Believing the hype that they would help her later on under the guise of "victims services" which states how they help with "financial recovery" expenses. Kelli's family didn't ask for any help with the funeral. However when they did later on ask their SC MADD "advocate" for help with getting Kelli a marker for her grave, they were told MADD doesn't handle that and plus they didn't have the money to help out. 

Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 - www.USAspending.com
According to the Federal Funding Accountability Transparency Act, MADD received $9,593,455 in funds from the federal government between fiscal years 2001 and 2006, for the fiscal year of 2000 $56,814 and $2,498,419 for the fiscal year of 2007. The majority of the funds were received from the Department of Justice.

In 1994, Money magazine reported that telemarketers raised over $38 million for MADD, keeping nearly half of it in fees.

The American Institute of Philanthropy has given MADD poor grades for its high bureaucratic and fundraising costs (MADD Money. Investigative report, K5 News, Seattle, WA.)

On MADD's public web site you will find this. what would you think if you had just lost a child?

What would you think if you were thinking of making a donation to MADD? you would think the money goes to exactly what they have up right? well not exactly. MADD has learned it's tricks from the government in which you have to read deeper. they are simply referring the victim to state agencies.

We all know MADD has done and will continue to do great things. Just be aware that when MADD asks you for donations for "victims services" what they are really offering is no more than a referral service for exactly the same information you will find in the yellow pages.

-

Put the money issue aside for a moment. Where was MADD when the family needed them to help fight for justice? With legal issues? Like they claim on their web site and literature they help with these issues.

This remains the worse crash in York County history and was national news. Yet MADD was very absent for Kelli's family. When Kelli's mom called traci.thompson@madd.org in Columbia SC to ask her MADD "advocate" to help with the outrageous fact that the South Carolina Highway Patrol does not carry a field breathalyzer, Ms Thompson casually said "yeah, I know they don't carry one, but they do use one in the BAT mobile several times a year at the DUI check points".

That is unacceptable!!! How can the most basic tool used for a DUI arrest not be used by the Highway Patrol?! How can MADD not find this outrageous?!

Every state in the nation carries a field device but SC. No wonder they are 2nd (some debate 3rd) in the nation for DUI fatalities. MADD should be outraged at this!! Kelli's mother asked repeatedly for MADD to help her find a senator to write and introduce "Kelli's Law" http://www.scsenate.org/sess117_2007-2008/bills/3634.htm  as Kelli's mother was told by the "trooper" that without the field breathalyzer he could not test the other driver and so he instead allowed him to "call a friend" because he knew he had been drinking. No victim of the violent crime of drunk driving should ever be told charges could not be filed because of a piece of equipment was opted out of being used!

SC MADD Director Jami Goldman stated "do not bother, that will never pass" when Kelli's mother asked her to help support "Kelli's Law".

We all know MADD has done and will continue to do great things. Just be aware that when MADD asks you for donations for "victims services" what they are really offering is no more than a referral service for exactly the same information you will find in the yellow pages.

Kelli's mother, like most parents that have lost a child, refused to accept MADD's pathetic inexcusable response and went on her own and finally found someone in the House of SC to write and introduce "Kelli's Law". Then after having done all the footwork by herself, she went back to MADD of SC AND the national office to ask them to back and help support Kelli's Law. Jami Goldman said she was too busy "working on the bigger picture" to help. Meaning stiffer penalties. Think about that, how can stiffer penalties help when people are not seeing the inside of a courtroom because they are either not being tested at all or if they are tested, many times it's so many hours later by the time they get the person to a station to take a test, that by that time they blow something, but not over the limit.

Case in point, Ashlyn Sims www.myspace.com/washlyn

This is South Carolina's dirty little secret as an entire state is under the false sense of security that their Highway Patrol carry's a field breathalyzer like the rest of the nation. Wrong!

Hundreds of supporters of Kelli's Law wrote to MADD and asked them to help. Silence. Not a single reply.

What did Kelli's family do for MADD? Besides the money they had given to MADD before and especially after Kelli's death, a movie was made with Kelli's mother's permission in which she participates in called "Grave Decisions". MADD had nothing to do with the making of this movie however they use it in presentations, with blessing from Kelli's family. It's just ironically sad that Kelli's family has done far more for MADD than they have ever done for her or the families of the other two children that were killed that night.

It's bad enough these families had to go through the loss of a child, do the investigative work for SLED (South Carolina Legal Enforcement Division) when SLED was unable to find who provided the alcohol, fight 3 different state agencies for "justice", be told that they will never get their day in court and then have to beg MADD for help and have them turn away? Nothing less than pathetic.

DISCLAIMER: The above text is the opinion of the author and should not be considered the opinions of everyone as it relates to MADD. This is the opinion of one situation and should not be used to judge MADD overall.