CHEERS to the Designated Driver

Creation of the CHEERS Program

Project CHEERS (Creatively Helping to Establish an Educated and Responsible Society) is an innovative health promotion program designed to increase the number of designated drivers throughout the state of Missouri. Bars, restaurants and nightclubs participating in CHEERS provide free non-alcoholic beverages to the acknowledged designated driver in a group of two or more.

CHEERS was created in April of 1986 by a group of students at the University of Missouri-Columbia who were part of an organization called PARTY (Promoting Alcohol Responsibility Through You). The purpose and mission of the CHEERS Program was to implement and coordinate a community-wide designated driver program in Columbia.

PARTY had such success with the program that they went to the Missouri Division of Highway Safety to get funding to create similar programs throughout Missouri. Currently, the project is funded entirely by the Missouri Department of Transportation Office of Highway Safety. State universities and colleges are encouraged to participate in program development. Educational and promotional materials are sent to each chapter so that facilitators can promote the program on campus and throughout their community. CHEERS currently has 21 community chapters across the state and over 200 participating establishments (cheers.missouri.edu).

Room for Growth

Despite the appeal of free non-alcoholic beverages for designated drivers, the CHEERS program continues to be underutilized among college students. According to the 2008 Missouri College Health Behavior Survey, 67.9 percent of students surveyed at Truman State University were aware of the CHEERS program, but only 10.8 percent of students had ever used it. (http://pip.missouri.edu/members.html).

In Kirksville, one of the main barriers to the success of the CHEERS program is the alcohol policy at Truman. Printed material must not appear to condone alcohol use. Therefore, promotional items are intentionally vague and encourage students to go to the CHEERS website to find out more information. In addition, CHEERS coordinators are unable to distribute information regarding participating CHEERS establishments. In Kirksville, the Truman chapter has seven participating establishments. These include:

Ryan's Sport Bar and Grill 112 West Harrison

Too Tall's Two 220 North Elson

TP's Office 110 South Elson

Wooden Nickel & Woody's 114 South Elson

Dukum Inn 111 South Elson

Il Spazio 215 West Washington

La Fuente 1711 N Baltimore St

Please support bars, restaurants, and nightclubs that participate in CHEERS, and if your favorite place is not on the list, encourage them to adopt the program.

Resources:

(2008, May 2). Missouri College Health Behavior Survey . Retrieved February 10, 2009, from Partners in Prevention Web site: http://pip.missouri.edu/members.html that promoting the use of designated drivers is an excellent or good

Schlosser, J (2008). About CHEERS. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from CHEERS to the Designated Driver Web site: www.cheers.missouri.edu