CONCORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A brother and sister started a nonprofit to help fight drug abuse. But when they couldn’t get their donated money from a fundraising website, they reached out to Solve It 7.
16-year-old twins Gwyn and Casey Sodergren do everything together.
“We’ve always been very close,” said Gwyn.
That bond grew even stronger after a family friend, Eli Weinstock, died from an accidental drug overdose.
“It hit home for us, because he seemed like a kid that was so similar to us and the kids that we are around,” said Gwyn
“It scared us. It really was scary,” said Casey.
So together, they launched a nonprofit called Safeguard OD. The mission is to provide teens with Narcan, fentanyl test strips, and educational materials.
“The twins are really wanting to educate kids before they take off for college, and arm them with what’s available out there so that we can prevent other overdoses and stay safe,” said the twins’ mother, Melinda Kulish.
“If you’re somewhere and you happen to see someone overdosing, you have it on you,” said Casey.
The twins have raised nearly $4,000 through a fundraising website but the site froze their funds, calling the account “too risky.”
“Which was really surprising, because it’s hard to imagine what’s risky about two teenagers and a nonprofit wanting to prevent fentanyl overdoses,” said Melinda.
Their mother says no matter who they contacted, Gwyn and Casey couldn’t get access to the donated money.
“I went round and round and round with them, saying, I don’t understand. Can I talk to somebody? What could possibly be high risk?” asked Melinda.
“I was really, really angry,” said Gwyn.
Tired of being angry, the family turned to Solve It 7.
“Then I remembered that you guys have this segment on the news where you help people get money back under these kinds of circumstances,” said Melinda.
After we contacted the website, the twins got their money.
The company claimed the donations were mistakenly flagged as unauthorized.
“We were like, jumping around in here, we were all really excited,” said Melinda.
“It felt like we finally were moving in the right direction and we could make more progress,” said Gwyn.
Now, they’re focused on keeping their classmates and community safe.
Is a company giving you the run around? Let us know. Give us a call at 617-367-7777. Or email us, the fastest way to reach us: Solveit7@whdh.com
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