A Ride to Save Lives fundraiser will be held Saturday, May 31 in Henderson at Shooter’s Tavern on Norlina Road. Proceeds will go to support local participation in the Lost Voices of Fentanyl’s national event that will be held in October on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
Local organizer Patricia Drewes said the motorcycle ride will begin at 11 a.m., but the day doesn’t end there. Guest speakers will take the stage about 1 p.m., Drewes said on Monday’s TownTalk and she wants families to come out and bring their children because they need to know how dangerous illicit drugs like fentanyl can be.
Drewes is vice president of the national group Lost Voices of Fentanyl, which she said is the largest fentanyl advocacy group in the U.S. with 36,000 members. The group’s president, April Babcock, is scheduled to speak during the local event, too.
Also on display will be 50 victims impact banners and four teen banners to highlight the tragic loss of young lives to fentanyl.
Beginning about 4 p.m., several bands will perform, including local groups Legendary Lane and Heartbreak Station. Virginia-based Redbank also will perform.
The cover charge for the concert is $15; the cost to ride is $20.
Drewes said she’s organized rallies before, but this is the biggest to date. She thanked Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow for his help with planning the route and for volunteering to lead the ride.
“I’m on a mission to save lives,” Drewes said. Her only child, Heaven, died from fentanyl poisoning.
“I want people to come out and bring their children,” she said, stressing the importance of helping young people realize and understand the dangers of illicit drugs.
“This could happen to them,” she said. “It’s just really important that kids see it. They need to understand that ‘yes, it can happen to you.’”
She prefers the word poisoning to overdose because an overdose implies that the person simply took more than the recommended dosage.
“It’s not an overdose,” she said. “There’s no recommended dosage for any illicit drug.”
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