Happy holidays from the Gordie Center! We hope you are enjoying the festive atmosphere, and have time to recharge with your family. With so many special gatherings this month, we want to remind everyone to stay safe: know your limits and always have a designated driver if you plan to consume alcohol. The memories we make this time of year are precious, and we all want to ring in 2018 safely, with happiness and joy for what the new year will bring!
2017 Gordie Center Publication 
 
The 2017 Gordie Center publication is now available on our website! We are excited to share our work interwoven with profiles of some of our supporters this past year. One of our profiled supporters is Deborah Dunklin Tipton, whose son Robert died after a fraternity hazing event at High Point University in 2012. Deborah is a tremendous ally for the Gordie Center:
 
"I read Gordie's story and realized that another mother was suffering, as I was, the loss of her son during a fraternity initiation. I, like Gordie's mother, felt that a mother's job is to protect her child. We need to create healthier college campuses, dedicated to protecting students and educating young people to live compassionate and caring lives."   
--Deborah Dunklin Tipton 
 
To learn more about Robert's story and Deborah's commitment to helping the Gordie Center fight hazing nationwide, download our 2017 publication!
Gordie Center Reception
The annual fall reception for Gordie Center supporters was held on November 4th. We hosted over 60 friends and supporters, including Gordie's mother and step-father, Leslie and Michael Lanahan, in a Pavilion on the Lawn at the University of Virginia (UVA). Attendees were able to meet with our staff, talk with the Lanahans about Gordie's life and legacy, and hear remarks by UVA's Dean of Students Allen Groves.
 

After the reception, the Lanahans attended a (rainy!) UVA football game in UVA President Teresa Sullivan's suite with Gordie Center Director Susie Bruce, and Gordie Center National Development & Program Coordinator Jill Maurer. The Lanahans and Gordie Center staff so enjoyed sharing Gordie's story and our efforts with our supporters at the reception, and are already looking forward to our fall event in 2018!

If you missed Giving Tuesday, there's still time to make a tax-deductible donation to the Gordie Center before the end of 2017! Your donation saves lives by helping us combat hazardous drinking, drug use, and hazing nationwide--carrying on Gordie's legacy. Please consider making a year-end donation today!

Until next month,

Susie Bruce,  Director, Gordie Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
Jill Maurer, National Development & Program Coordinator 
 

 
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