At 6 a.m. on Nov. 3, all of Miami Palmetto Senior High’s cheerleading team was decked out in their uniforms and pom poms at Bill Baggs Park to volunteer at the annual Mothers Against Drunk Driving 5K. MADD is a non-profit organization that works to stop people from driving drunk, honor and support victims and their families and raise awareness of the dangers of drunk driving. At the event, the MPSH cheer team had one goal: motivate and support participants of this event, one of whom is their own teammate.
Junior and varsity cheerleader Bella Camacho and her family resonate deeply with MADD’s mission after having lost her sister, Kaely, to a drunk driver on April 13, 2012. Since Kaely’s passing, Camacho and her family advocate to end drunk driving and participate in many of MADD’s events.
“A few days [after my sister passed] the lady who runs MADD, Sally, came to Kaely’s mom’s house. Sally and the organization have been there for our family since the very beginning … Every year [MADD] does a 5K walk to raise awareness for the topic,” Camacho said. “With the cheer team being there, and from them being my teammates, it opened up a very vulnerable state. Although many of them have known me for years or even just a few months, they did not know about my family’s situation and/or how much it affected us. By the cheer team being at the 5k they got to see me and my family and all the other victims. Knowing about [drunk driving] is very different from being close to them. Now that they know the situation, it allows them to become more aware of the issue and make better choices because now they know someone who was affected by the wrong choice.”
At the event, the cheerleading team witnessed the strength and courage of drunk driving victims and their families as they ran or walked the 5K course. They cheered on participants at the starting line, handed out water at different checkpoints throughout the course and rallied until the very last participant crossed the finish line.
“So prior to [the event], I felt definitely more motivated to [volunteer], obviously motivated to begin with just because I knew the cause, but definitely more so because I knew that one of our girls had experienced that sense of loss. Afterward, it felt like we were doing something good, especially when we saw that there was a guy who survived [a drunk driving accident], and we got to support him, and he was all happy and cheerful when he saw,” senior and varsity cheerleader Katerina Macias said.
The man, whose name is Bryan Criales, made a statement for others — choosing to walk the 5k without any of his walking devices, despite his fragile state. His dedication and bravery encouraged everyone at the event, including the cheer team, to recognize the preciousness of life and the serious impact one bad decision can have on those around them.
“It’s us seeing the effects that [drunk driving] has on [survivors and victims’ families], and maybe with [the team] entering high school and developing and seeing all the effects that could happen, not only just on them, but on the community. I think realistically, we always see what is on the news, and we never really think it could happen to us … It’s seeing those people that did have that happen to them that it was just a heartbreaking instance,” cheerleading head coach Nina Pozo said. “It’s kind of those things that you never think are gonna happen to you, and life just throws that at you. We got to see all the remembering, remembering all of the victims and their families that had to endure that.”
Pozo plans to work with MADD to have representatives visit the school and speak to the cheer team, as well as other athletic and performing groups, on the dangers of impaired driving. For the time being, the cheer team was able to see first-hand how drunk driving can alter people’s lives, and help boost morale among those completing the 5K.
“I definitely feel like not only did they make us feel empowered, but I feel like we’ve helped them feel better about the situation, not necessarily because we can’t change the fact that someone passed from their lives, but definitely they had more support and more people understanding and telling them or showing them that it is okay to be sad about something that like that. Everyone has a different form of grieving, and everyone takes their own time on it. So I feel like they definitely felt more accompanied with their feeling of grief,” Macias said.
Now, 12 years after Kaely has passed, Camacho follows in her footsteps attending the same high school she planned to attend, and participating in the very same cheerleading she had been accepted onto before she passed.
“The MADD family has really allowed for my family to feel supported and have people to relate to and mourn with … The MADD walk strives to let people know to make the right choices for yourself and the people around you,” Camacho said. “With the cheer team being present, it allowed for so many families to feel hope and happiness in a time of such depression and loneliness.”
