Colorado dad starts non-profit to promote sober events without drugs or alcohol

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drunk driving kills over 900 people in Colorado every year and approximately 10,000 people nationwide. Now, Colorado dad Duke Rumely is trying to change that.

Rumely started a non-profit called Sober AF Entertainment, or S.A.F.E., which aims to promote “no drunk” areas and support sober safe zones for recovering addicts, families, or just those who want to party without getting drunk or high.

“It can mean ‘Alcohol Free’ or ‘Alternative Fun,'” he said.

His inspiration comes in part from his daughter.

“A year ago my daughter was texting me from Red Rocks, saying that all of her friends she was with had taken Ecstasy and she didn’t feel safe. She wanted to take an Uber home,” he said,

Rumely can relate because he had an intense relationship with alcohol as a teenager himself. Now he’s 30-years sober.

He found a way to enjoy events without drugs or alcohol, but the pressure to drink at events hasn’t gone away and the growing opioid epidemic is taking lives at an alarming rate.

“Alcohol companies typically sponsor a lot of the music festivals, a lot of the concerts,” he said.

S.AF.E. has done 43 events in just the past 17 months, both in Colorado and nationwide.

“We had 190 people show up for a Rockies game and that’s when we knew there was some demand for this,” he said. “There’s also a sober curious movement.”

Now, his organization is buying tickets to concerts and sporting events in bulk and hopes this movement inspires others to have fun and stay safe.