Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US, with 52,404 lethal drug overdoses in 2015. Opioid addiction is driving this epidemic, with 20,101 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers, and 12,990 overdose deaths related to heroin in 2015.
- American Society of Addiction Medicine
I was home in my office when one day I got a message on facebook from Michele. She was absolutely wonderful to talk to and told me about her organization that is dedicated to her brother Albert Anthony Kayal. The goal of the foundation is to send a strong, positive message to students about the impact of making healthy decisions that will ultimately affect the rest of their lives. It is the great hope of this foundation that it will positively affect every student who participates, and even save some lives from drug overdose. I was even more excited to hear it was going to happen at one of my favorite venues- The Cranford Social. It was great to work at someplace local to me in the town that I grew up in and love.
I walked in before the event started and said hi to John the owner of Cranford Social. I turned around and couldn’t believe it. I was a presumptuous and assumed casino night would only be people at tables playing poker, but boy was I wrong. The whole room was completely transformed in a party that looked straight from Vegas. There were black jack tables, craps, and even a giant spin wheel for everyone to play. I took my cameras and got to work. The whole night turned in a wonderful action filled event that all was to help kids avoid drugs and make good life choices. The best highlight of the night is when the 50/50 winner donated her whole winnings back to the foundation.
