Teens from St. Paul’s High School for Recording Arts will host a Student Summit on teen driver safety this Friday at the University of Minnesota. For student perspectives click here.

The event, planned for students by students, is designed to help young people understand the legislative process, grasp the importance of primary seatbelt laws in Minnesota and raise awareness among communities and legislators.

Nearly 100 teens from five metro area high schools as well as the HSRA will attend the summit, scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 301 19th Avenue South in Minneapolis. The summit was made possible with support from State Farm Insurance.

“High School for Recording Arts and The Fo-Show are proud to be a part of State Farm’s campaign to make Minnesota a primary seatbelt law state,” said Tony Simmons, Director of Development for HSRA. “Our students have heard the dire statistics and are now ready to spread the word to their peers all throughout the metropolitan area that seatbelts save lives. But most importantly, we need our legislators to also hear this message and to do their part to promote safe driving and to protect teens’ lives.”

Students at HSRA already have experience in raising awareness about teen driver safety and seatbelt use. The schools’ “Click 4 Life” project was created to make more teens aware of the dangers they face by not wearing seatbelts and to promote the movement to pass a primary seatbelt law in the state of Minnesota.

The summit is part of a new HSRA project to create a public awareness campaign focusing on teen driver safety and seatbelt use that targets their peers, communities and legislators. The students earned a $38,500 grant to create the Primary Seatbelt Campaign from the State Farm Good Neighbor Citizenship Program.

“As the nation’s number one insurer of vehicles, State Farm makes it a priority to promote teen driver safety through programs like this,” said State Farm spokeswoman Missy Youmans. “This type of service learning project gives teens the opportunity to inform their peers on the importance of safe driving habits in an innovative way that is both educational and rewarding.”

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for American teenagers. More than 5,600 young people ages 16-20 were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2005, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In Minnesota alone, 62 young people were killed.

“We will take on this challenge like we usually do here at HSRA – using our student’s boundless creativity to educate ourselves and our community with vital information,” Simmons said. “This will be a great campaign and we are excited to share it with other high school students throughout Minnesota.”

Mark your calendars! You’re invited. The best show of the season is coming to the Dakota Jazz Club. Pictured below are Barbara Portnoy, Founding Director of Under the Radar Foundation, Tony Simmons, HSRA Development Director, and J.D. Steele, Musician Extraordinaire and host for this great event. The evening features Delfeayo Marsalis, CJ Chenier, and performances by students from HSRA. Don’t miss this celebration of music, youth and service to others, a benefit event by Under the Radar Foundation.

Some HSRA students and staff attended Randy Jensen’s housewarming party in Brooklyn Park Thursday night, October 23. Randy and his friends may be the most generous people in Minnesota. After some great food and outstanding student performances, Randy and party raised $9,000 for HSRA. Whoo Hoo go Randy, LubeTech and friends. Amazing Grace.