Seattle Sounders FC player DeAndre Yedlin and AT&T rewarded 30 youth soccer players and their parents from Bothell, Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace on Oct. 27.
The Northwest Nationals youth soccer club won ‘Sound Off,’ a campaign that challenged Washington Youth Soccer players to lead a no texting while driving pledge drive, and spread the word to family, friends and neighbors about the dangers of distracted driving.
Yedlin took photographs, signed autographs and met personally with players from the Northwest Nationals – the youth soccer team that drove the most ‘It Can Wait’ pledges. “When it comes to texting while driving, “It Can Wait” is the message that we want to score with soccer players and fans in Washington,” said Sounders FC defender DeAndre Yedlin. “Texting and driving is a serious issue with dangerous consequences.”
A movement is accomplished through the voices and actions of everyone, including our kids. That is why the Seattle Sounders FC and AT&T launched the ‘Sound Off’ challenge. Aspiring to create a social stigma around this dangerous habit of texting while driving, AT&T and the Seattle Sounders challenged the Washington Youth Soccer organization and its more than 115,000 members and 200 clubs across all parts of the state to get involved, spread the word and encourage their parents to take the pledge to never text and drive. As of today, the campaign has garnered 1,785 pledges to never text and drive.
“As a club, Northwest Nationals is a collection of families. Our athletes compete at a high level and, as such, they spend a tremendous amount of time on the road traveling to games and practices,” said Scott Newman, Nationals Director of Coaching. “We encouraged our families to sign the pledge as a way to help keep our roads safer.”
“Texting while driving doesn’t only affect teens. In a recent survey conducted by AT&T, nearly half of commuters admitted to texting while driving which is more than teens,” said AT&T Washington State President Bob Bass. “But our research also shows that speaking up can prove to be successful in stopping these behaviors. In fact, 90 percent of survey respondents said they’d stop if someone in the car asked them to. That is why we are encouraging kids to speak up, raise awareness and encourage driving members of their families to make a commitment to drive focused and distraction-free.”
