Danielle Lewis of Minto lost her sister to a drunk driving accident and now Lewis has been recognized for her work with the Brandon chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Taylor Renwick was returning home for thanksgiving in 2015 when she was killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver. “There’s nothing I can to to prevent her accident and I can’t change that. I hope the work I do through MADD will help prevent anyone else from going through what my family went through.”

Danielle Lewis was named Volunteer of the Year by MADD Canada.

Each and every year, thousands of Canadians are killed or injured in impaired driving crashes. Driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs is a terrible crime that touches all lives. MADD Canada strives to offers support services to victims/survivors, heighten awareness about the dangers of alcohol and/or drug-impaired driving, and to save lives and prevent injuries on Canadian roads.

While MADD chapters work to keep drunk drivers off the roads it doesn’t appear the message is getting through.

“No unfortunately numbers aren’t dropping off. During covid it appears the number of drivers driving impaired actually increased. So, the numbers aren’t dropping in Manitoba, and I think it’s the same in many other provinces.”

Danielle Lewis says she was surprised to be named volunteer of the year, but she admits the Brandon Chapter has been making progress in getting the message out to area residents. “Working through the pandemic we had to come up with some creative solutions to promote the MADD message.”

“I’m pleased we’ve managed to expand into outlying communities. We have a presence in nine communities reaching from Melita to Carberry.