By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Before the Pelham Panthers and the Hueytown Golden Gophers face off on the football field Oct. 2, the schools are participating in another competition to see which school can secure the most public pledges to never text and drive.

The challenge is a part of the AT&T Alabama safe driving campaign. Each team has chosen a charity— Pelham’s being the Hope for Gabe Foundation— and the winning school will receive a $2,000 check to the charity of their choice.  The second place school will receive a $1,000 check.

“I thought it was a great idea to do a competition that we could contribute some money to charity,” said Pelham High School Principal Jason Yohn. “You hear all the time about accidents where people lose their lives because they are texting going down the highway. It just seems like a great reminder for kids and adults alike that it can wait.”

During the school day Oct. 2, AT&T-Alabama will bring their “It Can Wait” driving simulator to Pelham High School to demonstrate the dangers of distractive driving to its students.  Driver Education students will experience this virtual demonstration from 7:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

“It really can show you just how fast you can lose control and something can happen,” Yohn said.

The driver’s education teacher is pushing the event, according to Yohn, and the kids in the class have made posters promoting the challenge.

Pelham’s charity, The Hope for Gabe Foundation, revolves around Gabe Griffin, a ten-year-old boy who has a rare and deadly muscle-wasting disorder called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Students, teachers and staff can take the pledge for Pelham at Alabama.att.com/pledge-pelham, and the teams will present their charities with checks during the halftime show. Griffin and his parents will be present to accept the check.