As various members of my family will attest, one of my biggest pet peeves is people abusing the privilege of driving. Although all forms of inattentive or irresponsible driving chafe me, only drinking and driving raises my hackles faster than sending text messages while driving.
This brings me to our Arizona “charity,” The Zaadii Foundation. I should first explain the quotations around the word charity. Named after three year old Zaadii Tso who was hit and killed by an inattentive driver in 2015, the foundation is essentially a virtual (viral?) support group for the family as well as an advocate for responsible driving.
While the Zaadii Foundation does not ask for money, they do encourage “send[ing] some love” in the form of words of encouragement for the family in their comments section and remembering Zaadii whenever you are driving.
They also ask everyone to take a pledge. I love the idea of “driving mindfully.” More than just not being inattentive, it indicates driving with a purpose… an engaged and mindful purpose. Melanie and I are taking the pledge, and we encourage everyone else to do so as well.
Thank you for choosing to highlight the Zaadii Foundation. Zaadii’s mother is a friend of mine and I think about the family every time I see someone messing with something in the car and not paying attention. So many people don’t take the time to think about the fact that every time they get behind the wheel, they are responsible for the lives of everyone else on the road.
Tyanna, thank you for commenting and sharing your thoughts. I couldn’t agree more. I haven’t been unfortunate to have lost anyone to this at this point in my life, but I certainly recognize the danger. I love the steps and approch the Zaadii Foundation is taking.
Again, thank you for commenting, and (if you see this) please send our best to the family. Melanie and I are planning on doing the pledge and taking the pic as soon as we have short enough drive from state to state to get it done! 🙂