Growing up, Leland Plew was an avid golfer.
He died from a heroin overdose in 2014, but his memory carries on through a golf outing conducted annually to benefit the ongoing fight against the opioid epidemic.
The golf outing, planned for May 17 at Dye’s Walk Country Club, will help the educational and advocacy efforts of Overdose Lifeline, said David Plew, Leland’s father. The Indianapolis-based organization works with the community to teach people about opioids, the ways addiction to the drugs work and how to prevent overdoses in the community.
The group also distributes and trains people to use naloxone, better known as Narcan. The drug can be given to people suffering an opioid overdose, reversing the effects of the drug and saving lives.
In addition to Leland’s memory, the event honors the countless other people who have died from opioid overdoses, including Overdose Lifeline founder Justin Phillips’ son Aaron Sims.
Following his death, two of Leland’s friends, Taylor Kennell and Eric Roach, approached his parents, Susan and David Plew. They mentioned that they’d like to do something to honor their friend and thought that a golf outing would be a fitting way to remember him.
But they wanted a cause to donate the money to in memory of Leland. Because of the Plews’ connection to Overdose Lifeline, the family suggested that Kennell and Roach look into that organization.
“I told them I had met this organization, and thought it’d be a great organization to donate the money to,” David Plew said. “So we decided to do it as a memorial charity outing.”
The first Overdose Lifeline memorial charity golf outing was in August 2015, and since that time has raised nearly $40,000 for Overdose Lifeline. In addition to registration fees to play golf, the event features a silent auction, and cash donations are accepted.
The goal is to raise $25,000 this year, though with the way it has been growing, $30,000 is a possibility, David Plew said.
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Overdose Lifeline Memorial Charity Golf Outing
What: A benefit in memory of lives lost to drugs and alcohol, including Brandon Justice, Leland Plew, Jarrod Polston and Aaron Sims
When: May 17; registration and lunch starts at 11:30 a.m.; shotgun start at 1 p.m.
Where: Dye’s Walk Country Club, 2080 S. State Road 135, Greenwood
Benefits: Overdose Lifeline, an Indianapolis nonprofit that focuses on education and advocacy regarding opioid addiction, as well as training people to use naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdose.
Cost: $85 for individuals, $340 for a four-person team
Online registration and sponsorship inquiries: overdose-lifeline.org/golf-outing
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The United States is in the midst of the worst drug epidemic in history.
Opioids, including prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl, are killing Americans.
The Daily Journal is taking a yearlong look into the public health crisis that touches nearly every segment of our community and crosses all socioeconomic lines, from families who lost loved ones to health and law enforcement workers on the front lines.
Addicted & Dying will also explore solutions and a path forward.
Our project starts today by looking at the number of deaths in 2017, how the crisis is touching the community and its roots.
Got an idea for our project? Contact us as 317-736-2770.
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