Boys and Girls Club of Oshkosh holds talk about teens and fentanyl

Every week in the United States an average of 22 teenagers die from drug overdoses—a number driven by fentanyl found in counterfeit prescription pills. That’s about one classroom of teens every seven days.    In partnership with the Love, Logan Foundation, the Women’s Fund of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation is looking to spark awareness and community conversation about the topic.   Logan Rachwal, the 19-year-old son of Erin and Rick Rachwal of Pewaukee, died of a fentanyl overdose on Valentine’s Day in 2021. In the wake of the tragedy, Erin and Rick co-founded the Love, Logan Foundation, a nationally recognized organization striving to save lives through increased community support and education, in hopes of ending the stigma associated with mental health and substance use disorder and raising awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and other illicit drugs.    The Women’s Fund will welcome the Rachwals to the Boys and Girls Club of Oshkosh, 501 E. Parkway Ave., for a presentation from 12 to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21.  “In bringing the Love, Logan Foundation to Oshkosh, it’s our hope that this tremendously important conversation continues at home and in schools and leads to strengthened awareness for our students, families and local communities,” said Karlene Grabner, executive director of the Women’s Fund of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation.   The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recognizes Aug. 21 as National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid nearly 50 times more powerful than heroine and morphine. More than 74,000 Americans died from a fentanyl overdose last year.   For more about the Love, Logan Foundation, visit loveloganfoundation.org.  For more about the Women’s Fund of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, visit women.oshkoshareacf.org.