Local Group Helps Spread 'It Can Wait" Message

By Mark Abrams

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - AT&T is re-booting a campaign about the dangers of texting and driving and it's turning to a south Philadelphia organization for help in spreading the message.

The campaign is called "It Can Wait" and AT&T's Joe Divis says it's aimed at teens and young adults who are among the biggest text-message users.

That's why Divis says the company is partnering locally with the Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative to train teen-age student ambassadors to help spread the word: "No Text is Worth Dying For."

"Teens are a focal point of this campaign. However, we know from research that 77 percent of teens have seen their parent text and drive," says Divis.

Cory Miller from the Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative says students based out of the group's Horizon Center at Eighth and Snyder have taken up the challenge.

"If a youth gets this message and it's from one of their other peers or from another youth as opposed to an adult simply saying: 'Don't do this or don't do that,' I think that the message is going to be able to come out clearer and be more successful," says Miller.

AT&T's Divis says the company also is re-circulating a powerful short video documentary chronicling the tragic results of texting and driving in which stories of real victims are told by their families or survivors.