I spent Friday morning at a funeral at the high school. It was awful. The only thing that made it less horrible was the fact it wasn’t real. Instead, the drama being played out was “Every 15 Minutes,” whereby students, administrators and a cast of characters from the community take part in a mock drunk-driving car crash and the resulting funeral of the teens who are killed.
“Every 15 Minutes” is brought to the high school every two years as an educational opportunity that offers real-life experience without real-life risks. The event is designed to dramatically instill in teenagers the potentially dangerous consequences of drinking alcohol while challenging them to think about drinking, personal safety and the responsibility of making mature decisions.
Brought to Sonoma Valley High School by Speedway Children’s Charities, which is funded by the Classic Sports Racing Group, “Every 15 Minutes” is an impactful lesson for students. Over the course of the two-day event students repeatedly hear the sentence, “Every 15 minutes, someone is killed or seriously injured in an alcohol-related traffic collision.” Organizers hope this idea sticks with students. If the tears streaming down the faces of students at the funeral were an indication, the message is getting through.
Entities who participated in this year’s “Every 15 Minutes” included the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority, the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Program, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, Sonoma Police, the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation, Sonoma County Superior Court, the high school staff and the school district.
Visit every15minutes.com for more information.
