Hello everyone!
On February 18th and 19th, six of our executive team members had the incredible opportunity to attend the Safe Ride Programs United Conference at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. Our team is so grateful for this experience and cannot thank the UGA Parents Grant enough for their financial support and dedication to having us attend the conference. We would also like to thank Brett Jackson at UGA Transportation Services enough for her guidance while planning the trip.
While at the SRPU Conference, we got to learn and collaborate with dozens of other students and staff from universities all across the country. We learned about how different schools conduct operations, support their students, and give back to their communities. We even got to hear from a representative from MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and how safe-ride programs help spread their message.
One big takeaway our executive team had after attending this conference was our continued dedication to advocating for full support from the University of Georgia. Almost every university that attended the SRPU Conference talked about the funding and support they receive from their universities or how they completely operate inside of their university system. With this support and funding, they are able to have their own fleets of vehicles, pay their drivers and navigators a livable wage, and provide safe-rides to under-supported populations like students with families and students living with disabilities.
All of these are things Designated Dawgs is committed to one day having. After this year’s conference, we are hopeful for the future of our organization and can’t wait to continue serving our UGA community through our amazing volunteers for the rest of the Spring 2022 semester!
Sincerely,
Kate Whitley
Vice President of Communications
ugadesignateddawgs.com 