TO HOMEPAGE

Through the SAVE A STAR and the DEA Educational Foundations' partnership with the Rx Factor Traveling Exhibit, we will be bringing education and a heightened awareness about drug abuse to communities across the country. From our home base in Highland Park, Illinois, we will be working with families, local schools, communities and law enforcement in an effort to bring our Save A Star message to school children, teens and young adults.

The Save A Star Drug Awareness Foundation was founded in Highland Park, Illinois by David and Gail Katz and their daughter, Melissa Katz Gold, following the death of David and Gail’s 25 year old son, Daniel, from an overdose of prescription drug medication in June, 2007.  Daniel had battled addiction for several years prior to his death.  His addiction began when he started experimenting with cigarettes, alcohol and then marijuana.   The recreational use of these substances can often lead to experimentation with pharmaceutical medications, a practice that is becoming increasingly popular among our nation’s youth.  The Save A Star Drug Awareness Foundation was created to educate the public about the dangers and consequences of prescription drug abuse and addiction, and to provide tangible methods to remove unwanted and unused medications from America’s homes.

Mission:

Prescription drug abuse is the nation’s fastest growing drug epidemic. The Save a Star Drug Awareness Foundation brings attention to the disease of prescription drug abuse and addiction by promoting awareness, education and resources. The Foundation is committed to the safe collection and disposal of drugs as another means of minimizing the cycle of prescription drug abuse and addiction. 

Foundation Activities:

• We raise awareness of the widespread nature and growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse and addiction through our educational programs, school and community forums, special events, scholarships, lobbying for strong drug distribution controls, partnerships with drug prevention agencies, and the local media.
• We provide support to individuals and families on how to communicate with their children about the insidious nature of drug abuse and addiction, as well as ways to identify the presence and sources of drugs, their dangers and effects, and the behavioral signs of a possible drug user.
• We place drug collection boxes in police stations with monitored access in cities with populations of 10,000 or more, and assist municipalities with proper and licensed drug disposal.
• We conduct fund-raising activities, which also function as awareness events, to support our programming, as our income comes solely from our constituents, individual gifts, corporate partnerships and sponsorships, and grants.