In January, we put the spotlight on OSAID a road safety organization based in Canada and who are doing some incredible exemplary work. We talk here about what it is they do and how they are engaging Canadian young people in anti impaired driving message.
OSAID stands for Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving and is based in Ontario, Canada. Their adult Board of Directors is a voluntary body and consists of professionals from teaching, police services and commerce. The Board members are based across the province. The Board of Directors ( BOD) works each year with an elected group of students – OSAID members who are elected to their Regional Representative position each year at Conference.
The Representatives become members of OSAID’s Student Advisory Council ( SAC) and they may also work with the person who was runner up in the election – an Associate. In addition to travelling to attend four planning /working weekend meetings in the year ( some for as many as ten hours – it’s a big province!) the SAC and Associate liaise with OSAID student members and their Staff Advisors and administrators ( head teachers or principals as we call them here) and offer help and advice about OSAID activities and to help students promote the OSAID ‘message’ to members of their student bodies. They also stage a regional workshop – a one day mini conference for schools within their Region. This gives them valuable experience when it come to running Conference – the SAC and Associates are involved every step of the way and do much of the ‘running’ of Conference, too. OSAID is run by the students – the adults are there to offer support and advice but it really is peer run.
So, where are they based? The answer is the entire province of Ontario though we maintain an OSAID Inc address in Toronto and I work at the ‘Rural Roots Office’ in Stirling – and Stirling is very rural.
The history of OSAID is available on their website – here’s a link to OSAID’s history and achievements.
Some of the OSAID activities are listed on the OSAID website – here’s a link to some of the most popular events, projects and activities. Their most recent project is the OSAID signs ( which you’ll see in the ‘Projects’ section) and was started as the result of an idea put forward by one of our Associates this year. If you flick through the most recent issue of OSAID Speaks, you’ll find in the Region Round up sections, information about what the members were doing OSAID – wise over Christmas. The Region 6 Markham Christmas parade being a good example. Also, see the report on the National Day of Remembrance which was held at our Region 8 Rep’s school. These will give you a flavour for the sort of activities our OSAID members get up to.
Their website is their main communication tool and it is divided into a section for prospective student members – How to Join. The prospective Staff Advisors, parents and principals are encouraged to review the OSAID Corporate section. OSAID forums are live blogs, ideas for fundraising to awareness raising projects can be found in School Events, Project, etc and the award winning iDrive Road Stories DVD ( in which OSAID played a consultative part) can be ordered online – this forms, if you like, a ‘mini’ website to help the Ministry of Transport and OCCID distribute this DVD.
Their Newsroom contains the SAC’s monthly blogs and OSAID Speaks, their online newsletter. Photos contains various photo galleries and Conferences contains all the current information about Conference 2011. Contests is proving to be very popular and lists the most recent results – a new contest is coming up shortly! Barney Bear is the OSAID mascot bear who is currently in Ottawa and will be travelling to Toronto. He’s travelling on a hand to hand basis from OSAID member to OSAID member around the province – a fun awareness raising bear! OSAID t-shirts are available to members and we regularly feature photos in the newsletter of where the OSAID t-shirt’s message been taken – most recently to Cuba.
OSAID will also shortly be placing the re-designed OSAID Membership Manual and Staff Advisor Manual on the website with in a ‘Members’ section ( to be created). Doing this will enable us to keep our information current. We’re also hoping to be able to move towards producing more OSAID posters as well as producing more materials in French – this being officially a bi-lingual province.
YOURS thanks Elaine ad Matt Evans for the information provided.