A statewide alcohol responsibility program launched at MU can get you a free drink — if you’re the designated driver.
This program, CHEERS, was designed to reward those who take the responsibility of their friends’ safety into their own hands.
CHEERS provides guidelines to local bars and restaurants to give free soda to anyone who says they are a designated driver and doesn’t consume any other alcohol, according to the CHEERS website. Specific rules as to how many sodas you can get vary by bar, but the goal is the same.
“It’s a way of saying thanks for caring about the safety of your friends and community,” the CHEERS website stated.
Shakespeare’s Pizza, The Blue Note and The Heidelberg are among establishments that participate in the program.
The CHEERS program works closely with STRIPES, which is run through MSA and also encourages alcohol responsibility through sober rides. The two programs are good complements of each other, CHEERS coordinator Jessica Schlosser said.
CHEERS was started 26 years ago at MU’s Wellness Resource Center. Since then, the program has grown to a state-wide initiative with more than 300 bars and restaurants now participating, Schlosser said. Seventy-five of those establishments are located in Columbia.
Despite the large scale of the program, many students said they have never heard of it.
“I think it’s really awesome for the people that actually step up to the plate to be the designated driver, because I think a lot of people fight and have a lot of arguments because a lot of people don’t want to do it,” freshman Colleen Menadier said.
The CHEERS program is simply designed, Schlosser said. No signups are required. Patrons simply have to go into a participating establishment and tell the bartender they are the designated driver and they can get free non-alcoholic drinks in a cup provided by the program, according to the CHEERS website.
To get free non-alcoholic drinks, you do not necessarily need to be 21, you just have to be old enough to get into the establishment and be a designated driver for a group of two or more people.