Nineteen months ago I lost my beloved son to the disease of addiction from heroin and fentanyl. At that time in my life, I felt so alone with the stigma of guilt and shame and having no resources to cope with my depression, emotions, and grief. I then found Emily’s Hope support group and started attending meetings which gave me the opportunity and encouragement to work through my grief. I would have been lost without Emily’s Hope and I cannot imagine being without this support group. I have learned about the stigma behind addiction disorder, how to cope with my depression, anxiety, and grief, and now I’m stronger than before to share my son’s story. Emily’s Hope has helped countless others and continues to educate on the dangers of addiction and the awareness of the fentanyl epidemic that is sweeping across our country. Emily’s Hope has been a blessing to our community and I’m beyond grateful for this organization.
Emily's Hope helped save my life. About 5 years ago I received a scholarship to get into treatment for my addiction to alcohol. I'm still in recovery today and volunteer every chance I get to help others just like me. This organization is doing amazing things to help save lives and tear down the stigma of addiction. Their education curriculum is helping kids learn and planting seeds for the rest of their lives. To top it off they are strategically placing Narcan distribution boxes throughout our community, finding even more ways to battle the ongoing opioid crisis.
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Addiction touches everyone's life in some way, shape or form. As a scholarship recipient, donor and volunteer for Emily's Hope, I've seen many different sides of this amazing organization. Angela has turned grief and tragedy into a powerful force, raising awareness into the stigma of addiction. Her passion is contagious, I've been fortunate enough to share my own story on multiple occasions to help further the cause. Seeing the organizational growth over the recent years has been exciting. They are paving new paths all the time, from helping those who suffer from addiction get financial help; to educating kids in their new k-12 curriculum.
Simply put Emily's Hope saves lives, including my own!
The efforts this non profit is making to treat and prevent drug addiction is commendable. The passion that Angela and the Board has for this work is amazing and she is inspiring others to join the cause.
Through the educational materials that have been created, Emily's Hope is reaching kids at a young age, helping to ensure they are educated and make good choices.
America's fentanyl problem is far deadlier than past crises with other illegal drugs. It also has a fundamentally different character. For most victims, fentanyl was not their drug of choice. Rather, they were poisoned by dealers who mixed it into baggies of heroin or pressed into fake-opioid tablets. In the case of fentanyl, it is largely the suppliers—not users—who have embraced the drug because it is an ideal cost-cutting substitute. Synthetic opioids are produced in labs, so they are much cheaper than heroin—perhaps as much as 99% cheaper per dose after adjusting for potency. Dealers add fentanyl, which is up to 100 times more potent than morphine, to heroin and counterfeit tablets made to look like genuine prescription medications.
I very much appreciate Emily's Hope commitment to innovative approaches to deal with this deadly issue. Continuing to treat fentanyl just like previous drug epidemics is obviously insufficient. Emily's Hope is a leader in meeting this problem head on!
Wonderful organization, doing God's work and helping so many people. I am forever grateful to be one of the people to benefit from their help. A struggling addict that now has over 14 months of sobriety because of their support and donation to my recovery. I am now able to help others, as well. Angela is so nice and couldn't be doing more to make sure other families don't have to lose their loved one to the battle of Addiction, like her family has. Can't say enough good things.
Emily's Hope is a beacon of light in the fight against substance use disorder. Angela's dedication to ending the stigma and providing education is genuinely commendable. Their K-12 prevention curriculum is a game-changer, offering Hope to our youth. This charity's mission and innovative programs are worth supporting. They're making lasting change.
Emily’s Hope, Angela Kennecke is a gifted fundraiser and is exceptional at spreading awareness of Fentanyl poisoning, dangers and addiction related issues. Angela invited me to be a guest on her podcast “Grieving out Loud” for the Mother’s Day episode, she was a delightful and well prepared host to say the least. Angela and I both lost our beautiful daughters to fentanyl poisoning. She has worked tirelessly to share Emily’s story and grow her nonprofit. To me she is “nonprofit goals” as I aspire to achieve even half the success with my nonprofit Kelsie’s Cause, as she has with Emily’s Hope‼️
Emily's Hope is a remarkable organization founded by Angela Kennecke, whose personal story has inspired her to make a positive impact on the community. Angela's dedication towards educating and supporting those affected by drug and alcohol addiction is truly commendable.
One of the standout initiatives of Emily's Hope is the K-12 prevention curriculum, which has the potential to greatly benefit schools and students alike. By sharing this curriculum, Angela is actively promoting awareness and providing valuable knowledge to help prevent substance abuse among young individuals.
I highly recommend Emily's Hope to anyone seeking to support a worthy cause, contribute to addiction prevention efforts, or simply learn more about the remarkable work being done by Angela and her team. Together, we can help make a difference and offer hope to those in need.
I’ve watched this nonprofit grow from tragedy to something that might be able to end this horrible epidemic.
Angela’s tenacity, and ability to bring together the right people has created hope for the future. I’m so proud to support Emily’s Hope.
Emily's Hope works tirelessly to end the stigma of substance use disorder in South Dakota. Their prevention education is amazing, and they are always looking for new ways to help those with substance use disorders and bring awareness to overdose prevention.

annafey 08/03/2023
Thank you for your kind words, Diane!
I love the mission of this charity, what it stands for and how they put in the hard work to create programs that have never been done before. They strive to teach young people age appropriate information about drug use and the impacts. This is the type of charity you can truly get behind as they are making change for years to come.
annafey 10/26/2023
Thank you for being so supportive!