In 2023, over 70,000 Americans fatally overdosed on illegally made fentanyl. Fentanyl is now found in the majority of fake pills and street drugs on the market, but users are often unaware that the product they are purchasing contains it. It’s 50 times more potent than heroin, and a few grains can be the difference between life or death.
To spread information about this public health crisis, Song for Charlie started National Fentanyl Awareness Day in 2021 as a day of action to unite parents, teachers, individuals, businesses, influencers, community groups, and government entities to help educate the public about this emergency. The goal is to get people working together to ensure Americans understand the risks of fentanyl, educate their families and friends, and learn how they can take steps to prevent overdose deaths.
In 2024, the third year for the holiday, Song for Charlie sought to increase National Fentanyl Awareness Day’s sphere of influence, get factual information about fentanyl out into the public, and galvanize people to take action to address fentanyl in their own homes, businesses, or communities.
As the organizer of National Fentanyl Awareness Day (NFAD), Song for Charlie (SFC) saw an opportunity to use the momentum from the previous two years to encourage people to take deeper actions this year while also widening the day of action’s sphere of influence. To do so, SFC conducted a multi-pronged strategy. First, they re-activated corporate and nonprofit partners from previous years, encouraging them to amplify existing programs or create new initiatives around fentanyl awareness. They also brought on new partners in these spheres. Second, they targeted influencers in the political and cultural sphere, from sitting Senators and governors to social media influencers to help activate their audiences. They created a multitude of ways to participate in NFAD, offering options for individuals, companies, community groups, and beyond, using the resources and content created by SFC. Lastly, they layered in a culturally resonant program to specifically reach a hard-hit community.
SFC updated the fentanylawarenessday.org website as the landing page for all-thing NFAD. This included their asks for the year, list of national partners, and essential resources. Families were encouraged to watch a quick, 4-minute video on counterfeit pills and have a discussion at home. Companies and communities were encouraged to host a screening of SFC’s The New Drug Talk video, a short film on the rapidly changing drug landscape and what everyone needs to know. Leaders and influencers were given sample scripts to record a message or post on social media. Everyone was encouraged to watch a 5-minute video called “Protect your Friends,” designed to help people recognize and respond to an overdose. For those with only a minute, they were asked to share to social media with pre-made graphics containing key messages and facts in a compelling format.
SFC also assembled a toolkit with helpful information, ideas, resources, and templates. This included sample emails to be sent to corporate mailing lists, a dummy press release to publicize activities, suggested social media messages and graphics, and a guide for film screenings.
The SFC team also tapped into its deep network of elected officials, doctors, parent advocates, campus organizations, and more to plan local activities and speak out on social media.
Lastly, SFC recognized that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always work, especially when communicating across cultural lines. Knowing the deep toll fentanyl overdose is taking on young Latinx people across the country, SFC assembled a Latinx Advisory Council and, on NFAD, launched “La Nueva Drug Talk,” an initiative designed by and for the Latinx community that tailored SFC’s resources and expertise to acknowledge the community’s cultural nuances. The website for the program included AI-generated scenarios for adults to have conversations with their loved ones, texts and social media resources they could send their kids and other young people, resources so parents could educate themselves about what’s happening in their community, and was accompanied by the first of several in-person, community activations designed to bring in Latinx people and leaders together in conversation about what they need to address the fentanyl crisis.
The third year for National Fentanyl Awareness day was the biggest one to date. Song for Charlie activated more than 1,100 partners, including businesses, nonprofit organizations, public officials, influencers and more. 8 governors, 31 attorneys general, and 40 United States senators activated on National Fentanyl Awareness Day, and the U.S. Senate introduced a bi-partisan resolution from 39 Senators to mark the day. Folks who shared NFAD include Senator Tammy Baldwin, the House Appropriations Committee,the DEA, New York Attorney General Tish James, and more.
Across the country, many others took action. Song for Charlie tracked 131 community events across 29 states, over 6,300 viewings of their educational videos, over 900 press mentions fo NFAD, and 10,000+ visits to the website.
Google, Snap, Meta Major League Baseball, Centers for Disease Control, and the American Medical Association all recognized the day of action. Google dedicated its homepage to NFAD in the days leading into it, Snap introduced a special filter for Snapchat users to spread the word, and many others took to social media to share the #nationalfentanylawarenessday hashtag.
