The HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers®, seeks to end drunk driving tragedies nationwide by promoting the use of safe and sober designated drivers. Our goal is simple: to register one million designated drivers and make having a designated driver be as automatic as wearing a seatbelt.
The HERO Campaign is a federally registered, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that partners with law enforcement agencies, schools and colleges, bars, taverns and restaurants, the U.S. Navy, professional sports teams, state divisions of highway safety and community chapters across the country.
In 2000 John Elliott, a Graduate of the Naval Academy, was struck and killed by a drunken driver on his way home for his mother’s birthday. The driver had been arrested on DUI charges and released only to get back in the car drunk, killing himself and John.
HERO – Origin of the name: John distinguished himself as a Human Education Resource Officer (HERO) at the Naval Academy. HERO’s are elected by their peers to counsel and mentor other members of their company. John was selected as the outstanding HERO in his graduating class.
The HERO Campaign is not an anti-drinking campaign. Instead, we encourage common sense and responsibility by promoting individuals to “Be a HERO. Be a Designated Driver;” a message that appeals to the hero in all of us.
