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TEEN AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
There is always an opportunity for kindness
Teen Ambassador Program
Sponsored by the Gift of Hope and Donate Life Illinois, the Teen Ambassador Program teaches teens the critical need for safe driving behavior. It’s a partnership between the SafeLIGHT Foundation, the parents, and selected area schools. Participants must apply and write an essay. The Board and the Executive Director will review those essays and select the new class.
The Teen Ambassador program is a full-year school program. To graduate successfully, participants must complete simple steps and comply with certain rules. Each participant must sign a driving agreement and adhere to the SafeLIGHT Foundation’s rules and regulations on safe driving behavior. Ambassadors learn how to create powerful public service messages, hold town hall meetings, create awareness campaigns, and work on our CAN-TV Show, “Lighting the Way.” The purpose of this is to reach peer-to-peer contact.
We ask that each teen serve as a Traffic Safety Ambassador within their high school community. This means developing and practicing good driving skills and sharing and encouraging others in their schools to do the same
Why this program?
There are nearly 1.3 million accidents involving teen drivers, making it the number one killer of teens in America. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2019, crashes involving teen drivers killed 2,042 people. To address this critical issue, the SafeLIGHT Foundation has developed a teen driving program, “Teen Ambassador,” which is intended to provide continuing safe driving education to new teens who have received their driver's licenses.
Entering its fourth year, the Foundation has worked with over 14 schools and awarded 23 $2,500 scholarships for College, totaling $57,500. In April 2025, 17 additional Ambassadors will graduate, bringing our total to $100,000 in scholarships.
In connection with the Teen Ambassador program, the SafeLIGHT Foundation:
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Collaborates with law enforcement and high schools to provide lectures on traffic safety;
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Provides scholarships for safe teen drivers who complete the Teen Ambassador program;
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Works with schools to create safe driving seminars;
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Partners with one or more driving schools to help pay for driving lessons for low-income students;
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Creates awareness campaigns with the Teen Ambassadors focusing on seasonal events (e.g., prom season and back to school); and
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Provides opportunities for the Teen Ambassadors to participate in events and programs associated with safe driving.
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Teen Ambassador Program Eligibility
Scholarships are offered to graduates of the Teen Ambassador program who pursue educational degrees at four-year colleges or universities. Accordingly, to be eligible for a Teen Ambassador program scholarship, an individual must first have satisfied and completed all requirements of the Teen Ambassador program. The completion requirements are:
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Be a teenager who has received his or her driver’s license;
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Have a clean driving record at the end of the program;
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Have a tracking device at all times while driving;
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Has served as a Traffic Safety Ambassador in his or her high school community; and
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Has passed the SafeLIGHT Foundation’s traffic safety examination in conjunction with the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office.
2025-26 Teen Ambassador
Recruitment Application
Car crashes are one of the leading causes of death among teens. The SafeLIGHT Foundation is looking for teens who want to help address this critical problem by practicing and encouraging safe driving.
As a member of the SafeLIGHT Foundation’s Teen Ambassador Program, you will use your leadership skills to serve as a safe driving ambassador with your high school community to promote and encourage responsible driving. You will also use your creative skills to help develop awareness campaigns for seasonal events such as prom and National Teen Driver Safety Week.
Applications are now being accepted for the 2025-26 Teen Ambassador Program. Teen Ambassadors who graduate from the program will earn college scholarships.
The Beacon | By Josh Merchant
Published February 23, 2025 at 4:00 AM CST
Source: KCUR / NPR (Kansas City)
Teen Ambassadors Ads:
2024 National Teen Driver Safety Week
Welcome The New Class of
2024-25 Teen Ambassadors!
Teen Ambassadors Ads:
2023 National Teen Driver Safety Week
Congratulations to the
2023-24 Teen Ambassadors!!!
Welcome Aboard 2023-24 Teen Ambassadors!
The SafeLIGHT Foundation welcomed its 2023-24 class of Teen Ambassadors with an orientation on Aug. 19. Chicago-area students in the program serve as safe driving ambassadors with their high school communities to promote and encourage responsible driving. Teen Ambassadors who graduate from the program will earn college scholarships.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death for U.S. teens. About 2,800 teens lost their lives in car crashes in 2020. That’s an average of eight teens a day.
“The Teen Ambassador program was created in response to the alarming rate of teen fatalities and injuries from traffic crashes,” said Nikki Zollar, Chairman of the SafeLIGHT Foundation. “Because driver inexperience is a leading contributor to crashes and injuries for teen drivers, we partner with law enforcement professionals, schools and parents to help reinforce safe driving messages to prevent crashes and save lives.”
The Teen Ambassador program is sponsored by Donate Life Illinois and Gift of Hope. The program is also supported by the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, which is a strong advocate of teen driver safety.
This year’s class includes students from Southland College Prep in Richton Park, Morton West in Berwyn, Alan B. Shepard in Palos Heights, Mother McAuley in Chicago and Marian Catholic in Chicago Heights.
The SafeLIGHT Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting safe driving behavior through charitable giving to traffic safety programs and people and organizations that support responsible driving.
Teen Ambassador Program Sponsors
