ORLANDO, Fla. – The Keri Anne DeMott Foundation is no stranger to Trooper Steve on Patrol and this year marks a milestone that carries both heartbreak and hope.
Ten years ago, a family’s world was forever changed.
Keri Anne DeMott was killed by a repeat DUI offender, a loss no parent or family should ever have to endure. From that unimaginable tragedy, her family made a decision that would shape the next decade of their lives: they would not allow her story to end that night.
Instead, they turned grief into motion and pain into purpose.
What began as heartbreak evolved into a mission focused on prevention, accountability and education. The Keri Anne DeMott Foundation was created to ensure that no other family would have to experience the same devastating knock on the door.
Over the past decade, the foundation has traveled across the country, sharing Keri Anne’s story with young people, students and communities. Their message is powerful, personal and impossible to ignore: impaired driving is not an accident. It is a choice, and that choice has lifelong consequences.
[WATCH: Trooper Steve breaks down how traffic citations work]
But their mission didn’t stop there.
In recent years, the foundation has also turned its focus toward first responders, the men and women who respond to these crashes, deliver the notifications, work the scenes and carry the weight long after the roadways reopen.
Through speaking engagements, training events and heartfelt conversations, the DeMott family reminds officers, firefighters, paramedics and dispatchers why their work matters and why continuing to show up can truly save lives.
This Friday, commemorate a Decade of Difference.
In the nonprofit world, survival itself is an achievement. Many organizations struggle to make it beyond the five- to seven-year mark. The Keri Anne DeMott Foundation not only endured... it grew, adapted and continues to make real, measurable impact ten years later.
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Keri Anne’s legacy is alive in every presentation, every conversation, every young person who chooses not to drive impaired, and every first responder who leaves an event reminded that their presence on the roadway truly matters.
That is the power of purpose.
As we mark this anniversary, we invite you to join us for the stream, learn more about Keri Anne’s story, and support a foundation that proves tragedy does not have to be the final chapter.
Because when love fuels action, lives can be saved.