Johnny’s Ambassadors 2026 Giving Campaign is Underway
Please help us fund three very important initiatives to prevent youth THC use this coming year!
It’s that time of year again – time for the Johnny’s Ambassadors annual fundraiser! We hold this event once a year during Suicide Prevention Month to help us fund our most pressing upcoming needs to save our youth from the harms of THC. Our goal is to raise $100,000 by September 30, 2026, for the following initiatives:
1. School AssembliesWe have a long list of schools that would LOVE to have an assembly, but they don’t have the budget or the grant funding to allow them to bring Johnny’s Ambassadors to their school. So, this year, we are raising funds to help schools in need! We’ll give $50,000 of the goal in scholarships for middle and high school assemblies for those on our waiting list. The scholarship will waive the $5000 assembly fee, and schools will only pay a flat fee to cover travel costs. Please see below for a sample of some of those eager schools and why they are excited to receive your scholarship!
2. Evidence-Based DesignationWe need $25,000 to have our assemblies and online curriculum evaluated for evidence-based training. We already have the pre- and post-assessment work done, so we have a neutral outside university lined up to evaluate our data under their statistician and publish the results. This evidence-based certification will allow us to apply for more grant-based and federal funding to help even more students in the future.
3. TikTok Video TargetingWe are seeking $25,000 in funding to work with a media company on a new technology called “geo fencing,” to directly serve up educational content to teens within a particular radius of a city. We are starting with hot spots in Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Seattle. A 90-minute radius is drawn around those cities and the schools, so hundreds of thousands of teens will receive ads to their device via TikTok and websites they visit afterward. The call to action will allow them to join Johnny’s Ambassadors’ new national youth leadership council.
Please Help Johnny’s Ambassadors Reach Our 2026 Annual Fundraising Goal of $100,000!
How Your Support Will Make a Difference for Schools on the Waiting List
Shawnee High School in Springfield, OH
“I am a health teacher and student council advisor. We would like to receive a scholarship because we are seeing an uptick of students that are using THC products in our building. One of our students had to be admitted because of her use of THC and the changes in her behavior. This year our resource officer and our administration have seen more problems with students using THC products. They have caught 9 kids with either dab pens or vapes. Several times we have had students come to school high and even smelling like marijuana. We even had a student share edibles in the bathroom. Students in my class have learned the harmful effects of THC use. Of course, like many, they think it won’t happen to them if they are using or start using. I truly believe hearing how this has affected you and your family brings a realness to the use of THC. I use your book, The Impact of THC On Our Children, in my health 2 class. It is great seeing these students reflect on the many messages in your book.”
– Marlo Mitch
Champlin Park High School in Foxcroft Maine
“We have seen increased rates of Middle School and High School THC use since Maine legalized Cannabis. Parents are no longer hiding it from their children and making it the new norm to be high along with sharing it with their children. A lot of our students wanted to say things about Johnny in their poster. The culture that most of my students come from is very honoring to those who have passed and are extremely empathetic when it comes to grief and loss. So, if you look closely, some have written things about your loss and Johnny.”
– Jennifer McKenna and Leah Erickson
Deerfield High School in Deerfield, IL
“This scholarship would provide us with enough funds to bring the assembly to our school. We have not had any drug prevention assemblies in the past, and hosting one is on my wish list for next year. I am also trying to incorporate drug prevention messaging into student activities pep assemblies. I’m a big believer in reaching students as often and in as many ways as possible. I’ve heard Laura speak at CADCA and I think it would be a compelling, memorable experience for my students. We have a THC problem at our schools, with 25% of students by senior year using marijuana products. Because of ready availability in Illinois, our use rates have increased. Last week at Prom, during the bag checks, we found edibles. I also hear students talking about how THC products are natural and, in their homes, so they must be okay.”
– Lindsay Sweet
Lake of the Woods Secondary in Baudette, MN
“Baudette is a rural, border-region community in northern Minnesota with a population of roughly 1,000. We don’t get many outside speakers of this caliber. For our students, this would be a genuinely rare experience — hearing a story that is real, recent, and directly relevant to the choices they face every day. A Johnny’s Ambassadors assembly wouldn’t be landing in a passive audience; it would land in a community of students who are already asking hard questions about drugs, mental health, and what it means to make good choices in a small town far from many resources. THC use — through vapes, edibles, and concentrates — is present in our student population, and awareness of the risks remains low. The more concerning finding is attitudinal: perception of harm is dropping sharply as students move through middle and high school, creating a window of vulnerability that we are actively working to address. Only 21% of students see any risk in trying marijuana once or twice. By 7th grade, just one-third of students rate regular marijuana use as a “great risk” — down from nearly two-thirds in 6th grade. That drop happens in a single year. Very few students understand the specific risks associated with high-potency THC products, the adolescent brain, or the connection between heavy use and psychosis or suicide. They haven’t heard it from someone who lived it. That’s what makes Johnny’s Ambassadors different from a curriculum or a poster. Laura’s story — and Johnny’s story — has the power to reach a teenager in a way that statistics simply cannot.”
– Doris Knutson
Your Gift Makes Such a Difference in the Life of a Teen!
