Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!  Please join me in this awesome cause!

In 2000, I lost my big brother, Joey, to an accidental alcohol and drug overdose while we were both students at Ohio State.  After this terrible tragedy, I decided to travel the country to share Joey's story, and I have reached nearly 100,000 students with my presentation Keep Friendship Alive.  It has been an amazing ride, and I am ecstatic to report that Keep Friendship Alive is expanding to do a whole lot more.  

I recently decided to leave my career representing celebrity portrait photographers to pursue this cause full time.  Keep Friendship Alive, the nonprofit, will catalyze a youth-driven movement that will continually inspire and influence better lives. We will reach young people before they have given in to a social culture that accepts and encourages risky behavior. We will dramatically change attitudes and behaviors towards substance abuse, and we will demonstrate a measurable reduction in teenage substance-related deaths.

Our flagship program is an online video series that will kick-start the movement with middle school students nationwide. High school and college mentors, recruited through the Keep Friendship Alive network, will help fuel the movement. We will conduct cutting edge research and marketing to ensure that we are making the largest possible impact, and we will continually measure our success. 

Last year, we raised $25,000 at our golf outing fundraiser, and this year we hope to raise $50,000.  We are creating a huge movement, and your donation matters.  If you want to find out how you can help this movement by volunteering your time and energy, please email me at erica@keepfriendshipalive.org.  

The 11th annual Joe Upshaw Golf Classic will be held at the Golf Club of Dublin in Columbus, OH on September 30, 2011.  Please come out and show your support!

OR, if you cannot attend, pretty please donate here.  Donating through Firstgiving.com is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts. Alternatively, you may send a check to:

Keep Friendship Alive or KFA
1278 Club View Dr.
Centerville, OH 45459

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!
All my best,
Erica

PS - Visit joeupshaw.org and keepfriendshipalive.org for more information.