LB Wings, LLC Sponsors Drug Free Clubs of America

In 2005, a team of firefighters in Cincinnati, Ohio, grew concerned about their community and countless other communities’ drug addiction crises. These firefighters were regularly called on to rescue youth dealing with overdosing, drug violence and drug-related accidents and deaths, and wanted to figure out a way to be hands-on with the issue and protect the children in the community. In response to the area’s drug addiction problem, the firefighters developed the Drug Free Clubs of America (DFCA) program. This program was designed to create a drug-free culture for local youth and, since its inception, has been implemented in many schools across different states.

With the success of developing such a large program comes the need for funding. As a solution, in 2016, the Ross County DFCA chapter developed the Buck Fifty Race with all proceeds going toward local Chillicothe, Ohio, members. The Buck Fifty Race is an overnight relay race that takes participants over 150 miles through southern Ohio, including a number of communities, four national and state parks, and several college campuses.

LB Wings, LLC’s Amy Walters got her local BWW^® involved with DFCA after she found their Facebook group. “It all started because I saw on Facebook a new group formed in Chillicothe, Ohio, called M.A.D.E. DFCA Ross County (My Attitude Determines Everything Drug Free Clubs of America Ross County), and they were getting local businesses involved to give high school kids discounts if they joined the Drug Free Clubs of America,” said Walters, who owns LB Wings, LLC with Bob Sparks. “I reached out to the group and said we were interested in helping them and would be happy to give a 15-percent discount to any student in the group.”

Walters and Sparks later set up a meeting with the parents who started the local chapter to discuss sponsorship and partnering opportunities. “During the meeting, it really hit home how big of an impact these parents were trying to make in the community and stop the drug epidemic in southern Ohio,” said Walters. “By the end of the meeting, not only did we want to give a discount to all the students, we wanted to do more. We signed up to be a sponsor of their new Buck Fifty Race to raise money to fund the chapter, and we also signed up to sponsor a rally for all of the students involved in the club.”

Every year since 2016, LB Wings, LLC brings Blazin’ Bill, along with several team members, to the M.A.D.E Rally to hand out BWW swag such as sunglasses, stress balls, gift cards and more to the hundreds of students who walk from the Chillicothe High School to the local courthouse. “Several students gave speeches about why they were involved, personal stories about family members that were involved in drugs and how they wanted the drug epidemic to stop with them,” said Walters. LB Wings, LLC supports the Buck Fifty Race on race weekend with food donations to the volunteers and provides the committee with free snack wing coupons and gift cards to pass out in the community when they see DFCA members or when they are at the local high schools trying to get participation in the club.

With the help of BWW and countless other partners, DFCA is able to help youth who are affected by drug addiction find the help they need.