Welcome to our fourth Sam Chase Fund newsletter. Our intention is to inform you of resources aligned with our mission of helping young adults find their path to thrive,  showcase non-profits raising awareness about the dangers of fentanyl, make you laugh and maybe cry, celebrate the young friends we help along the way, and so much more. Thank you for being on this journey with us. In this newsletter you will see what we have offered already, and what we have in store for June. Do you have ideas for us? Give us a call, a text, an email, or a DM! You will receive these newsletters on the 27th of each month. 

We have hundreds of new subscribers so we want to start off and say thank YOU. Thank you for joining us and we are so grateful you are here. Please visit our website and read each tab to get a deeper understanding of all we are doing.

Sam's Story

   Last month we shared Sam's story. The amount of love & support that was poured into us gave us the hope we needed to know we are doing the right thing by opening up. Thank you for supporting our vulnerability and standing with us as we dive deep into things that can be normally shied away from.  

For more stories like Sam's, click below to view impact stories from other loved ones who lost their young adult to fentanyl poisoning. 

Outreach

Where we are in the community!

May 10th - Fentanyl Awareness Day

May 10th was the first ever Fentanyl Awareness Day.  We were absolutely BLOWN away with the incredible amount of support that we received. This day was extremely successful because of your commitment in helping to spread the word. We had hundreds of people who shared our post and thousands of you who visited our page. The support does not go unnoticed. We are grateful for all of you who are taking advantage of our resources and sharing them with the rest of the world. Our job does not stop here. We will continue to provide resources, impact stories, and partners on our website.

McCloud Elementary

On Fentanyl Awareness Day, McCloud elementary’s 7th & 8th grade students were immersed in deep discussions and research on the extensive impact that Fentanyl poisoning has on the community. To start the day, students were asked to read an article on the dangers of Fentanyl being illicitly distributed to communities, as well as creating Powerpoint PSA’s on important  and potent facts. The teacher, Shelley Cain, led students through a class wide discussion on how the rising Fentanyl crisis is targeting young adults, and the long-term consequences on families and communities. This was followed by her showing impact videos of families via the Song For Charlie Foundation, as well as a video on a teenage girl who survived Fentanyl poisoning. Students then filled out a reflection and response to the videos and information discussed with the class.

In order to spread awareness of peers, the community, and what we each as individuals are going through, the class participated in an activity called “threes” where they were prompted to fill out questions ranging from surface level, to increasingly personal, anonymously and with a “top three” list of each. For example, one round was “name your top three t.v shows” and one of the last rounds was “name three things that happen to you in the classroom environment from your peers that bothers you”. The overall lesson was that you could be the one person who saves someone with this preventative knowledge. 

You can find examples of  student-created PSA slideshows below

Resources

Fentapills

Again, thank you for spreading the word about the fatal dangers of Fentanyl. If you have not already, please watch this short youtube video about Fentapills. This is not just for parents; it is extremely important for all of us to know what we are dealing with as teachers, coaches, and community members. 

Fentanyl Strips

Fentanyl testing strips can help to prevent accidental overdoses in under 3 minutes and are becoming one of the most common tools to be ordered. However, the reliance on these testing strips are becoming too strong. Yes, they are a great option to have on hand, but we need to remember that when it comes to reducing harm, testing strips are just a tool. We have attached below two strong resources that will dive deeper into the Fentanyl testing strips. These resources will also have a permanent place on our website since we can't write a book here :) 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us spread the word to help another family avoid this tragedy.

227 Applications are open!

Do you have a passion you want to pursue, but aren’t sure how to pursue it? If you are looking for help guiding you through your next step to explore your path, whether its college readiness, life after high school, mental health support, counseling,  or FUN summer trips & adventures, we want to help YOU find your compelling future.👇🏼

Here is an example of just a few of the things we can sponsor!

Adventure, service, leadership: https://www.outwardbound.org. 

Travel, service, leadership, culture: https://www.unitedplanet.org. 

Academic, post-high school readiness, career exploration: https://programs.scholarshope.org/register?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0PWRBhDKARIsAPKHFGhyEJOyOL9FQ6c5AYLdYkW0GrOcVTGIvu62Lck6W8nLtZoGkeU-NW8aAoN-EALw_wcB 

Spotlights

Celebrating our community's youth!

On another note: Along with spreading Fentanyl Awareness, our mission stands strong in helping to support young adults through their path in life wherever that may be. Everyone has a place in this world and we want to help you find yours. 

This past month we had many scholarship applications and we had THREE Sam Chase Fund scholarship winners! For the next three months we get to highlight the THREE recipients of our first ever Sam Chase Fund Scholarship. We awarded this $2,000 scholarship to incoming college freshmen in Siskiyou County, California for the 2022/23 academic year. Applicants must have a 2.0 minimum GPA and submit a compelling 750-word essay about a challenge, hardship, or mistake they have overcome and how that strengthened their commitment to grow and find a fulfilling future. We awarded these scholarships based on our  applicant’s potential, resilience, and grit, rather than past academic performance. 

This month, we introduce you to Gabriela Tapia!

Please help young adults find their path by supporting the Sam Chase Fund with your tax deductible contribution.

Donations to the Sam Chase Fund are processed and administered by our partner, The Community Foundation of the North State. The Foundation is a 501c (3) non-profit foundation and all donations are tax deductible.

Thank you to everyone who is here reading this. Please feel free to share our newsletter to whoever you would like. Our website will always have updated resources available as well as our ongoing applications available. Our emails, DM's, and numbers are always open. We appreciate all of the questions many of you have asked and we will continue to be open and honest answering! 

 Congratulations to our scholarship winners! We are so proud of you and can't wait to watch you on your next step.

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Explore the link on how you can join the fight in spreading awareness to the dangers of fentanyl poisoning.