Welcome to Season 3 of the Sports Philanthropy Podcast!
Join us for S3:EP14 of the Sports Philanthropy Podcast as Darren Tessitore, Drug Free World, sits down with our host, Roy Kessel, to discuss his role as an ambassador for Drug Free World, their programs, how they are involved in the sports community, and how he got his start.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Darren saw firsthand the pitfalls of drugs and alcohol use as an early teen, with multiple close friends of his involved in fatal accidents involving drugs or alcohol. From these experiences, Darren dedicated himself to teaching kids about the negative effects of drugs and alcohol.
When Drug Free World was founded in 2006, Darren was able to expand his goals onto a platform, and set out to promote Drug Free World all across the country. He started out working with driver education programs, as 30% of US traffic fatalities are caused by alcohol, and 16% by drugs. He continued on to partner with school resource officers, and law enforcement.
Darren currently works with the Driving School Association of the Americas and the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association. He also participates in or provides materials to every national and state driver education conference in the US, and gets materials to over 10,000 teachers.
Darren has done a lot, but wants to do even more. He wants to reach kids before driving, and work with police more. Trying to spread his message as wide as possible, he wants every young child to be educated on the many negative effects drugs and alcohol can have on their lives.
HIGHLIGHTS OF DARREN’S PODCAST
- 00:28 Introduction
- 00:55 Darren’s Background
- 01:58 What Drug-Free World does
- 04:59 Drug-Free World’s Resources and Distribution
- 07:04 Social Media & Online Culture
- 11:30 Free Online Course
- 14:55 Getting Started in Sports
- 17:09 Darren’s Personal and Career Path
- 22:27 Success Reaching Kids Online During the Pandemic
- 24:10 Writing and Development of Online Courses
- 27:04 Legal doesn’t mean safe
- 32:20 Giving Facts vs. Saying No
- 33:53 How to Support or Get Involved
- 36:10 Getting Started
- 37:00 Commissioner of the MLB & Speeding up the Game
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS AND WEBSITE
- Website: Drug Free World
- Facebook: Darren Tessitore
- Instagram: Darren Tessitore
- Twitter: Darren Tessitore
- LinkedIn: Darren Tessitore
- Linktree: Darren Tessitore
