SCHOLARSHIP CRITERIA
Thanks to all NCAST Teen Ambassadors for participating in our Teen Safe Driving Ambassador Program!
To be considered for one of the five $1,000 scholarships, we have a final project for you: write and submit a letter to the editor to your local newspaper or news website. They publish these letters from readers on their opinion pages. Here’s how to submit:
- Pick a newspaper near you. Google its name and the phrase “submit letter to the editor.” You’ll probably find instructions easily. Usually there’s a word limit of 175-200 words.
- Follow their instructions and write a short letter – much like an essay – explaining who you are, what the Teen Ambassador program is, why you joined or what you learned. Tell people how important safe driving habits are. Maybe ask readers to reach out to their state legislators to support Senate Bill 797 – the Hands Free NC Act, which would make it illegal to drive with a cellphone in your hand. Include your name and high school at the bottom.
- Submit that letter! If you submit via email, copy travis@faincommunications.com and info@besafenc.org on the email so we’ll see it. If you submit through a form, email us your letter and the name of the newspaper you submitted to.
Remember the goal is to increase awareness of the importance of safe driving habits! Most communities have a local newspaper, and most of those newspapers print letters to the editor. Try to focus local! But if you can’t find a local paper, or if you live in the Raleigh or Charlotte area, submit it to The Raleigh News & Observer or The Charlotte Observer.
Submit your letter to your local newspaper and copy us when you do— so we know you’ve done it! Your letter must be sent by May 8th to qualify. After May 8th, we’ll select five winners who will receive a $1,000 Gift of College Gift Card to help save for college. The gift card will be sent via email to all winners. You’ll also be invited to receive your scholarship in person at an NCHSAA event on June 10th at Piedmont Hall in Greensboro.
Reminder: You must send a copy of your submitted letter to the above email addresses to qualify for the scholarship!
From all of us at NCAST and NCHSAA, thanks again for being an NCAST Teen Safe Driving Ambassador!
Rising juniors and seniors– you can be a 2026-27 Teen Ambassador! Fill in your info now we’ll send you a reminder this fall to get started.
The section below contains general instructions when sharing on your social media channels.
Remember to use NCAST handles whenever you post as an ambassador:
GENERAL POSTING STRATEGY
As a Teen Ambassador, you serve as a role model for other teens in your community. Teens listen to each other, so NCAST wants you to share these messages on social media and— with appropriate permission from school officials— post signage, organize events, and any other activities to educate teens on these safe-driving rules.
Examples of what you can do
- Post NCAST messages, images or videos.
- Get permission from school officials first, then create your own safe driving mini-posters for school bulletin boards, displaying at school sports events, or at any other approved school activity.
- Be creative! Make a video, write in your own words, take pictures, or create graphics for your posts.
Make sure to take pictures of yourself in front of posters or any other activity you do and send them to NCAST (info@besafenc.org). You could make the NCAST Teen Safe Driving Ambassador Hall of Fame and be featured in our monthly NCAST newsletter!
NCAST TEEN AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE
NC HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Official Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
The NCAST Teen Ambassador Program starts on October 16, 2025 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”)and ends on May 8, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET (“Promotion Period”). The Promotion is sponsored and administrated by the North Carolina Alliance for Safe Transportation (NCAST). You must be signed up as a Teen Ambassador by April 25th, 2026 to qualify.
ELIGIBILITY: Promotion is open to legal residents who are 14 years of age or older and attend a member school of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA). Employees of NCAST, the NCHSAA state office, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, promotion and advertising agencies, and members of their immediate families (children and siblings) are not eligible to enter or win. Void where prohibited by law.
HOW TO ENTER: During the Promotion Period, all eligible registrants must complete an online form on a dedicated website www.besafenc.org/teen-ambassador-signup to enter. Registrants will provide name, email address and school affiliation. All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on May 8, 2026 to be eligible. Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means and entries by any means which subvert the entry process are void. Limit one (1) entry per person and per email throughout the Promotion Period. All entries become the sole property of the Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Sponsor’s clock is the official timekeeper of this Promotion.
WINNER NOTIFICATION: Winners will be notified via email. Potential winner may be required to execute and return an affidavit of eligibility, a liability release and, where lawful, a publicity release after the date of issuance. If such documents are not returned within a specified time period, scholarship or scholarship notification is returned as undeliverable, Sponsor is unable to contact the potential winner, or the potential winner is not in compliance with these Official Rules, scholarship will be forfeited and, at Sponsor’s discretion, an alternate potential winner may be selected by random drawing from among all remaining eligible entries received.
INDIVIDUAL SCHOLARSHIP: Five (5) students will be selected by a committee of traffic safety experts to receive a $1000 scholarship that must be applied toward academic related expenses. The Sponsor or a NCHSAA representative will work directly with the winner, the winner’s legal guardian and the school to determine the best method for awarding the scholarship to ensure it is used exclusively to support current or future academic related expenses.
SCHOLARSHIP CONDITIONS: All applicable federal, state and local taxes, if any, and all other costs and expenses associated with scholarship acceptance and use not specified herein as being provided are the sole responsibility of the winner. Released Parties (as defined below) disclaim all and any liability for the actual provision, quality or nature of any scholarship (or portion thereof) accepted by the winner the awarding of any scholarship is contingent upon full compliance with these Official Rules. Scholarship is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor. No substitution, assignment, transfer, or cash equivalent of scholarship (or portion thereof) is permitted, except by Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute scholarship (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value, at its sole discretion. All scholarship details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion.
GENERAL CONDITIONS: By participating in the Promotion, each entrant agrees: (a) to abide by these Official Rules and decisions of Sponsor, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this Promotion; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless the Sponsor, the NCHSAA, and their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the foregoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from entrant’s participation in the Promotion or any Promotion-related activity (including any travel/activity related thereto) or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the scholarship (or portion thereof); and (c) to the use of his/her name, voice, performance, photograph, entry, and/or likeness for programming, advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide and on the Internet, and in perpetuity by Sponsor and its designees, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use. By participating, entrant also agrees not to release any publicity or other materials on his/her own or through someone else regarding his/her participation in the Promotion without the prior consent of the Sponsor, which it may withhold in its sole discretion.
MISCELLANEOUS: Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, illegible, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered, or garbled entries, or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Promotion, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Promotion, the processing of entries, the announcement of the scholarship, or in any Promotion-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion. Released Parties are not responsible for any injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Promotion or downloading materials from or use of the website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Promotion or associated websites, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Official Rules, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated entries will be void. Should any portion of the Promotion be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised for any reason, including virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Promotion (or portion thereof) and, if terminated, at its discretion, select the potential winner in a random drawing from among all non-suspect, eligible entries received prior to action taken. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROMOTION MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK ANY AND ALL REMEDIES AVAILABLE FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.
CHOICE OF LAW: All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Promotion, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the State of North Carolina, USA.
PRIVACY: Information collected from participants shall not be sold to any third parties and shall only be used by the Sponsor and Promotional Participant in furtherance of the Promotion.
REQUEST FOR WINNER’S NAME: For the name of the winner/s (available after date send a self-addressed, stamped, envelope by date, to:
TPG
7755 Ballantyne Commons Parkway
Suite 102
Charlotte, NC 28277
SPONSOR AND ADMINISTRATOR: NCAST/NCHSAA