We need your help!

Our advocacy project Dear Driver is in the finals of the Gel Challenge 2009 on the theme of "listening".

We are still in beta, we need to improve the site, get feedback, and get folks involved.

:: The Story So Far ::

Erik formed a Double Happiness workgroup in response to the Gel Challenge 2009 to "improve listening".

Based on the input and insights of a bunch of sweet-hearted folks, we (Josh Weinstein & Erik Fabian) submitted an entry for an advocacy project: Dear Driver. www.deardriver.org

Dear Driver promotes effective listening and communication first at the site of the near-accident between cyclists and motorists and then online.

We were chosen in November to be among the final 4!

To win we need to improve our first draft of the Dear Driver project and we need to folks to support the project on Mark's Good Experience Blog.

We welcome any help, connections, or funding to help this project grow.

3 things you can do right now:

1) Check out www.deardriver.org. Try downloading and using a letter. Send us feedback at respond [at] DearDriver.org or fill out our feedback survey.

2) Pass on the Dear Driver project to your friends who bike, people who care about bike safety, and/or good listening.

3) Check out our videos and leave a comment.

:: Why Get Involved? ::

There is a great deal of animosity between bikers and motorist; and there is a clear need for better bike safety. There were 698 U.S. Bicyclist Deaths in 2007 and 43,000 injuries.

The total economic cost of bicyclist injury and death is almost $5.4 billion per year.

Being in the finals is a chance to spend a few months advocating for improved bike safety and to start a discussion on the need for better cyclist/motorist communication in traffic.

:: How Do We Win? ::

To win the challenge, Mark Hurst, CEO of Good Experience and Gel Conference founder, must pick our project as the winner.

:: Win What? ::

If we win, we get the chance to show Dear Driver from the stage of the 2010 Gel Conference in NYC, to a crowd of influential and innovative pros from companies like Google and Yahoo.