that educating students at a young age helps them develop the necessary skills required to make important decisions when the time comes. We want them to know their options before they are faced with actually making the choice to drive impaired. We want them to know that being a passenger with an impaired driver is equally as dangerous as driving impaired.
FACT: While the percentage of student’s binge drinking increases with each grade, the biggest single increase – from 8% to 24% occurs between grade 8 and 9.
FACT: Road crashes are the number 1 cause of youth death in Canada.
The MADD Canada School Assembly Program has been shown in all Provinces and Territories except Nunavut. Chances are we will be coming to your area. It is best to contact your school outreach coordinator as soon as possible to inquire about dates and availability.
From September to June, our 3 presenters travel to schools all across Canada. We will do our best to reserve a spot for your school in the presentation schedule. However, as our program is in such high demand, it is not always possible for us to offer your first choice of date. We recommend that you contact your school’s program coordinator as soon as possible to inquire about dates and availability.
Yes! We are pleased to offer the MADD Canada School Assembly Program in French.
For schools that have hearing impaired students, we are able to provide closed captioning for our English film. For our French film, we can provide a script ahead of time which outlines the content of the show.
Technical Requirements:
Our field representative will arrive with all the required equipment to put on your assembly (i.e. 1 large HD screen – full set up is 17 ft. high by 21 ft. wide, HD projector, sound system, microphone, etc.). All that is required from you is 3 outlets, the space, a few volunteers for setup/takedown and the audience.
Time& Volunteer Requirements;
Your assembly will take approximately 55 minutes. The field representative will spend a few minutes introducing the students to the program at which point the onscreen portion is about 45 minutes. Our field representative will than spend a few minutes wrapping up the program. Setup is about 45-50 minutes and takedown is about 30 minutes. We require 4-5 students or staff volunteers to assist with both these processes.
For more information on cost, availability or to book please call MADD Canada at:
• Toll Free: 1-800-665-6233/ Toronto area: 905-829-8805
Although grade 7 and 8 students are not yet driving or may not yet be experimenting with alcohol or drugs, we know that educating students at a young age helps them develop the necessary skills required to make important decisions when the time comes. Some students may already be exposed to being a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone who is impaired or have been in situations where they were around drugs and alcohol. We want these students to know their options before they are faced with actually making the choice to drive impaired or get in the car with someone who is impaired. Our program guides them and gives them the tools that will prepare them for making smart and responsible choices before they enter high school.
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