GLL in the Community: Because We Care!
In the last month, Great Lakes Labs and its staff have been busy in the community. We believe that it is imperative to a part of the solution through education. We wanted to share with you:
FYSB also known as Family and Youth Services Bureau put on an educational seminar for both professionals and the community. Our CEO, Michelle Volk, was one of the keynote speakers. Her assigned topic, Synthetic Drug Trends, highlighted the difference between a synthetic (manufactured with chemicals) and a natural drug (from a plant source). In detail, they learned about Synthetic Cannabinoids, Synthetic Cathinones, and even the trending Synthetic Opioids that are causing the latest death toll across the U.S. While this topic may seem like drugs 101 to many of you who work in fields where drugs are so prominent, there are still so many professionals, community members, parents and family that are just now learning about what is out there. We applaud the efforts Michelle makes to continue to educate our community.
Valparaiso Police Department Annual K-9 Run is a fundraising event that GLL staff supports every year. We realize the importance of the K-9 unit presence in law enforcement. For a day we volunteer in various capacities including being “traffic cops”. At the end of the day, our few hours of time helped to raise several thousand dollars for our K-9 dogs. If you want to volunteer for this event in 2018, please visit https://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/351/K-9-Division.
Community Collaborators Who Care is just that. It’s a group of community organizations and businesses that decided to get together and provide education and awareness to the public. One of the sponsors was Great Lakes Labs. It was an extensive day of training that involved messages from Senator Donnelly, Joe Rannazzisi a former DEA agent, a parent who lost her son to an opioid overdose, and a “Hidden in Plain Sight” bedroom set up for family members to learn what to look for when they suspect a loved one of drug use. For those that were able to attend the training, Naloxone kits were issued at completion of the seminar.
This may not seem impactful, but when you think about the little girl and the starfish that washed up on shore, as she brought the starfish back to the sea - it matters to that one.