January 3, 2024

Welcome 2024

Hello all, and happy New Year.

I hope everyone had the opportunity to rest and reflect as we collectively begin anew. We at Drive want to express our deep gratitude for your support over the past ten months, and I personally want to thank everyone and anyone who helped Drive come to be, survive, and make change. It’s been an honor to fight with you all.

First, I must highlight one thing I can’t let go. On December 11th, we shared the story of Amanda Grace Kish. In the words of her brother, Amanda was excited for life and loved by many, and just eighteen years old. Amanda tragically died in a car crash on October 22nd, 2022.

Shortly after we posted her story, comments, messages, and likes, poured in from accounts I’d never seen. Amanda’s family and friends began to share about how much they loved her, and how deeply they continue to mourn her loss. Stories like Amanda’s remind us how far beyond statistics our work matters; it also shows the devastation of ricocheting grief for years to come.

Every life needlessly lost to crashes is devastating on its own. But for those left behind – the brothers, the moms, the sisters, the friends – the toll of these deaths is sometimes too big, too hard, to consider. But we must. We fight this fight for Amanda. We fight for her brother, Joshua. We fight for her mom and dad and sister and many, many friends, who miss her. It is in the remembering, honoring, and cherishing, that we find reason to not give up. I want to thank Joshua for sharing a ray of Amanda’s light with us, and for allowing us to pay tribute to her. Thank you, Amanda. We miss you. Find Amanda’s full story here.

Although we do have updates, I believe they can wait. This space shall instead be held to honor Amanda, and all of those we continue to carry in our hearts.

May this year bring peace, safety, and joy.

Warmly,

Maria