WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS – Alabama football Coach Nick Saban, his wife, Terry Saban, and Sen. Joe Manchin kicked off a two-day fundraiser at The Greenbrier Wednesday evening for Game Changer, the statewide and national substance misuse prevention program for high schoolers originated by Morgantown businessman Joe Boczek.
The event is the Game Changer Golf Classic, and Prevention and Education Luncheon.
Manchin and Saban grew up just a few miles apart in Marion County and have been friends since childhood, Manchin said. And he’s known Boczek for more than 30 years. So three years ago, when Manchin was in Morgantown, Boczek told him about his idea to educate children at an early age about drug addiction issues and consequences.
“There’s nobody in this room right now that doesn’t have somebody in their immediate family, extended family or a close friend that has been affected by addictions some sort,” Manchin said. When he learned about Boczek’s vision for Game Changer, he knew his childhood friend, Saban, would be perfect to join the team.
Saban said, “I knew it would be a great cause and it would be done the right way and we could make a significant impact.”
The Sabans have their own foundation, Nick’s Kids, dedicated to helping youth. They understand kids need a purpose in life to succeed.
“If anybody has been around anybody that has drug addiction or addiction problems, you see that they completely lose that sense of purpose because the drug becomes the purpose,” he said. “To do anything to help people overcome that, and especially to attack it in young people at a young age, to avoid the problem from ever occurring, I think is a great idea and a great cause.”
The Sabans were hosting the Wednesday evening dinner.
Terry, also a Marion County native, said, “I’ve had this day circled on my calendar since Joe [Boczek] called, because I was so excited to not only do an event that has a wonderful purpose – and that is awareness of a scourge that is not only in West Virginia but is a scourge on our country – but also to be able to come home.”
Boczek said that through their partners, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, they are developing a comprehensive plan centered on prevention education. “It’s just logical that if kids never touch a drug they can’t get addicted.”
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