Mothers Against Drunk Driving will be coming to Clemson on Sept. 30 to host an upstate community-wide event to promote awareness about drunk driving.

Walk Like MADD is MADD’s signature fundraising event to help raise both awareness and funds to end drunk driving and fight drugged driving.

“MADD typically chooses one location in Charleston, Columbia and a location in the upstate every year to raise awareness for our mission to lower the drunk driving rates in South Carolina,” Steven Burritt, the executive director for MADD in South Carolina and North Carolina, said.

The event will have registration at 8:30 a.m. in the Carillon Gardens, with the event ceremony beginning at 9:30 a.m. Following the ceremony, students, families and community members can walk around campus to honor the memory of friends and family who have passed due to drunk driving or have been affected.

“Anyone can come attend the event, and they don’t necessarily need to have a personal connection to the cause. We just want to raise awareness in the community and see if Clemson has a nice turnout since we typically host our events in Greenville and wanted to experiment with this year’s location,” Melissa Neel, the Special Events Manager for Mothers Against Drunk Driving in South Carolina, said.

Students can attend the event to support someone they know, a family member or themselves to gather with others who support MADD. The ceremony is about honoring victims from the past and supporting first responders for this dedication when helping victims. Clemson has not been a destination for the upstate event before this year.

“Each year, an honor family is present at the event, with this year being in honor of Charlton Williams. Charlton passed away after being in a car with a drunk driver, who was someone he knew, and he didn’t make it after the car accident. His family will be coming for the second time and are very excited to be honored this year at the Clemson event,” Neel said.

Students who attend the walk will learn about how to support MADD’s efforts and will learn stories about families that have been impacted by similar circumstances with drunk or drugged driving. Names are read out loud in honor of victims who have passed, which is available to participate in at the beginning of the ceremony.

Anyone attending can write down the names of those who have passed away for the presenters to read aloud during the ceremony, which provides representation to those who have passed due to drunk driving.

“Students who have received charges related to driving impaired are able to attend the event as well to learn more about how they can support those who have been affected. It isn’t an event to lecture anyone on what they have done in the past, and we truly just want to raise awareness on the subject so that people know we are out here,” Burritt said.

Students can also attend the event and help set up for the ceremony before it begins on Sept. 30 for community service hours. If interested, contact Melissa Neel at [email protected] for more information on how to help.