HEROtini Gala Celebrates Life-Saving Role of Mocktails At August 29 Event at the Jersey Shore
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Aug. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- These days, non-alcoholic mocktails are chic, trendy and also save lives, according to a New Jersey non-profit dedicated to preventing drunk driving.
This summer, the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers is holding a HEROtini Mocktail Challenge to find the most popular non-alcoholic drink for designated drivers from 31 entries by bars and taverns at the Jersey Shore.
"The cure for drunk driving is a designated driver," noted Muriel Elliott, who, along with her husband Bill, launched the HERO Campaign 19 years ago to honor the memory of their son, Navy Ensign John Elliott. He was killed in a collision with a drunk driver two months after graduating from the United States Naval Academy, while travelling home for his mother's birthday.
At the organization's HEROtini Happening dinner on August 29, the coveted HEROtini Cup will be awarded to the bar or restaurant whose mocktail garnered the most votes and donations for the campaign, and its new HERO Safe Ride Fund. The fund will provide free rides home over the year-end holidays to patrons of participating HERO establishments, in partnership with Uber.
Celebrity judges will select the best-tasting HEROtini from entries like The Shameless Sunrise, Your Alibi, and the Safe-Tea Driver. These aren't "Shirley Temples." They look and taste like the real thing, and are so popular that mocktail bars are popping up in major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Since its inception, the HERO Campaign has partnered with schools and colleges, police and highway safety agencies, and even NFL and Major League Baseball teams to register over 100,000 designated drivers who take the campaign's online pledge to be and use sober designated drivers.
With thousands of votes cast and close to $20,000 raised so far, the HEROtini Challenge is a fun way to make a deadly serious point: "Drunk driving is the most preventable crime in America," noted John's father Bill. "We want to make having a designated driver be as automatic as wearing a seatbelt. The designated driver is truly the 'Life of the Party'."
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 10,000 Americans die annually in alcohol-related car crashes, similar to the numbers of victims of handgun violence.
SOURCE John R. Elliott HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers
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