Welcome to My Fundraiser
Amber Townsend
Amber Townsend
Hello. My name is Amber and I do not feel as though I am anyone special. I don't have a degree in psychology and I am not a therapist, I do not work at a substance abuse center and I am definitely not a doctor. However, like many of you reading this, I have experience in how substance abuse affects loved ones. I have seen how people can change and lie right in front of me. I have seen someone’s demeanor and personality adjust to the substance inside that consumes them. In my day job, I work with teens, specifically high school kids. These last few years I have seen how the world is hard and very different from when I grew up. Social media has completely changed the way kids are kids. It is absolutely crazy how something that seems so simple like an Instagram account and cell phone can change the way a teen feels about themselves and their life. I see the challenges that they face and I do not understand. I can not understand because the world is just so different now than it was then. I’m pretty sure it is similar to the challenges that we faced when we were teens and our parents and grandparents did not understand us.
My first year of teaching I was the young teacher who was nominated to do all kinds of crazy things to represent the school. One opportunity that I was recruited for was a pageant that raised money for drug abuse awareness. It was very laid back and comical but had some aspects of a real pageant. I had to come up with a talent and so my sister and I worked for days to perfect the best ‘evolution of dance’ routine and basing it off multiple music videos. I killed it--at least in my mind I did. The last part of the pageant was an interview question. We were all given a list of questions that could be asked in case we wanted to prepare ahead of time. I chose to wing it because that is how I am with questions that are personal to me. The one question that was probably the closest to my heart was the question that I was asked. “If you had one wish, what would you wish for?” There are so many things that I could wish for, but with my sister, parents and husband sitting in the audience I replied, “I wished that there was not a reason that we are here tonight trying to raise money for drug awareness. I wish that drug abuse wasn’t something that we should be worried about or scared of. I wish that drugs didn’t tear people's lives apart and hurt the ones that we love.”
Twelve years later I am fundraising for that same cause. This time, I am doing it in honor of my sister and her struggle with drugs that ultimately took her life.
My first year of teaching I was the young teacher who was nominated to do all kinds of crazy things to represent the school. One opportunity that I was recruited for was a pageant that raised money for drug abuse awareness. It was very laid back and comical but had some aspects of a real pageant. I had to come up with a talent and so my sister and I worked for days to perfect the best ‘evolution of dance’ routine and basing it off multiple music videos. I killed it--at least in my mind I did. The last part of the pageant was an interview question. We were all given a list of questions that could be asked in case we wanted to prepare ahead of time. I chose to wing it because that is how I am with questions that are personal to me. The one question that was probably the closest to my heart was the question that I was asked. “If you had one wish, what would you wish for?” There are so many things that I could wish for, but with my sister, parents and husband sitting in the audience I replied, “I wished that there was not a reason that we are here tonight trying to raise money for drug awareness. I wish that drug abuse wasn’t something that we should be worried about or scared of. I wish that drugs didn’t tear people's lives apart and hurt the ones that we love.”
Twelve years later I am fundraising for that same cause. This time, I am doing it in honor of my sister and her struggle with drugs that ultimately took her life.
Partners for Hope raise critical funds on behalf Partnership to End Addiction – the nation’s leading organization dedicated to addiction prevention, treatment and recovery. Every dollar raised on behalf of the Partnership* will help ensure free, personalized family support resources, including our national helpline, peer-to-peer parent coaching, customized online tools and community education programs, can reach those who need them most. Please consider donating to this fundraiser and sharing this page.
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Thank you for your help on this sensitive subject that effects so many of our lives.
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