This February, I attended a Greek leadership conference in St. Louis called AFLV.  Keep Friendship Alive was the closing keynote, and during her presentation, Erica advocated for Good Samaritan Policies.  At the time, I was only kind of familiar with GSPs – when calling 911 for a student experiencing a medical emergency with alcohol, you don’t get in trouble with the school.  A fellow James Madison student, Francis, and I returned to campus and realized that our ‘policy’ was more of an unwritten rule; there was no official documentation.

After learning about other schools’ effective policies, Francis and I decided that a Good Samaritan Policy is something that JMU truly needs.  How could our school, where kindness and giving is an engrained tradition, not have a policy that encourages students to make smart choices and help their peers?  Surprisingly enough, Good Samaritan and Medical Amnesty Policies are a relatively new phenomenon.  With that said, over a hundred universities and twelve states have some sort of Good Samaritan Policy in place, and many more are in the process right now.

We had no idea how easy or difficult getting a policy passed might be, but we started with a Google search.  We quickly realized not many sites exist with information, and most sites link us to other university websites.  We collected information on their policies, effectiveness, alcohol statistics, etc.  We also began to ask others at JMU if they knew anything about Good Samaritan Policies, if anyone had tried to pass one before, and if they knew would be best to work with at JMU.  By pure luck we came across two other undergrads and a grad student who were also in the beginning phases of creating a policy.  Once we all connected and brought our research and ideas to the table, we drafted up our ideal policy.  Multiple meetings and drafts later, we had what we believed to be a strong policy, but we were still were uncertain on logistical details.  There were not many places to look where you could find extensive information on creating a effective policy.

At this point, one of our team members met with the Dean of Students.  He was very receptive and supportive of our policy, and helped us work through different ideas of implementation, how others might be react to it, and how to move forward.  This Spring semester, our group met with other major organizations and offices on campus to get their feedback and ideas for the policy.  For the most part, people were very supportive, but that isn’t to say everyone was.  Some were hesitant or simply thought it wouldn’t be passed.  All of this feedback was helpful.  While some gave us helpful ideas, others motivated us even more to continue doing what we believe to be right for our campus.  As of now, our final draft has been submitted and we’re just waiting to hear if it will pass.

Throughout the past few months, while having no idea what we were doing, I emailed Erica more times than I’d like to admit.  We both decided there needs to be a place where students can get more detailed information and ask questions.  The result to all those emails was a new WordPress site, students4GSP.wordpress.com.  My hopes for the website/blog are that students can easily read through ideas, steps, and policies so that they can more easily create these life-saving policies at their own schools.  During the past three years as an undergrad, I have taken a lot of classes, gone to a lot of speakers, and sat through many group meetings.  However, I now realize that students really have the power to create lasting change on college campuses.  With the right tools and motivation, policies such as Good Samaritan/Medical Amnesty Policies are not only possible but ultimately leave a positive lasting impact for years to come.

We heard you!
Due to spring break and finals,
we are extending the application deadline to
Saturday March 17th!!
BE BOLD & CREATIVE!
GOOD LUCK!

This is pretty darn exciting – it’s time for the UP intern search!  Keep Friendship Alive’s Founder & Executive Director, Erica Upshaw, is looking for a few really special people to trek to Laguna Beach this summer and help her launch “UP” – a modern and unconventional substance abuse prevention program for middle schools, led by college students.  If you are interested in learning more about this potentially life-changing experience, you must read this first.

THE APPLICATION

What we can offer you:
UNPARALLELED LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
this isn’t your typical corporate internship.  you are essentially starting a company.
RESUME BOOSTER
just read some of the projects below.  you’ll certainly get your hands dirty.
OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE BACK
we are going to do so much good together.

Specific Summer Projects with Erica & the UP Team:
1. Plan & Execute a Fundraiser
2. Prepare for UP Film Series
call on celebs, activists, musicians, and artists to appear in film series
secure permission from musicians to feature their music on soundtrack
prep for high school casting sessions
3. Test UP Curriculum with Middle Schoolers during interactive Focus Groups
4. Work with local UP Leaders to prepare for Pilot Program in SoCal
5. Social Media Strategy
6. Recurring “Brainstorm on the Beach” Sessions
*These are subject to change and expect much more!*

UP Interns must embody these words:
INNOVATIVE:  think differently
GUMPTION:  pick up the phone and talk to anyone
thinkBIG:  articulate your big picture approach
CHARISMATIC:  special je ne sai quoi
DYNAMIC:  energize the rest of the group
RAINMAKER:  make it happen!
inspiredbyUP:  believe in UP’s mission wholeheartedly
VERSATILE:  strategize marketing one minute and finance the next

Your ToDo list by March 17th:
Send an email to intern@keepfriendshipalive.org and include:
1. Your Resume
2. Links to all of your Social Media Profiles
& Friend Erica on Facebook
3. A video link (YouTube, Vimeo, etc),
addressing this creative and yes, bizarre dilemma, written by a college student:
You are a lion. The leader of your pride has led you and your pride to dry watering holes day after day. Your pride is growing hungry, thirsty, and increasingly irritable. Your pride is losing faith and is beginning to fall apart. Certain lions are fending for themselves while others are turning on one another. You are presented with an opportunity to speak to your pride as a whole, for 2 minutes. What do you say?
4. Written answers to the following questions:
What can you bring to UP’s table?
When was the last time you were really stoked about something?
How do you embody the UP Intern words listed above?

The Fine Print:
1. Internship Duration:  June 1st – August 31st
(dates in CA are flexible. ideally we’d like to engage you sooner on a remote basis)
2. Housing Situation:  We are currently working to secure local dorm space
3. Internship paid in experience, not cash
4. We will contact the finalists by March 20th

“Freedom lies in being bold.”  Robert Frost

Keep Friendship Alive is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

Greeks Stay Strong was created by a college student, Noah Berger, whom I adore!  I met him one year ago at the 2011 AFLV conference (Association of Fraternal Leadership & Values).  He approached me after my presentation, and we brainstormed student-led campaign ideas for his school, Michigan State.  Shortly after the conference, Greeks Stay Strong was born, thanks to Noah’s creativity and ability to think big.  Greeks Stay Strong is a 3 step process to end alcohol and drug related deaths within the Greek community at Michigan State:

1.  Take a pledge.  (2,000 MSU Greeks took the pledge!)

2.  Put on an awareness event.  (2,000 MSU Greeks attended the event!)

3.  Host an optional crisis training session.  (1,500 MSU Greeks signed up, that’s 15 chapters!)

This incredible student turnout is due to the fact that this is a STUDENT-led campaign.  Students created it, students promoted it, and therefore students continue to support it.  When I presented at Michigan State during the 2nd step, it was by far the best audience I have ever had.  Why?  Because students knew why they were there, and they were excited to be a part of Greeks Stay Strong.  This effect just doesn’t happen when programs are implemented from the top-down.

I am excited for other Greek students to learn more about Greeks Stay Strong, and that is why I highlighted this amazing campaign during my closing keynote session this morning at AFLV 2012.  I Skyped in Noah Berger, Founder and Kristen Maddock, Co-Founder.  It was really cool to see an audience of 1,500 Greek leaders support Greeks Stay Strong by tweeting the heck out of #GreeksStayStrong.

If you are interested in bringing this campaign to your school, visit the www.GreeksStayStrong.com website and contact them for more info!  Also, check out the below interview with Noah : )

In 140 characters, what is Greeks Stay Strong?
Greeks Stay Strong is a three step program designed to save lives within college Greek communities by promoting “partying smart.”

What inspired you to start this campaign?
When I first became the Vice President of Administration for the Michigan State University Interfraternity Council (IFC), I felt that I was obligated to facilitate some type of alcohol education program for Greeks. I first came up with a requirement that every fraternity chapter must hold an alcohol education session once a year put on by our school’s health center. If a chapter did not complete this requirement they would be put on social probation. So do you think my Greek members really learned anything? HELLO! Of course not. I don’t know what I was thinking!

I realized this shortly after the sessions began. I started to think, “you know, this is ridiculous, no one is going to learn this way.” After that I began thinking more – I was confused “is there even an effective way of doing this? These are COLLEGE students after all.”

And so I began; I started thinking up plans for a program that would actually work in educating Greeks about the possible ramifications of abusing alcohol and drugs.

My counterpart on the Panhellenic Council, Kristen Maddock, and I discussed that the program would have to be personal, relatable, and promote engagement in order to see any type of success. Keeping those three integral qualities in mind, I thought of a three step program – one step to cover each.

While thinking of what the goal of the program should be, I realized people should adopt this goal as their own goal, or in other words, “Take a Pledge.” I thought about what the true goal of the program was, and I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t to educate about alcohol and drugs, but rather to eliminate – ZERO – any accidental deaths that could occur from misusing alcohol or drugs. I mean why should there even be one? If you go out to have a good time, you’re not going out to die, right? So why does it happen?

With this fundamental goal now in mind, the three steps were created.

How does the process work?
The Greeks Stay Strong process is three steps. The first is to take the pledge, the second is to hold a mandatory speaker session with a relatable speaker, and the third is to hold optional crisis management training sessions.

The first step is simply asking Greek students to take the pledge: “I pledge to party smart in order to stop alcohol and drug related deaths in the Greek community.”

The second step is to hold an awareness session featuring a speaker who will present a fun, cool, and relatable outlook on partying smart. We chose to have Erica Upshaw at our school because I really liked the way she presented her story when I first heard her at a conference in 2011. By having Erica, the East Lansing Mayor, and me (a relatable Greek student) all present, the second step was successfully positioned as a “cool” session on partying smart.

The third step is all about practicing what was taught in steps one and two in order to develop the skills needed to recognize an emergency and then act successfully – we call it a “Crisis Management Session.” Michigan State University’s Olin Health Center agreed to create a Crisis Management Session which we can be used for this third step. The session offers a facilitated discussion based around realistic video clips – filmed just for this! The session also includes pre and post-test social norming questions. Olin Health Center has agreed to share this session and its related resources for schools who would like to adopt Greeks Stay Strong. It is important to us that this third step to be labeled as “optional” in order to leave it up to the students themselves to become engaged with the program.

How does Twitter play a role in Greeks Stay Strong?
#twitterishugerightnow  #youcantgoanywherewithoutahashtag. With the popularity of Twitter in mind, I knew I wanted to incorporate it into the program. #How? Well, during the second step, we asked everyone to take out their smart-phones and tweet something using the hashtag #GreeksStayStrong to support the program and express interest in the optional third step. Within minutes we had hundreds of tweets pouring in!

Why was this good? People who were at the awareness session got to see all of their peers supporting the Greeks Stay Strong program, thus, making them more comfortable in showing their program support. Also, people who weren’t at the awareness session got to see what they missed and all of the support this program was receiving.

At the end of the day, whether you were at the session or not, you couldn’t help but know what Greeks Stay Strong was, and how everyone felt about it!

Why is Greeks Stay Strong different?
Greeks Stay Strong is different because it is a program founded BY students that is FOR students. Because of this, we know that some things just won’t work!

You will never see us doing the following:

1. Preach and mandate promises

2. Exclaim “No Drinking!”

3. Utter “Partying is Bad”

Here IS what we do:

1. Teach how to party smart

2. Present important information in a fun, relatable, and cool way

3. Share ideas, stories, and practices to guide others to make decisions

How are students responding to Greeks Stay Strong at Michigan State University?
At Michigan State University, the students actually think this is a COOL program. We weren’t sure how the Greeks would take to it, but after seeing the reactions to step one, two, and the signups for 3, we now understand the success in the strategic positioning of the program.

I have had emails and phone calls pour in from Greek chapter leaders who have had doctors tell them that they saved a friends life because of the actions they learned to take in this program. Greeks at Michigan State have seemed to accept the reality that partying smart is a necessity rather than an option – and they’re okay with that!

Where do you see this going in the next 1 year, 5 years, 10 years?
Although my plans are lengthy and in depth, I will say this. In 1 year I hope to secure Greeks Stay Strong at Michigan State University as an annual and regular program for Greeks and non-Greeks alike. In 5 years I hope to have other colleges adopt Greeks Stay Strong and teach smart partying at their school using this effective method. In 10 years, aside from me hoping I’ll be on a beach somewhere, I also hope that the fundamental steps in Greeks Stay Strong will have aroused emotion in enough people to realize an effective way in promoting smart partying in order to ELIMINATE accidental alcohol and drug related deaths.

Where I want this to go is simple: I want people to understand how three simple tasks can teach thousands to save millions.

Noah Berger | Greeks Stay Strong Founder

What is this middle school program, you ask?  Head over to the newly formed UP page of the site for a detailed description, but here is a brief summary:
Keep Friendship Alive will launch a modern and unconventional substance abuse prevention program next year for middle schoolers nationwide.  College students will serve as role models by visiting their local middle schools and inspiring kids to pursue their passions and steer clear of substance abuse.  College students will be armed with cutting edge tools including a guerrilla marketing campaign, an online video series, and a curriculum to facilitate discussions and fun activities.

Want to have a crack at the logo design?  Contact us, and we’ll send you the one page creative brief.

November 17, 2011 | By Cindy Frazier

When Laguna Beach resident Erica Upshaw was rear-ended on South Coast Highway at Nyes Place in a seven-car pileup Sept. 22, she woke up in the hospital saying “Joey.”

She was lucky to be alive and calling out her dead brother’s name after a drunk driver, who died days later at the hospital, hit her Mini Cooper at 50 mph.

The driver of the car, Lee Henry Vuille, 73, was believed at first to be suffering from a diabetic condition, but later tests revealed his blood alcohol level to be higher than the legal limit, according to Laguna Beach police Lt. Jason Kravetz.

Unrelated to the Laguna crash, Joey Upshaw died in 2000 after a drinking and drug binge during a fraternity house party at The Ohio State University.

Since 2006, Erica has devoted her life to speaking to students about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, and how friends can save each other.

Erica said that she and Joey, her older brother and best friend, both liked to party. Both were good students and popular at school, each joining a sorority or fraternity. They grew up in Dayton, Ohio.

Joey was studying civil engineering and known for being a very funny drunk, she said.

“He took GHB [known as a date rape drug] after a long night of drinking, and he died that night,” Erica said. “His fraternity brothers put him to bed to sleep it off, and he never woke up. Two hours after he took the drug they called for help.

“When his lips turned blue they were afraid of getting into trouble. They were drunk and scared. Joey was to blame, too. It was a collective disaster. They didn’t act in time.”

Six years later, at administrators’ request, the formerly shy student used the voice she found while giving her brother’s eulogy to sway Ohio State students from the hard partying and binge drinking that was taking a toll there.

In the intervening years, she had become a successful photographer’s representative, living in places like Chicago and New York, where she met her husband, Darren Austin. But she felt something was missing.

“I knew I had to do something,” she said.

When Ohio State beckoned, she created the presentation “Keep Friendship Alive,” a subtle reference to the need for inebriated students to act to save each other from drug and alcohol overdose. The presentation — with an emphasis on “partying smart” — worked, and she started receiving invitations to speak at schools all over the country.

She quit her photography career and devoted herself to the cause full time. She just embarked on a two-week, 10-campus tour, following up on a 30-campus trip in the fall semester, and recently gave a presentation at UC Irvine. She has addressed some 100,000 students so far.

Colleges and universities are not the only ones clamoring for her speaking skills: She spoke to 7,000 Ohio high school students during spring 2011 graduation.

“After that, a kid wrote back to me that he is no longer dealing drugs and has decided to go to college,” she said. “That’s confirmation from above that I’m on the right track.”

Now she is expanding her goals.

“I want to try to change the culture of drinking and drug abuse in the U.S.,” she said.

She speaks from experience and doesn’t judge young people for their behavior, she said.

“The first time I got drunk was in seventh grade,” she said. “But I got straight As and played sports.” She said her drinking never became a major issue in her family.

“I look back and know I’ve made mistakes,” she said.

Now, she wants to start talking to kids in sixth grade “before they engage in risky behaviors.”

But she knows that statistics on drug use are getting even more grim.

Drug deaths now exceed deaths by traffic accidents in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is largely due to the explosion in the abuse of prescription drugs, which teens get in their parents’ medicine cabinets or on the street.

“Every day, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high,” she said. “There has been a huge jump in hospitalizations. People are dying. Parents don’t know how to talk to kids about drugs and alcohol. My mom didn’t know what Joey and I were doing.”

Although she speaks candidly about her brother with barely a trace of emotion, one thing still haunts her: what happened to him could have so easily happened to her.

It was years after the tragedy, while living in New York, that she realized that she, too, had a problem with alcohol.

“Somebody confronted me about my drinking, and I really thought about what had happened to Joey. Then Ohio State called and it was a synchronistic moment. I realized I was doing dangerous things.”

Telling Joey’s story helped her to control her drug and alcohol use. She stopped using recreational drugs and now drinks only occasionally. And she’s looking for other people to join her new nonprofit venture and spread the message to more and younger people.

“I want to teach kids to pursue their passions instead of alcohol and drugs, to create massive change,” she said.

For more information, visit http://www.keepfriendshipalive.org.

cindy.frazier@latimes.com

Twitter: @CindyFrazier1

I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive to get back into the swing of things.  My traveling / speaking schedule is nutso, and I’ve been through the ringer these past few weeks: physically, emotionally, mentally.  However, I know I am going to be okay.  In fact, I think I’m going to be better than ever.  Yep, Nietzsche, you heard me.

I have something stranger than fiction to share.  The man who caused the multiple car crash in Laguna Beach on Sept. 22nd that could have left me deader than a doornail was drunk…very drunk: .20% BAC drunk.

Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?  Drunk driver hits girl who has dedicated her life to substance abuse prevention.  Drunk driver dies, girl lives.  You can’t make this stuff up.  Experts have told me I could have easily died that day.  Just look at the pictures of my car in the below post.  And here I am, three weeks later, on stage sharing the story with thousands of young adults in hopes to educate and inspire.

Life is precious and unpredictable.  This experience is speaking to me loud and clear.  I am meant to be doing this work.  I’m moving full force ahead in creating my nationwide substance abuse prevention program for middle schoolers and recruiting college students to become positive role models in these 6th graders’ lives.  I am stoked to report that hundreds of college students have signed up to join this army that will create positive ripples in the lives of so many.

Lately I am so full of gratitude.  Life works in mysterious ways.  Yes it does.

Please read what I wrote to our golfers.  I’m SO excited about KFA’s future, and very soon we will be doing some crazy awesome things.  If you would like to donate, please visit my fundraising page.  Lots of light and love….Erica

HELLO Golfers!

I really wish I could be there today. Instead, I’m home in California, recovering from a brutal car accident. I’m extremely lucky to be alive, and I’m relieved that I don’t have any major injuries. However, it was an incredibly close call for me, and I think the tow lot attendant summed it up when she said, “Judging from the looks of your car, I thought you died.”  Unfortunately, I just found out the man who caused the accident did.

When I woke up in the ambulance last Thursday afternoon, I had no idea what happened or even what day it was, but I heard myself repeating Joey’s name. So many people have suggested he was with me that day – my guardian angel. I also believe he’s the biggest advocate of my work, and he knows there is so much more to do. It simply was not my time.

If you aren’t familiar with Joey’s story, he died in 2000 from an accidental drug overdose at his Ohio State fraternity party. Joey was my older brother and best friend in the world. A few years after his death, I decided to travel the country to share Joey’s story and educate students to party smart and keep friends safe. I have reached more than 100,000 college and high school students nationwide with my keynote presentation, Keep Friendship Alive.

Now, I’m leading Keep Friendship Alive’s expansion to reach middle school students all over the country with a modern and unconventional approach to substance abuse prevention. Think of D.A.R.E. for a second…it will be nothing like that. Our program will be fun, positive, and most importantly, effective. College students, recruited through my Keep Friendship Alive network, will serve as role models and inspire our kids to pursue their passions and steer clear of substance abuse. Our goal is to create a movement that will change the culture of alcohol and drug abuse in America.

We are raising funds to create our research-based curriculum and equip college students with cutting edge tools. Our flagship program is an online video series that will kick-start the movement with 6th graders nationwide. Next year, college students will start visiting their local middle schools to launch a guerilla marketing campaign, facilitate discussions on the video series, lead fun activities, and inspire young people everywhere. Our approach will change the paradigm for education on this issue. We will save lives.

Thank YOU for being involved and helping us raise funds for this very worthy cause.

Have fun today and please Tweet!
@ericaupshaw     @KFAgolf

 MUCH LOVE, ERICA

My heart goes out to Ann Hefferin’s family and friends, Delta Delta Delta, and University of Central Florida.

I spoke at University of Central Florida one year ago to a small fraternity and sorority audience.  When I first heard this news, I was scared that maybe Ann was present at my talk that night and I had failed her.  It turns out Ann just arrived to UCF this Fall and was only days into her college career.  If she and her friends had attended my presentation, I can’t help but wonder if things might have turned out differently.  Toxicology reports have not yet been released, but so far we know Ann had been drinking at a fraternity party, and her roommate found her unresponsive early the next morning.  We have unfortunately heard this story many times before.

Ann, I promise to continue my work in your memory.

Ann Hefferin Memorial from Knight News on Vimeo.

Ann Hefferin Candlelight Vigil at UCF Reflecting Pond from Knight News on Vimeo.