Alexas Hugs Inc

Programs: Seat belt challengeduring the spring semester of 2014, we had four local high schools participating in our first seat belt challenge. In the fall of 2013, we had performed unannounced, anonymous seat belt observations with the help of our volunteers. Every passenger in the vehicle is counted as long as it can be determined whether or not they are properly wearing their seat belt. We had counted a total of 1,479 drivers and passengersin the four schools. The seat belt usage ranged from 72. 4% to 77. 5%, with an average of74. 5% usage. We report our findings to the schools and invite them to compete against one another to see which school can make the biggest improvement in their seat belt usage. We offer three $500 prizes as additional incentive to participate in the program. A teen leadership group provides peer-to-peer messaging not only about seat belt use, but also distracted driving, driving under the influence, being a good passenger,and anything else related to improving vehicle safety. Before graduation in 2014, we returned to the four schools to perform follow-up observations (1,879 observations were recorded). We were thrilled to find that all four schools had improved seat belt usage, ranging from 2. 2% - 16. 8% improvement. The overall improvement was 8. 6%. Seat belt usage now ranged between 79. 2% and 84. 6%, with an average of 80. 9% usage. With a cumulative enrollment of approximately 4,500 students in the four schools, this was a significant improvement in seat belt usage in our local schools. The school with our lowest baseline observation had the highest seat belt usage in the spring, and had also submitted the winning public service announcement. This school - berthoud high school - won$1,500 from alexa's hugs for winning all three components of the seat belt challenge. Berthoud highschool is the most rural school in our district, so 16. 8% improvement was especially significant. In the fall of 2014, we anticipated growth in the participation in the seat belt challenge. We performed anonymous, unannounced observations at fifteen schools in two counties (five school districts) and recorded 8,782 observations. The seat belt usage ranged from 48. 5% - 83. 2%, with an average of 73. 5%. As usual, we reported results to each school and invited them to participate in the challenge. Eleven schools accepted the challenge and are participating (14,000+ students). Follow-up observations for the spring of 2015 have not yet been done. Also of note is that we compared baseline observations for the four schools that participated in the first seat belt challenge. Those four schools had an overall seat belt usage of 74. 5% in the fall of 2013 (1,479 observed). Usage at those same schools was at 78% in the fall of 2014 (2,182 observed), demonstrating that they were able to maintain an improvement in seat belt usage over: the summer and with a change in student population (previous seniors graduated and a new freshman class was introduced). We will continue to track this data to monitor long-term progress in seat belt usage. The seat belt challenge is one of our primary programs. Approximately 50% of our time and resources are dedicated to this program. Hugs for graduateshugs are decorative straps of ribbon that fasten around a seat belt and serve as a visual reminder to buckle up every time you get in your vehicle. Our messagewith each one is that you slide it to fit over your heart and think of a hug from a loved one - thus the name. Each hug is hand-made by our founders and volunteers. Made in a wide variety of colors and designs, they are created with the intent of finding one that will work for almost anyone. Of particular focus is our project to create custom hugs for students, especially for graduating seniors. When they hang their tassel on the rear-view mirror, we want them to have a hug on their seat belt that will remind them of their school pride and the successthey achieved with graduation. These hugs are made in school colors and incorporate a school logo or motto and the graduation year. We try to assure that every graduating senior from those schools participating in the seat belt challenge receive this gift just before graduation. We have also fulfilled several requests for schools who are not participating in our challenge. Thus far, our volunteers have assured that all of the requested hugs have been completed. We have provided at least 2,400 hugsto students and seniors in the 2013 & 2014graduating years. We are currently working on hugsfor the 2015 graduating class, anticipating that we will deliver approximately 3,600 hugsto the eleven schools participating in our seat belt challenge. Overall, we have made over 8,000 hugs since we first designed them. Designing and creating hugs accounts for approximately 25% of our time and resources