Updated
9-25-11
Debbie just returned from a very rewarding trip to Texas sponsored by the Texas Young Lawyers
Association. The TYLA is producing a video about alcohol poisoning using young actors to tell a realistic story.
Debbie was interviewed to provide an epilogue for the video. If this video turns out as planned it could very well be
part of the "education packet" we are planning to release in 2012 to assist schools in meeting their mandated "drug
and alcohol" curriculum. We extend a huge "Texas size" Thank You! to the TYLA and its 2011 President
Natalie Koehler who is spearheading the project. As we were packing for Dallas and the TYLA project, Debbie received
a call from a wonderful educator at Anderson High School in Austin Texas, Rene Teeler, who asked if Debbie ever presented
to schools in Texas. Well, guess what! We were headed your way for the TYLA project and were happy to rent a car
and drive from Dallas to Austin for Debbie to present at Anderson High School! What a great event that Rene and her
staff organized in just a few days! An overflowing crowd of students and parents from Anderson and surrounding schools
caused Rene to move the presentation from the school to a large church ampitheater nearby. This event illustrates how
just one person, sending one email, makes a difference and gets a presentation scheduled in their community! Thank you,
Rene for setting this up and for the warm welcome we received from Anderson High School!
We
are currently preparing for next week's combined trip from the west coast to the east coast, from Olympia High School in the
state of Washington to The Pingry School in Martinsville, New Jersey. Many of the calls we receive and trips we are
setting up are a direct result of the Good Housekeeping article. Thank you again, Andrea Todd, for writing this article.
It has made a difference . . .
Updated 6-26-11
The biggest recent news for the
Foundation has been the comprehensive article published in the April edition Good Housekeeping Magazine. With a combined subscription, online and newsstand readership of
about 7 million, we received tremendous exposure for our alcohol education message which in turn led to many invitations for
Debbie to speak around the country. An updated list of past and future presentations is listed on the site. There is
no rhyme or reason to invitations as public, private and charter schools are equally represented. Often, it is simply
a matter of a parent, a student or a teacher reading the GH article or coming across this web site that leads to a request
for Deb to present.
By way of establishing addtional credibility for our program, Deb received recognition as Citizen Activist of
the Year from the Consumer Attorneys of California for her work in support of AB 2486 and was also one of twenty citizens
nationwide nominated for the Citizen Service Before Self award given by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation as seen
on this link: http://citizenservicebeforeselfhonors.org/2011-honors-nominations/finalists.
Although our focus will always
include direct presentation to students, given the impossibility of ever being able to present to enough high schools (27,467
public high schools, over 15,000,000 high school students) we are also working on social and other media projects to maximize
exposure. If you have ideas or suggestions, please contact us!
We will spend this sumer debriefing, regrouping and then renewing
our efforts for Fall 2011!
Updated 11-14-10
The Steve Wilcos Show segment
on binge drinking aired a couple days ago and it is amazing how much exposure a national TV show can bring. We have
spent the last couple of days responding to requests for Shelbys Rules wristbands and offering to have Debbie come to towns
(across the states) to present her alcohol poisoning education to junior and high school assemblies. The show
came out very well due to the manner that our Shelby's Rules ambassadors, Kim Guterding and Alyssa Alexander handled themselves.
Thank you, Kim and Alyssa!
Mailing wristbands and cards away to all parts of the U.S. has emphasized a need to do fundraising.
This will be our immediate focus as we are learning we can't get the message out there where it needs to be, at the local
level, without funds to do so. And not every jurisdiction has the funds to pay for Debbie's travel expenses.
In addition, our classroom curriculum project is stalled about 1/3 through production due to a lack of funds. If anyone
has ideas about how to raise funds please contact us! Our goal is to be able to give away wrist bands and information
cards to students at every presentation and upon request.
The 2009 tax returns have been filed.
Updated 11-3-10
We are a bit worn out from the
trip to San Diego last week but it was time well spent. 6 presentations to students at San Marcos High School (the entire
student body), an evening parent forum at SMHS and 3 presentations at La Costa Canyon High School. As we have
mentioned, our trip South was sponsored by Steve and Ursula Roberts who lost their son Scott to acute alcohol poisoning just
over a year ago. Scott and Ursula attended presentations at SMHS where Scott would have been a senior this year.
You can only imagine the heartbreak of walking the campus, seeing the kids where your son should have been hanging out with
his friends on top of the world in the graduating, senior class. Words cannot express our understanding of their sorrow.
But we know.
Thanks
to an invitation by the Colusa County Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services, we were invited to and Debbie presented
for the student body of Colusa High School in Colusa, CA. Wonderful kids, wonderful faculty. Debbie spoke
to several hundred students in the gym without a microphone and the students were exemptionally quiet in order to hear her.
As we always do, we asked for suggestions and a suggestion was made to cut the initial slide show by 1/3, in other words,
from 3 songs to 2 songs. We think this is a good suggestion and are going to revise the DVD accordingly. Debbie
incorporated several other changes in her presentation that came from the San Diego trip and the presentation is getting more
effective in its focus on causes, symptoms and treatment for acute alcohol poisoning.
Paperwork time. We contracted with a CPA firm to do the
tax return for 2009. It's unfortunate that donations must be used for tax preparation but that is necessary in order
to maintain the Foundation's non-profit status.
Updated 10-20-10
Big day yesterday! Debbie
presented at Simpson University (private 4 year university in Redding) and at CSU-Chico (thank you Professor Hyde). Due to
those scheduled events she could not make a last-minute, quick trip to NYC for a live taping on teen binge drinking for a
national show but Kim Guterding and Alyssa Alexander,
Shelby's two best friends (and now her best friends forever), stepped up and volunteered to take the red eye out to the East
Coast and back to tape the show! Having these two beautiful young women do the show was likely for the best, anyway, as the
show was in front of a teen audience - who better to speak to teens than Alyssa and Kim!
Updated
10-18-10
Legislation Signed! - Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 2486 which reimposes the
ability to take civil action against adults who knowingly provide alcohol to minors and AB 1999 which provides limited criminal
immunity for minors who call for emergency help for a minor needing medical help from alcohol poisoning. Debbie testified
on AB 2486 and participated on a live radio broadcast on Los Angeles public radio station 89.3 KPCC. Debbie's Fall schedule is starting to book up. In September she was able
to speak to a conference in San Diego at the invitation of the Laborers International Union. The week of October
25th Debbie will be in Carlsbad and San Marcos, CA to present at several high schools including San Marcos High School due
to the sponsorship of Steve and Ursula Roberts who tragically lost their son Scott to alcohol poisoning in June of last year.
Thank you, Steve and Ursula, for bringing Debbie to your son's school. We are so sorry it is for this reason.
Updated
6-3-10
Much has happened since the last update in March! Debbie has made numerous presentations
from the California coast all the way to Indiana and back again. Please check out the "Schedule of Appearances"
page to see how busy she has been! We are very grateful to Dr. Gordon and Nancy Kockow for sponsoring our trip to Rensselear,
Indiana and surrounding communities where Deb was able to participate in a youth leadership program, the Pioneerz Retreat,
and present to several high school assemblies. We are equally grateful to Linda Turnbull of "Teen Esteem"
in Dublin, California for sponsoring our participation in several presentations in the Danville area including at the San
Ramon Valley High School and a Parents Forum the same evening. One thing we have learned clearly is that all it takes
is one dedicated person to make things happen. These are the Gordons, the Nancys and the Lindas of the world.
When a life is saved or injury prevented as a result of this Foundation's message being brought to a local community, it is
due to these parents and activists who invite, sponsor and arrange for Deb to be able to present to students and parents.
More
positive news, we have been informed that AB 2486 has passed unanimously on the Assembly Floor and is now at the Senate.
We also continue to work with our videographer and producer on the educational DVD project and will be sending out grant applications
for funding of this effort to emphasize alcohol poisoning as part of California Education Code High School curriculum.
Last but not least Deb was recently interviewed by a writer and we have our fingers crossed that a magazine article will be
approved for national circulation.
Updated 3-26-10
Our trip to San Benito
County was very rewarding as Deb was able to present to students at San Benito High School and San Andreas High School before
attending a Town Hall meeting at Hollister City Hall in the evening. Hollister is stepping up to the task of improving
life for its young people and we appreciate being invited to play a small part in that effort. Two video segments from
Channel 8 news are located on our "Links" page.
The very next day,
Deb was invited to testify at the Assembly Judiciary Committee on AB 2486, which she did at the request of the bill's sponsor
Assemblyman Mike Fuerer. The bill will impose civil liability on adults that intentionally provide alcohol to minors
in their home where the minor is then injured or killed. Most of us do not know that current law pushed by the alcohol
industry provides absolute civil immunity in such cases. Well, we are happy to report that the bill was passed unanimously by all Committee members. Thank you
Mike Fuerer and your associates!
Updated
3-16-10
Deb conducted a whirlwind visit to the Bay Area last week, presenting to Sacred Heart Cathedral
Preparatory High School in downtown San Francisco and Homestead High School in Cupertino. Altogether more than 2,200
students heard Debbie's message to identify alcohol poisoning symtoms and to "GET HELP!" Deb was also invited
to speak at a Parents Forum sponsored by Homestead High School. Many people participated in arranging these visits but
in particular we would like to thank Tom Farrell at Sacred Heart and Tara Grande at Homestead. Many emailed messages from
students came to us after these events, some of which are reprinted on our "Messages from Friends" page.
Next week, we excited to be invited
to the San Benito County area for several presentations that have been arranged by Renee Hankla of the San Benito County Behavioral
Health Services. The next day, Deb will be attending a Committee Hearing on AB 2486 which deals with the current situation
where there is immunity from civil law suits for households that provide alcohol to minors resulting in injury or death.
Needless to say, without the possibility of civil action, some people will never be responsible enough to refrain from serving
minors alcoholic beverages. As Debbie says, "unfortunately, without laws to hold them accountable, many people
decide they have no responsibility".
We are also pleased to report that we are firming up dates for presentations in the Dublin, California
area and in Jaspar County, Indiana.
ANNOUNCEMENT! The Foundation has just contracted to develop an educational DVD and lesson
plan that we intend to provide to schools that will fit into the classroom curriculum on drug and alcohol education. We are
very happy that filming on this project has begun!
Updated
2-6-10
We have confirmed a number of appointments for Debbie to present in the Bay Area. We are
excited about the increased exposure but unfortunately, this is due to the death of 15 year old Sarah Botill from Gilroy.
Our heartfelt condolences and sympathy to her family and friends. Somehow, we must get the aducational message of "get
help" out quicker and to a bigger audience.
Debbie is also now working with possible legislation in a couple of area of alcohol
related civil liability and immunity. Example, establishing civil liability when an adult knowingly provides alcohol
to minors and looking at when immunity from criminal prosecution might be appropriate when someone actually calls for help
in an emergent situation. We need to somehow encourage people to call for help and get them past their fear of getting
in trouble.
Updated 1-2-10
Thank you to Tammi Lidie, Big
League Dreams, Chance Taylor, Stauffer Sound, the Mountain View Middle School Cheer Squad and numerous other sponsors and
participants who attended the first annual "Walk To Remember" memorial event on December 20th in memory of several
families who have recently lost teens. Perhaps this will become an ongoing memorial event in our community for our "gone
but not forgotten" young people who pass away each year. Of special note, not only did Tammi create and organize
this event, she personally walked 20 miles the night before (midnight till 6 am) in a successful fundraising effort!
After the tragic loss of 15 year
old Sarah Botill in Gilroy CA, likely to alcohol poisoning at a slumber party, Debbie has offered to attend meetings in South
Bay communities to help educate youth about the danger of alcohol as a fatal poison. Debbie is tentatively scheduled
to visit San Jose in early February at the invitation of the Santa Clara County Department of Alcohol and Drug Services and
Mental Health. We hope that initial trip will lead to the opportunity to present at local school assemblies. Our
sincere sympathy to Sarah's family and friends. If only we could have presented Debbie's program at Sarah's school before
this happened. This emphasizes our need for sponsors to help Debbie get invited to your local communities and
schools. Often, all it takes is one parent to introduce the school their child attends to this web site, and to ask
for Debbie to speak. She will attend wherever invited.
Deb gave three back-to-back presentations to youths age 12 -18 at the Butte County
Juvenile Hall on Decenmber 29th. Thank you Brian Anderson (Superintendent) and Nino Pinocchio (Assistant Superintendent)
for this opportunity.
We recently received written acknowledgement from the IRS that our Foundation non-profit status application
has been received and is being processed.
Our heartfelt thanks to all who have helped get this educational effort up and running in 2009
- you know who you are!
And, last but not least, let us all have a safe 2010 and do the best job possible to educate as many people
as possible!
Updated 11-18-09
Our trip to Wyoming (Deb's second) was very rewarding as we were welcomed with open arms into the communities
on the west side of the Wind River Mountain Range and Yellowstone National Park areas, the communities of Pinedale and Jackson
Hole. What an impressive group of warm, caring parents and teachers. Deb gave 4 presentations in two days, a public
high school assembly, a public middle school assembly, a private high school assembly and a community forum of concerned parents.
Several Corporate sponsors helped fund the trip, including British Petroleum (BP), ULTRA, the Pinedale Aquatic Center and
Moose Creek Catering. A lovely local business woman, Heidi Dyess, created banners and donated them. The Board
of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), an educational arm of the State Government and Sublette County School District
#1 also coordinated funding for the trip. Key to our invitation was funding from SADD, the Students Against Destructive
Decisions of Pinedale High and the Pinedale Middle School Champions.
Our good friend Tammi Lidie, mother of one of Shelby's best
friends in 11th grade, Kim, is organizing a "WALK TO REMEMBER" memorial event and fund raiser tentatively scheduled
for Sunday, December 20th, on the one year anniversary of Shelby's passing . . . We are deeply grateful
to Tammi for organizing this event and look forward to participating. Details will be forthcoming.
Deb has attended and presented at an impressive number of other events, please check out the
"Schedule of Appearances" to follow her progress. Later this week we are talking to the Washoe County School
District in Reno, Nevada about presenting to their schools. She is not slowing down and is eager to continue this work.
The
most important help we need is referrals to schools where our educational program can be presented. It just takes one
person to initiate a visit. If you can get a school administrator or counselor for us to contact, we will follow up.
Anywhere, anytime. We feel an urgent need to move this program forward as alcohol poisoning incidents continue to occur
with regularity, even in our very community which should be better informed. Jon Bell, a freshman student at Andersoon
High School in Shasta County, recently survived a very near death experience with alcohol poisoning. His story is included
on our web site. Please read it to understand why we need to continue planting Shelby's Seeds of knowledge wherever we can
. . .
Thank you.
Updated 9-15-09
Shelby would have been
18 today. Her family and friends miss her . . .
Lot's of progress has been made over the last couple of months.
Deb has begun her Fall schedule
and has numerous presentations on her calendar including at least two out of state trips, to Wyoming and Indiana, in October.
Tax Exempt status is almost complete.
Promotional materials for the 2009 school year have been ordered, including 3,500 wrist bands and 100 hooded sweatshirts.
Team hoodies have been ordered for a volleyball tyeam in Wyoming that will carry the Shelbee logo. Plans are being made
to approach other Foundations to coordinate a national effort, for example, the KeepFriendshipAlive Foundation has expressed
interest in working together. Please visit them at http://keepfriendshipalive.com. The Foundation has retained
a professional advocate to approach corporate sponsors. The new TV commercial is being finalized.
Many great ideas came out of
the August 15 Committee Meeting that you can see on the "Notes of Foundation Committee Meetings" page.
Likely the next several months
through the Fall semester will consist of presentations and outreach.
We encourage any person reading this to contact us if they
have a venure that would benefit from our educational message.
Updated 8-10-09
We took
a break this summer with school out but are beginning to gear up for the new school year, as most of our activities involve
presentations to students. A Shelbysrules Commitee is scheduled for Saturday, August 15th at 3 pm, 1860 Park Marina
Drive. An agenda was emailed to Committee members. If you are interested in your email being placed on the Committee
list, email us with your address.
Deb traveled to Santa Monica last week to interview
potential media marketing providers, focusing on youth based media such as YouTube and Twitter. Deb will be taping
a TV interview for public access cable on 8-12. She has also been contacted by a number of agencies for possible presenting
in the Fall, including a local Juvenile Hall and CSU-Chico.
Updated
6-8-09
Deb presented her message at a series of high schools the week after her return from
Wyoming as kind of a grand finale effort the week before graduation, including Hayfork High in Trinity County, Los Molinos
High and Corning High in Tehama County and Foothill High (Shelby's school) in Shasta County. The reward
for this effort is in the email responses we started receiving after her visits. We put a number of them on the site,
on the "Letters from Friends" page.
More recently, the Shasta Deputy Sheriffs' Association notified us
that they had cleared nearly $700 in their annual golf tournament fundraiser, which this year they dedicated to Shelby's Rules.
Thank you DSA President Jon Ruiz, tournament organizer Randy Dyer, and the DSA Board of Directors. We are using this
donation to distribute additional wrist bands without charge. For example, a patrol officer requested a supply to hand
out to youthful partygoers that he comes across in his patrol duties in the well-known party town of Chico, California.
Chico was made famous by being selected as the "Number 1" party college campus several years ago by Playboy magazine.
A dubious honor indeed. As a side note, Chico is where our friend Caitlin made her tough choice to get a freshman student
to the Emergency Room and then ran into excessive school sanctions (read "Caitlin's Story" on this site).
Our friend and Shelby's elementary
school art teacher Marianne Drysdale organized an art show featuring local artists that created paintings and other art pieces
in memory of Shelby. This was a dramatic, emotional event for our family. Mrs. Drysdale did the honor of gifting
to us the art pieces that were created for this event. We will be forever grateful.
Very
exciting news is the success of the commercial filming last Saturday at the Redding Convention Center. Chris Darker
and Christine Perry organized this event, which was showcased in the local paper and Channel 7 news. Chris and Christine
put together an impressive array of emergency responders and their vehicles to serve as a backdrop to local students gathered
together in support of alcohol education. Attending thanks to permission from respective Chiefs, Sheriff's and managers
was a ladder truck and pump engine from Redding Fire Department, patrol vehicles from Redding Police Department, Anderson
Police Department and Shasta Sheriff's Department, and ambulance crews from American Medical Response. The commercial
is a work in progress and when completed will be available nationwide for community groups to use as an educational Public
Service Announcement. We will publish pictures as soon as we get them!
We intend to use
the summer to debrief, consider the goods and the bads in order to tune up our message. We will set a Shelby's Rules
Committee meeting soon to gather input and prepare for the new school year.
Thanks to all who
have helped and who continue to support this effort. You are making a difference! All you have to do is read the
"Letters from Friends" to see how true this is!
Updated 5-14-09
Deb flew from Redding to San Francisco to Denver to Jackson
Hole, Wyoming and then drove to the Boulder/Pinedale area at the invitation of community leaders who scheduled several school
and community events for her to present at. She is tired but very happy to be able to reach so many students.
She reports that the schools were very impressive and the students polite and responsive. The community purchased 400
wrist bands to distribute to students. We are very grateful to the community leaders, business owners, school administrators
and caring citizens who made this trip possible. It is our first significant out of state trip and by all accounts has
been a resounding success.
We were also pleased to hear that Marysville High School's grad night celebration had no reported alcohol
incidents. This is the time of year where events surrounding graduation can get carried away, so Deb is making a big
effort to attend whereever she is invited. Her schedule is posted on this site on a separate page.
The wrist bands that came in
are very cool; the extra expense for some of the "add ons" to make them special seem well worth it.
These include colored lettering so that the words on the bands "pop out" and are highly visible, placing the bands
in individual bags and including a colorful card insert with "Shelbys Rules" and the "Shelbee" logo.
We are selling wrist bands for $2 each, Tee shirts for $10 each, and polo shirts and hooded sweat shirts for $25 each.
All items have a combination of the colorful Shelbee logo, the web site address and Shelby's special "DIG LIFE"
message to her peers. Items are priced pretty much at cost, rounded up a little to cover postage if needed.
Updated 4-26-09
The Committee met
yesterday, Saturday, April 25th at the Redding Office of UPEC. Thank you to everyone who gave up their Saturday morning
to help. Anita Joseph from Shasta County Public Health Department gave an update of the progress to adopt a Social
Host Ordinance. The proposed ordinance will impose civil penalties for hosting a party where underage drinking is allowed
or condoned. The ordinance will soon be presented to the local City Councils and the County Board of Supervisors for
consideration. If you would like to help in this worthy effort, please contact Anita at her email, ajoseph@co.shasta.ca.us. Chris Darker and Christine Perry presented their production of a radio and tv alcohol poisoning
commercial that will begen airing May 1, leading up to high school graduation. Progress on the orders of wrist bands,
shirts, bags, sweat shirts and banners were discussed. Deb described her recent and upcoming meetings, including a several
day trip to Sublette Schools in Wyoming.
Updated 4-5-09
Thank you, John, for getting the message out about alcohol poisoning through ER's
unique venue. Over 17 million viewers tuned in to watch ER. This has to help somebody, somewhere!
We also appreciated the special report on Channel 24 (NBC) that was put together by
Kelli Saam. Kelli did a build up to the ER episode and a follow-up with students who viewed the episode at high school
and college "viewing parties". NBC's "Inside Edition" ran a piece on Friday night (4-3) the day
after ER ran, that we also felt was well done.
On
Friday, April 3rd, Deb spoke at the Las Plumas High "Every 15 Minutes" program in Oroville to several hundred students
and to a student leadership council at University Prepatory School in Redding. Yesterday, we attended the Easter
Festival put on by the student organization "Friday Night Live" at Central Valley High School in Shasta Lake City.
We set up a Shelbys Rules booth and Deb spoke from the stage. We saw our friends from MADD and made new friends with
members of the the "Back From Hell" motorcycle club that advocates alcohol and illegal drug abstinence, based on
their personal experiences.
Deb
is on the calendar to travel to Sublette County, Wyoming in mid May to speak to student assemblies at the middle and high
schools throughout that County. Local businesses and
citizens have pitched in to cover her travel expenses.
A big "Thank You" to all of those working to invite Debbie to attend events, BJ at the Easter festival,
Marian at the "Every 15 Minute" event, Jan at Sublette County. If she can make your event, she will.
Please keep inviting her!
Updated 3-31-09
We have has a very busy last week.
- We were
interviewed by Chico TV station Channel 24 reporter Kelli Saam for an article regarding the upcoming ER story line in April
2.
- Deb spoke at a planning meeting between the City of Chico Mayor's
Office and the CSU, Chico Associated Student Body regarding drug and alcohol abuse on campus.
- Deb spoke at a Community Forum in Woodland on alcohol abuse.
- Deb was interviewed by Sacramento TV station Channel 3.
- Deb spoke to students at Pacheco School
- We switched the
shelbysrules website to a youth oriented format and moved this site to shelbysrulesfoundation (thank you Olga!)
Upcoming is:
- The ER story on Thursday, April 2 at 9 pm.
- Deb will participate in the "Every 15 Minute" program ay Las Plumas High School on Friday, April 3.
- We will have a booth at the Central Valley High School Easter Festival on Saturday,
April 4th.
Updated
3-17-09
The crab feed
truly was a lot of fun! We pretty much broke even this year but had a great time and got the word out through radio
ads, mailers and hand outs at local high schools. I am told breaking even is great for the first year of a fund raiser.
We will do it again next year!
