I have been an enormous fan of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) since I first met some members back in 2011-2012. I have personally witnessed SSDP members and alumni influence history, and make big, positive changes at their schools, for campaigns, and beyond. On Giving Tuesday, consider making a donation to SSDP so that they can continue to do amazing things. Preferably a big one, that is re-occurring! Below is an e-mail that I received from Betty Aldworth, Executive Director of SSDP, who I was honored to meet in Vegas last month. It’s an e-mail telling the story of a hardworking SSDP member. A truly inspiring story:
Hi Johnny,
Some of the most rewarding moments in my work are when I hear of student activists who are making waves on campus and in their community. There are over 4,000 active members in Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and I wish I could introduce you to all of them. Today, I want to tell you about a dynamic young woman named Miranda Gottlieb, who works to undo the damages of the drug war with her chapter at the University of Tennessee.
Miranda first got in touch with SSDP last spring, and founded the University of Tennessee chapter in August after traveling to Chile over the summer to learn about drug policy from medical professionals, attorneys, scientists, and elected officials. When she returned to campus, Miranda approached the student health center and successfully made the case for naloxone access on campus. Naloxone is a life-saving opioid overdose reversal drug, which Tennessee made available by prescription in 2014, the same year that the state experienced a record-setting rate of overdose deaths. Miranda’s SSDP chapter continues to collaborate with student health services, and the school agreed to fund a naloxone training program which will be rolled out in the spring semester, conducted jointly by SSDP and the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition. Lives will be saved in Tennessee because of this important partnership. Looking to the future, the chapter plans to advocate for a statewide medical amnesty policy.
When you make a gift to SSDP, your donation makes an impact far beyond campus. Our students are transforming policy, shaping the international dialogue around drugs, and changing lives everywhere they go. Will you support Miranda and students like her by making a gift today?
Thanks to supporters like you, we doubled our outreach staff this summer and are already seeing tremendous chapter growth and increased student engagement, which we’re now tracking online through the SSDP CAT. You can help sustain this growth by becoming a member of the Sensible Society, our monthly donor club.
You can even support SSDP with your holiday shopping: use our Amazon Smile link to have a portion of your purchase donated, or sign up for iGive, which partners with hundreds of online retailers, hotels, and airlines to give a percentage of sales to non-profits like SSDP.
We are so grateful for your support.
