Today- Saturday, September 24 – there will be a Recovery Awareness Fair taking place at Knoxville’s West Town Mall between 10 am and 2 pm. To find the Fair, come in thru the JC Penney entrance, and go to the area of the Mall where Santa hangs out during the winter holidays.

There will be multiple booths set up, with lots of great information from many wonderful agencies and programs available for anyone interested in learning more about substance abuse recovery options and opportunities in our area.

We will have a Henry’s Fund booth set up at the Fair for community members to come by learn more about our mission to provide scholarship funds to pay for high-quality addiction treatment for kids between the ages of 12 and 20 who need help with a drug problem. Various of our family members will be manning the Henry’s Fund booth throughout the day, led by Henry’s Fund Executive Director, Betsy Allison Tant.

We are thrilled that we will also have a special guest and supporter joining Team Henry’s Fund at our booth tomorrow. Former NY Jets and UT Vols quarterback Erik Ainge will speak to Recovery Awareness Fair attendees of his own painful struggles with mental illness and addiction, something so many young men in our culture have a tough time discussing.

Erik is in active recovery now, a daily commitment for him, as he will tell you, and he is working hard to help others by talking openly about his journey. We cannot express how grateful we are for his public support for the work of the non-profit founded to honor Henry’s memory by helping other young addicts in a very tangible way.

Please come by the Recovery Awareness Fair tomorrow and meet Erik, and Betsy, me, Henry’s cousins and Auntie Kimi, and little brother E. And whether you can make it in person or not, please become a friend of Henry’s Fund on Facebook.