Mom on a mission to find cure for addiction following son's death
Mom on a mission to bring awareness to addiction
Nancy Davis was on the purple carpet during the first Cure Addiction Now (CAN) fundraiser. Her son, Jason Davis, died five years ago.
LOS ANGELES - An effort is underway to find a cure for addiction.
Cure Addiction Now (CAN) held its first fundraiser this week. For founder Nancy Davis, the work is personal, having lost her son, Jason Davis.
She walked the purple carpet in his memory.
Jason helped establish the nonprofit but lost his life five years ago on the very day of the benefit, February 24.
"This was his dream. Unfortunately, he passed away five years ago, but this was his legacy," Nancy said.
Night of Fundraiser
At the Beverly Hills Hotel, it was a night of friendship, mocktails, and fundraising.
Nancy addressed a packed room saying, "for decades there was no funding for basic science research for addiction."
Lisa Stanley, co-host of K-Earth 101, co-hosted the intimate benefit gala. She spoke of the money going into scientific research and noted that addiction is one of the leading causes of death in America.
Fighting Addiction
Why you should care:
Cure Addiction Now is already funding 19 research projects. Just as she has done with her Race to Erase MS nonprofit, Nancy is bringing the medical community together to fight this disease.
Grey’s Anatomy actress Lisa Vidal celebrated the memory of her son Scott. His brother Max Cohen spoke about losing his big brother, an accomplished soccer player.
"After a sports injury my brother was put on OXY and that started the downward cycle, which led into heroin," Cohen said.
"Everybody’s affected by addiction," said KROQ radio host Megan Holiday. She is an admitted addict and in recovery. She also started a nonprofit called Life of the Party, which hands out Narcan, the nasal spray that can be easily administered by a bystander if they witness an overdose.
Jason Davis' memorial service was held at the same hotel five years ago. The benefit was peppered with performers like Scout Willis, and David Foster. Siedah Garrett powered out the song she wrote, made famous by Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror. She had also performed the song at Jason's memorial.