It Can Wait®. Take the Pledge. (A Winner)

{Disclosure: This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and AT&T. I also received the same AT&T "ItCanWait" gift bag that I'm giving away. The opinions are my own.}

I'm so proud that my family and I are part of AT&T's It Can Wait^® movement.

I'm a big believer in the fact that no text is worth risking your life for. And I want my kids to live long and happy lives, and to eventually get married and have children of their own and so on and so on. In other words, I want the Circle of Life to continue.

As difficult as this is, I'm asking you to watch this very sobering video about a lovely fun-loving woman who died while texting and driving as told by her sister who loved her deeply and misses her immensely. She tells about what it was like for her parents to get that terrible news.

Please click on this link here.

I think texting while driving is just like any other bad habit. It may be hard to break, but infinitely worth it. Good can replace the bad. In this case, here are the steps that can be taken:

Set an example for your own kids. Know the risks. Take the pledge. Speak up. Keep this conversation going. For you Blackberry and Android users, download the free AT&T DriveMode mobile app. I promise you will be saving lives. Again, the goal is to make texting and driving as unacceptable as drinking and driving.

At&T's goal is to save lives and the "It Can Wait^®" Movement is focused on a simple and powerful message: no text is worth dying for.

I want to thank all of you who have taken the pledge and have shared your promise on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ItCanWaitNoTextingWhileDriving page and on Twitter (#itcanwait).

It makes me happy to see that so many of you are taking this as seriously as I am.

Congratulations to the winner of The Blackberry Q10 and the AT&T "ItCanWait" Gift Bag.

Here is what you've won:

• Blackberry Q10
• ItCanWait T-shirt
• ItCanWait thumb rings
• ItCanWait Non-Woven Big Tote
• ItCanWait Decals/Spanish
• ItCanWait Cleaning cloth
• ItCanWait Silicon snap bracelet
• Interior Double Side Cling

Ody, please send me an email with your snail mail address and HEY MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line and I'll get your new Blackberry Q10 and the AT&T It Can Wait Gift Bag to you ASAP.

Also, in case you're wondering why I am so invested in helping AT&T save lives...I have four really compelling reasons.

It Can Wait. A (Blackberry) Giveway

{Disclosure: This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and AT&T. I also received the same AT&T "ItCanWait" gift bag that I'm giving away. The opinions are my own.}

I have my phone on me pretty much all the time. I'm guessing it's the same for most of you. That's the world we live in. Life in 2o13 is mostly shared via text. At least in my family.

And my kids? They always have their phones close to them. If they don't, I think they experience phantom-limb syndrome (but that's not important right now). Their smart phones are like appendages.

I take photos and I text every single day. So does my family. It's how we communicate with each other. It's how we share life.

But if they're out in the world and they're driving, I absolutely don't want them to respond to any texts. There is not any text response that is worth their safety. It. Can. Wait.

Don't Text and Drive

Which is why I'm on board with AT&T's It Can Wait Campaign. This is serious to me and I believe it should be for all parents. The reason I'm an advocate for this no-texting-while-driving campaign is that I want the day to come when texting and driving becomes as unacceptable as drinking and driving. There. I said it.

Even having the conversation with your kids and loved ones makes a difference. Since the movement was launched in 2009, more than two million no-texting-while-driving pledges have been logged through ItCanWait.com, social media such as Facebook, and don't text and drive events. And it's working. Attitudes and behaviors are changing and ultimately lives will be saved.

There are a few things I want to share with you today before I introduce this giveaway.

AT&T has developed a free app for Android and Blackberry called AT&T DriveMode^®. It already has more than 310k unique downloads. 

• Once downloaded and set up, the app will turn on automatically once your vehicle starts moving 25 miles per hour. Then anyone who tries to text or send email will receive an auto reply message telling them you’re currently driving and will get back to them soon.
• When the app is turned on, all calls will automatically be sent to voicemail; however, the user can identify up to five numbers that can always be dialed, and 911 calls are always allowed.
• When setting up the app, the user has the option to select one navigation and one music app that can be accessed while DriveMode is turned on.
• While enabled, depending on your device, the app also stops incoming sounds for texts, emails and voice calls – so you’re less tempted to grab your phone.
• The app automatically turns off once the vehicle is going less than 25 miles per hour for 5 minutes and then the user can view the calls, messages and emails as they normally would.

The Blackberry Giveaway

Today's giveaway has been generously donated by Blackberry and sponsored by AT&T.

The "ItCanWait" gift bag includes the following:

• Blackberry Q10
• ItCanWait T-shirt
• ItCanWait thumb rings
• ItCanWait Non-Woven Big Tote
• ItCanWait Decals/Spanish
• ItCanWait Cleaning cloth
• ItCanWait Silicon snap bracelet
• Interior Double Side Cling

To enter this drawing for The Blackberry Q10 and the AT&T "ItCanWait" Gift Bag please leave a comment on this post and do the following:

• Go to www.itcanwait.com.
• Take the no-texting-and-driving pledge. Leave me a comment that says, "I took the pledge."
• Share your promise with others via Twitter (#itcanwait) and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ItCanWaitNoTextingWhileDriving
• Leave me another comment telling me how you shared your pledge.

Please leave your comments on this post and I'll choose a winner on Thursday, September 19th, 2013 at 9:00 am PST. (That's 2 entries allowed per person. I'm trusting you to be honest about it.)

IMPORTANT: You must use a legitimate email address to comment and not just a Facebook link. I need to be able to contact the winner.

This post will stay at the top of my blog until September 19th. I encourage you to take the pledge, tell friends and get involved. We're saving lives here, people.

It Can Wait.

{Disclosure: This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and AT&T. The opinions are my own.}

As you know, if you've been reading my blog for a while, I have four (now) grown children. Lucy and Jonathan are both still at home and Jonathan, will be eighteen in December. He won't get his drivers license until then. (I know. Meanest-mom-in-the-whole-wide-world.)

Jonathan, Lucy, Adam, & Amy. My four.

Most of the time, I communicate with all four of them via text. In fact, I prefer it. If they're out in the world (which is pretty much all the time now) they will check in with me daily via text. Of course, I know that's the way they "talk" to their friends and each other. Texting is here to stay. At least in our family.

I stress to them that even if we're in the middle of a text "conversation," which we often are, they absolutely, positively must not text and drive. I've lived long enough to know that not just teenagers, but most people think that they're the invinicible ones. The statistics tell a completely different story.

Texting while driving is involved in 100,000+ vehicle crashes each year, often causing injuries and deaths. Sobering, no? It is for this mami.

I've decided to participate in AT&T's ItCanWait® campaign because I don't think any text is worth dying for. Seriously, anything you have to text, can wait. Anything. AT&T's goal is to save lives. I'm on board with that.

I love my people. (Do you see those faces?) But I promise, no one's feelings will be hurt and nothing catastrophic will happen if they don't respond immediately to that last text message. And truly, I dread that someday there could be a "last text message."

I'll be honest, if I'm driving and I receive a text, I am always tempted to answer immediately. I think it's that Cuban "good manners" thing. It just seems polite to answer when someone speaks to you. But I swear, texting  while driving does not fit into the "polite thing to do" category.

Please, don't text and drive. No text is worth dying for.

I'll be posting more about the ItCanWait® campaign in the coming weeks. In the meantime, this is what you can do to get involved:

• Go to www.itcanwait.com.
• Take the no-texting-and-driving pledge.
• Share your promise with others via Twitter (#itcanwait) and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ItCanWaitNoTextingWhileDriving

I want to keep having these kinds of conversations with my kids. For a very, very long time.