Rise Again – Just as the Phoenix rose from the ashes, so too will Sabrina Best.
Humankind is at its best when it takes a personal tragedy and turns it into a way to help others. Such people rise above the pain and sorrow of loss to create an enduring legacy. One such person is Heather Cooper, who lost her daughter Sabrina to a Fentanyl overdose last year. Rising above her grief, Heather created the Sabrina Best Foundation to provide support to women and their families in an effort to obtain quality treatment programs, recovery housing, and counseling for addiction.
Born To Ride is a proud sponsor of the Sabrina Best Foundation and Rise Again’s 2nd Annual Poker Run in memory of Sabrina. We asked Heather Best to share her hopes regarding the goals of the Foundation. “Rise Again is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to supporting women (and their families) seeking help for an addiction to drugs and alcohol. Although I was not afflicted by this devastating disease, I experienced the next worst thing. I helplessly watched my daughter, Sabrina, battle against it for ten years. My daughter lost her life to a Fentanyl overdose on February 13, 2020.”
“At the time, I thought there was no pain greater than what I was feeling,” Heather recalls. “That was until I read the words she had written during treatment, until I listened to the stories of other women fighting for their lives. It wasn’t until then, that I truly began to understand the trauma these women endure; emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. All to feed the addiction that could never be satisfied. A detox will not fix this. A 30-day program will not fix this. Women need to have access to, not only quality substance abuse care, but also long term emotional support. In conjunction with treating the chemical addiction, they need group and individual therapy sessions via Intensive Outpatient Programs. They need mentoring, so they may reenter society as healthy individuals. They need the opportunity to find their self-worth outside of the environment of their sickness. Unfortunately, many of these women do not have the financial resources to obtain this level of care.” That’s where Rise Again comes in.
“Our goal at Rise Again is to assist women and families during their journey. Through the support of our donors, we can provide access to quality treatment, for both physical and emotional health,” Heather says. “We can reduce the financial burden to encourage family involvement in treatment. And we can ease the transition back into responsible adulthood.”
How can you help? We all know that bikers go out of their way to participate and give to charitable causes, especially those that help the young. Join Born To Ride on the 2nd Annual Rise Up Against Addiction Poker Run in Memory of Sabrina Best this coming Saturday, September 18, 2021. The ride starts at High Octane Harley-Davidson at 1 Chelmsford Rd, North Billerica, Massachusetts 01862.
Meet up with us at 9:30am at the dealership to register. There will be food, raffle tickets and a 50/50 raffle. The cost is $25 per rider, per hand in advance and $30 the day of the event. Passengers are just $10. We’ll be kickstands up at 11:00am, rain or shine, and cars are welcome too. Winners will be announced at 5:30pm with $250 going to the best hand and a free drink for the worst hand. Food and live music is included with registration.
Poker Run stops will include The Boat in Dracut, Massachusetts; The Stumble Inn in Londonderry, New Hampshire; The Crow’s Nest Pub in Plaistow and the Chop Shop in Seabrook. All proceeds give Rise Again the ability to scholarship women into a structured sober living program and provide support to families by giving them the opportunity to rebuild relationships.
“Last year’s event was a huge success with close to 100 bikes coming out to help raise awareness in Sabrina’s memory,” Heather tells Born To Ride. “One of the strongest weapons we have in the war against addiction is awareness!”
Through your generous donations, the 1st Annual Rise Up Against Addiction Poker Run raised enough money to put several women into treatment. Please join us this September 18, for a day of riding, food, fun, and prizes. Enjoy the passion for motorcycles and the comradery of like-minded brothers and sisters for a good cause. Let’s double last year’s numbers!
To register for the Poker Run visit http://www.shewillriseagain.org or contact heather@shewillriseagain.org
—Dave Nichols