Awards
Meet Sophie Kennedy, End Overdose's December Volunteer of the Month and the President and Founder of End Overdose's chapter at the University of Colorado, Boulder. End Overdose: Why was Sophie selected as the Volunteer of the Month? Maddie Ward: Sophie shows a rare level of dedication and commitment to the well-being of her peers and campus community. Through any conversation you have with her, Sophie's passion for keeping others safe and healthy is apparent. On her campus, Sophie consistently advocates for increased resources and education for her peers, and she serves as a vital resource for new and developing End Overdose chapters-- making herself available as a mentor for other student leaders across the country. EO: Can you tell us about yourself and your story? Sophie Kennedy: I am a senior studying integrative physiology on a pre-PA track at CU Boulder. I grew up in Boulder, about 5 minutes from CU’s campus. I do love it here, but as you can imagine, I am counting down the days until I can move. When I am not ending overdose or studying, I am usually working out or with friends. Some of my favorite things are googling literally everything, blueberry Red Bull and the Cleveland Browns. EO: What inspired you to volunteer for End Overdose? Sophie Kennedy: I started our chapter in 2022 because frankly, I was sick of losing my friends. Fentanyl overdose is uniquely terrifying in that it affects both people who are intentionally taking opioids and people who have no intention to. As a sober college student, I have an equal amount of friends in recovery as friends who still use. Although accidental opioid overdoses impact both of these groups indiscriminately, how we reach them needs to be totally different. End Overdose has found the perfect mission and messaging to reach every type of person that fentanyl overdose has or will impact. Every day, I am amazed at the grace with which End Overdose operates, adapts, and handles stigma. EO: What’s your favorite memory of volunteering with End Overdose? Sophie Kennedy: My favorite memory of volunteering with End Overdose is coordinating a photoshoot with CU basketball player Courtney Anderson Jr. While End Overdose has a strong presence in the music scene, I think it is important to break into communities where there are not yet resources. I wanted to combine my love of sports with this cause. After a LOT of no’s, we finally found an athlete who was excited to work with us. Seeing Courtney in the merch that our chapter designed was really rewarding. I hope this year we can find more athletes willing to start a conversation about opioid misuse and overdose!
EO: Can you tell us about yourself and your story? Kevin Ourvan: I’m a senior studying Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University where I founded and lead its End Overdose chapter. I grew up in New York City playing basketball and now I also love being in nature, skiing and hiking. When I am not in class or engaging with my community through End Overdose, I am working on my senior thesis on the current disciplinary system in NYC public schools and how it impacts certain vulnerable groups. I am also preparing for the LSAT this coming spring/summer and plan to attend law school after taking a gap year. During my gap year, I hope to work abroad as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching English to students in Romania. EO: What inspired you to volunteer for End Overdose? Kevin Ourvan: I was inspired to join End Overdose after two friends of mine died from overdoses during my freshman year of college. Growing up in New York City, I witnessed firsthand the agony and grief caused by overdose deaths, and I felt helpless to do anything about this tragedy. End Overdose gave me a way to make a tangible impact on my community. My work in harm reduction has been deeply healing and has helped me process past experiences. I’ve always wanted to help people, and End Overdose inspired me to pursue work in the nonprofit and public interest space. This led me to intern last summer with the nonprofit OPEN DOORS—an artist collective of diverse wheelchair users on Roosevelt Island. I hope to continue bettering my community in my professional life and making a meaningful impact on individuals’ lives. EO: What’s your favorite memory of volunteering with End Overdose? Kevin Ourvan: I genuinely enjoy every opportunity I get to volunteer on campus, so it’s hard to pick one specific favorite moment. However, the ones that stand out the most are when I hear about the tangible impact our work has had on our community. For instance, our faculty advisor, Officer Robinson of the Cornell University Police Department, once told me that he responded to calls where students used the knowledge and tools we provided to save someone’s life. Similarly, a younger club member shared that their work with the chapter has been personally healing for them. These moments are incredibly meaningful to me and provide the motivation to continue this community work. If I had to choose one favorite memory, it would be our recruitment cycle at Clubfest. After I started the club, seeing the overwhelming interest from students, faculty, and other organization leaders all in one place was truly inspiring. It reminded me of something a professor once told me: that we are living in a time when advocacy and community work are at a peak. Despite how divided the world may seem, there has never been as much concerted effort to help one another as there is now.
End Overdose: Can you tell us about yourself and your story? Randal Macias: I’m Randal! A little bit about me: I grew up in Huntington Beach, CA before successfully graduating from UCLA this past summer. Nowadays, my life consists of work, rave (or listen to house music on my drive home from work if a workday), sleep, repeat! I first got introduced to rave culture and EDM through my younger brother—which is something he will indefinitely take credit for—in August 2022 and have basically made it my entire personality since. EO: What inspired you to volunteer for End Overdose? Randal Macias: Like my introduction to raving and EDM, my younger brother also introduced me to End Overdose at Countdown 2023. I didn’t start volunteering until Maddie—then president of the inaugural End Overdose college chapter at UCLA and my upstairs neighbor—invited me to apply. I thought it would be a great opportunity to educate my peers whilst attending events I loved. After learning more about End Overdose’s mission and the palpable impact that distributing naloxone had on others in the rave community, I came to realize that I really cared about these people’s stories. I really enjoy empowering and teaching people that they can save lives. To that end, End Overdose is and has been an extremely rewarding organization to be a part of. EO: What’s your favorite memory of volunteering with End Overdose? Randal Macias: Every single memory with End Overdose is a great one. A particularly not great one was spending 3 nights volunteering next to the Wasteland stage at EDC LV (I am not a hardstyle fan… I’m sorry). But even that was redeemed by meeting 50 End Overdose volunteers and seeing the ways each of them impacts their respective communities. Portola was another incredible experience just reuniting with Ben and Emily after volunteering alongside them at Hard Summer and EDC, and Emma and Abby after not having seen them since graduation. Basically, I love End Overdose 🫶
Can you tell us about yourself and your story? "I come from a background of recovery. Growing up, I saw a mixed perspective of how alcoholism and drug addiction affected my family and myself. After losing my first friend to an overdose when I was 20 years old, I quickly grew aware of how serious the opioid issue was in this country. Over the years I have lost dozens of friends to opioid overdoses and unfortunately I continue to lose friends even today. Having over 8 years sober myself, I am very fortunate that my using never resulted in an overdose and I knew I had to find a way to give back and be of service to my community in some way to fight back against the opioid/fentanyl crisis." What inspired you to volunteer for End Overdose? "I first started working in festival environments with The Consciousness Group, a sober group of ravers at Insomniac Events, back in 2014. Through that experience I discovered Ground Control and by 2022 I was working with Ground Control at most insomniac events. That is where I found End Overdose and got involved by proxy, helping out where I could and bringing people to the tent but not officially a volunteer yet. After a couple years of working with End Overdose by proxy, I finally signed up and became an official volunteer this last August. I most recently became part of the grant writing team for End Overdose and I am continuously motivated to allocate funds towards the goals and projects through multiple approaches in fundraising because I know how serious this issue is on a personal level and will fight tooth and nail to make sure people get the help they need."
Tiffany is a member of our University of Washington chapter, and as the team lead at Beyond Wonderland at the Gorge, oversaw the distribution of 2,000 doses of naloxone. Tiffany is currently getting her degree in Public Health and Neuroscience and is planning to pursue a career in addiction medicine.
Congratulations to our volunteer of the month Grey Savo! He's a highly valued member of the End Overdose family who has trained people on how to save a life at countless events in Southern California.
Aspen Hough is our June volunteer of the month! Director of Operations AJ Banuelos says, “No matter the distance, Aspen is always willing to raise awareness and spread life-saving resources. Traveling over 3 states, and leading Breakaway KC, Aspen is a valuable member of the End Overdose team whose passion and drive are one of a kind!”
We'd like to recognize End Overdose at the University of Alabama founder/president Hayden Rutter as our volunteer of the month! He's led the charge at Bama where his chapter has trained thousands of students, distributed thousands of doses of naloxone and test strips, and become the mandatory trainer of Greek life on how to identify/respond to an overdose. Hayden just graduated Cum Laude from the University of Alabama Honors College with a degree in biology! Congrats and thanks for all of your work!
We'd like to congratulate our co-volunteer of the month Xochilt Resendiz! She's a pre-health student at UCLA and all-star volunteer who has trained extensively at events in Los Angeles (and across the country at Project Glow)!
Director of External Affairs & Programs Gianna Uy extensively praised Gracie for leading fundraising events at CU Boulder that have raised over $15k for End Overdose in the last month. Gracie organized Flatiron Fest, a hockey tournament, flea markets, and other amazing events in Boulder! Because of her, we’re able to continue our efforts to educate and provide lifesaving resources in the Boulder community and beyond.
Aubrie has volunteered across the country for End Overdose at Electric Forest, Hard Summer, Lost Lands, Escape, Apocalypse After Party, Countdown NYE, and more. She’s worked as a shift lead for most of these events and was a festival lead at Countdown NYE. “Aubrie is a highly trusted and dependable volunteer!” says Director of Events Nina Weisbrod.
We want to shine a light on the people whose efforts make our resources free and accessible to all, so we’re excited to share our February Volunteer of the Month: Sam Kieffer! Director of Operations AJ Banuelos has this to say about Sam’s work: “Sam Kieffer has been a dedicated volunteer since day one at his first event NIGHTSCENE in July 2022. With a willingness to always show up and spread life saving knowledge and resources for End Overdose – and a charismatic, always great attitude – Sam is a dedicated member to this team who is truly loved and valued for all his hard work and dedication to this organization. We love you Sam!!!”
Yesi is a star volunteer whose work is essential to End Overdose’s presence in our hometown of Los Angeles. She says, "Giving my time to End Overdose is so important to me because I have lost too many friends, not just to the fentanyl epidemic, but opioid overdoses as a whole. I realized that I could turn my grief into action. By giving my time to End Overdose, I can help others stay safe. No one else has to die."
Brian is a business student at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). As the President of the UCR chapter, he’s currently working to equip their student body and the Riverside community with knowledge and resources that can save lives and prevent overdoses. Brian is also consistently present at End Overdose events around SoCal, so you might have seen him working the booth at your favorite festivals.
Jamie is someone who you can always count on to help with events, even if it's not convenient for her. She drives from San Diego to volunteer at events in LA, San Bernardino, and Long Beach, and even comes after a full day of work! She takes it upon herself to go the extra mile in helping us execute load out plans, and brings her own personal wagon to help carry supplies. Jamie even spent countless hours crafting an End Overdose totem for us to have at events to further increase our reach and spread awareness of our efforts!
Skylar is a dream volunteer who you’ve almost certainly seen tabling at an event. No matter the location, she’s dedicated to working alongside End Overdose. She’s traveled to Michigan for Electric Forest and to Ohio for Lost Lands while regularly zigzagging across Southern California. “Skylar is one of the purest souls and nicest people I've ever met. She is extremely reliable and will cancel her own plans just to come help when you're in need. Skylar also does Ground Control at Insomniac and is one of the hardest working individuals I've ever met,” says Director of Events and Fundraising Programs. “She lives 1 to 1 ½ hours away from every event, but volunteers twice per week just because she loves to help out."
Jennifer has volunteered at major events for End Overdose including EDC Las Vegas, Hard Summer, Day Trip, and more. “From the moment we connected over Zoom, I knew Jennifer was going to be an amazing addition to the volunteer team; she's a super dedicated volunteer and always does the trainings correctly and thoroughly,” says our Director of Events and Fundraising Programs.